Tag Archive | compost

What Are Your Plans For Today?

Apr22

What do you have planned for today?  Today is Earth Day but even if you are reading this on another day think about what you can do to make this world a better place.  Here are four ideas:

Learn about pesticides and herbicides and make wise choices.  I have found that many people don’t realize that there are options – especially related to lawn care.  Here is more information including what to do instead.

Start composting.  Why throw away items that could be composted and then buy fertilizers and compost?  Create your own fertilizers and soil amendments.

Grow something!  Everyone should be able to grow something edible no matter where they live.  Don’t have a yard?  Grow something in a pot.  Grow on your windowsill, patio, or deck.

Choose to be a nicer person.  Watch not just what you say but how you say it.  Whether communicating by email, in person, on the phone, or on social media think about how what you say comes across to others.  When communication is not face to face body language is not there.  This may sound like a strange suggestion for Earth Day but if everyone chose to be nicer this world would be a more pleasant place for all.

IndoorHerbs

 

 

Lemon trees, grapefruit tree, bay tree, lemon verbena, pineapple sage

Lime and Lawns

Jul19

Do you need to lime your lawn?  Applying lime on your lawn is only possibly necessary in certain areas.  Lime raises the pH of your soil so if you have alkaline soil lime is not something you should be using.  Areas with high rainfall tend to have acidic soils while drier areas are more likely to be alkaline.

If the pH of a soil is too high or too low the plants may not be able to get existing nutrients out of the soil.  Here in Utah the soils tend to have enough iron but the high pH makes it difficult for the plants receive enough iron.

Adding compost to  your lawn helps moderate the pH which may make adding lime, iron, or other nutrients unnecessary.

Not sure whether your soil is alkaline or acidic?  Check with your local extension service or soil pH maps such as World Soil pH or Web Soil Survey.

Composting

Jun16

Compost is fantastic for soil improvement – adding organic matter, nutrients, and microorganisms to your soil.

A variety of items can be added to your compost pile including: spoiled vegetables and fruits and vegetable and fruit peelings, plant debris, prunings, straw, leaves, bedding from vegetarian pets, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, cotton fabric, cardboard and paper – not slick – although it may be better to recycle paper in another way. You can also add manures from rabbits, cows, horses, goats, poultry, or sheep.

Ideal proportions would be 2/3 brown or dry (dried leaves, straw, etc) to 1/3 wet or green (vegetable peelings, spoiled fruit). If your compost pile is smelly it is because the proportions are wrong, your pile is too wet, or you have added things that should not be in a compost pile.

There are some items that should not be put into a compost pile: meat, bones, fat, dairy, manures or litter from carnivores including dogs and cats. Ammonium sulfate is not needed for the composting process and I feel defeats the purpose because of the harm it can cause to microorganisms.

Compost piles need air and moisture. Water may need to be added to keep a pile moist or your compost may need to be protected from rain to prevent your pile from becoming too wet.

Turning the pile helps provide air to the pile and will help the composting process to occur faster. Turned once per week your compost may be ready in a month or so.

When purchasing compost – Read the label or if purchasing in bulk ask what is in the compost!  Biosolids means composted human waste.  Whether or not you want to use it or other ingredients that the compost may contain at least you will be aware of what you are buying.  Some products labelled compost contain some compost mixed with other things such as synthetic fertilizers.  I have seen products labelled “Garden Soil” what are 100% compost.

To learn more about composting including various methods for outdoor and indoor composting sign up for my free gardening lessons and weekly garden tips.

Compost or Mulch?

Jun16

There is sometimes confusion between mulch and compost.

Mulch refers to material that goes on top of the ground. Mulch can be natural such as bark, gravel, or compost, or manmade such as landscape fabric or recycled tire rubber mulch. Never use regular plastic except on a temporary basis since water will pool, stink and breed mosquitoes. Mulches such as bark and compost can feed the soil but need to be renewed regularly. Gravel and landscape fabric can last longer although landscape fabric is usually covered with something such as bark or gravel. Gravel can collect trash and weeds and reflect heat back to the house or yard which may or may not be desirable.

The purposes of mulch can include water retention, soil cooling, soil warming, weed suppression, soil enrichment, and/or frost protection for plant roots or soil.

When using rock or rubber mulches I would recommend using heavy duty landscape fabric underneath. The cheaper plastic fabrics do not hold up as well and the rubber mulches will be difficult to remove if they get mixed in with your soil.

Landscape fabric does not prevent weeds – it just reduces them. Soil and weed seeds can accumulate on top allowing weeds to begin growing. As soon as you see a weed take care of it so you do not end up with a weed patch on top of your landscape fabric.

Compost is decomposed organic matter or manures. The best types of compost are those made with a variety of materials including manures of herbivores (chickens, sheep, rabbits, etc), leaves, straw, vegetable peelings, and other plant material. For more information on home composting see my blog entry.

Compost can be used as mulch but is often also mixed with soil or applied to the surface just for the purpose of improving soil. Since compost is organic matter it can improve your soil whether it is sandy, clay, or just lacking in nutrients. Peat moss is sometimes used but has no nutritional value, is usually more expensive, and non renewable so compost is a better choice. I like to add compost to my gardens, flower beds, lawn, and potted plants. Our soils in Utah are lacking in organic matter so compost is a wonderful thing to add for soil improvement. Compost is the main component of a Square Foot Garden mix.