Bruce Koehler - President, Down to Earth Landscapes Inc

The Composting Process – Part 2

With a little know-how, anyone can make compost from home. Simply gather the right ingredients and nature will do the rest for you. Compost does not have to be made in a special place. You can simply collect your ingredients in one place and cover them with a polythene bag or can use a bin or other form of container, which can be bought from your local nursery, or you can build your own.

Where Do You Make Your Compost?

You want to select a location that is sunny with some shade during the day.  You want the composting material directly on soil or grass, not on concrete of other hardscape surface. Also, locate your composting area away from any flowing water such as a creek or river.
The bin or container you select should have a lid or cover and be easily accessible. It is often insulated.

Recommended Compost Ingredients

General Guidelines

If it was once living, it will compost. However, you should avoid meat, dairy and cooked food. They can attract rodents and other wildlife and should not be home-composted.

[Read more…]

Down to Earth Landscapes Inc in Santa Barbara

Why Compost and What are it’s Benefits?

Do you know about 40% of your garbage can’s contents are useful? Yes, many of the food scraps and yard clippings being disposed of can actually be useful for your backyard garden. You should recycle your kitchen waste along with your cut lawn and fallen leaves to make your own compost. You’re soil’s best friend.

What is Compost?

It is often said that “compost is gold for the garden”. Compost refers to the end product resulting from the decomposition of once living organic matter. When these living organisms die, they decompose and depending on various environmental factors, can form compost. Examples of organic matter around your home that can be used to make compost include straw, grass clippings, leaves, tree branches, certain animal manure, kitchen scraps, and so on.

It is true that over time all organic matter will eventually decompose but with your participation and under proper conditions, organic material can decompose more quickly and form compost to be used in your garden sooner

Please note that compost is not high in nutrients, (N-P-K) and is known more to condition the soil.  Since compost is most valuable as a soil conditioner, it can improve the soil structure, making it firmer to hold plants, can suppress soil borne diseases, attracts beneficial insects such as earthworms, and helps maintain optimum soil moisture and necessary microbial activity.

What is “Composting”.

As we said previously, composting is the natural process of turning organic matter into a more usable organic soil amendment called “compost”. This is nature’s own way of recycling decomposed organic material using microorganisms, nitrogen, carbon, moisture and oxygen.

But for serious gardeners, the composting process is managed to achieve the end result within a shorter time. To be successful, the gardener mixes various types of organic matter (greens and browns) in proper proportions with bacteria and other agents to form the proper consistency and dark color compost is known for. That is why within horticultural circles compost is frequently called “black gold”.
[Read more…]