Gardener: Compost -- a key ingredient to a healthy garden

ShareThis

I have three rules to guarantee the success of almost any garden or landscape.
First, put the right plant in the right place (plant tags offer important information about this). Next, feed the soil with natural amendments and let the soil feed the plants. And, finally, use mulch.
It sounds simple and it is. But all too often we try and take shortcuts by not taking the time to learn about a plant's ideal cultural requirements before we plunk it in the ground wherever we find room. Or, we try to solve every visible problem by throwing chemicals at it, especially fertilizer. All too often, once the plant is in the ground, we skip the most important step (after watering), and that's the addition of mulch.
For the purpose of this writing, let's assume you've done your homework and know the ideal placement in your landscape for whatever plant you happen to be dealing with at the moment. Now it's time to make sure the place where this plant will live has the optimal conditions within the soil in which to thrive. How do you do that? From whatever conditions you start, add organic matter to the soil sufficient to cover the entire planting area.
To clarify what I mean by "organic matter," think of shredded leaves, ground bark, aged manure and compost and you get the idea. Although these examples are not a complete list, the more of these natural amendments you can incorporate into the soil to a depth of 6 inches or greater, the better any soil will be. Accordingly, plants will be happier, too. But of all the organic matter I mentioned, I believe compost is the single most important ingredient we can include. It adds life and fertility to the soil, and improves soil structure and drainage while still allowing moisture retention. And once you inoculate a garden area with the beneficial microbes from compost, you're well on your way to a healthier, more productive garden.
The good news about compost is that you can make it at home for free with ingredients you already have around the house and yard. The bad news is, we can rarely make as much at home as we want. Fortunately, a little goes a long way, so it doesn't take much to improve your soil. You can also buy compost and sometimes get it from your municipal composting facility.
If you make compost, there are a few essential elements for compost to occur. They are: water, oxygen, heat, carbon (brown matter, like dead leaves and twigs) and nitrogen (green matter, like grass clippings, vegetable and salad scraps).
To start a compost pile, you don't need anything fancy. A simple accumulation of green waste (10 percent to 25 percent) and brown waste (75 percent to 90 percent) will get you going. Every week or so, mix up the pile so you add oxygen to help speed up the decomposition process. Add a sprinkling of water, enough to give the pile the moistness of a damp sponge, and you will be well on your way to making compost. Depending on the variables, you should be able to have usable compost in about four months to one year.
You can add many items to your compost pile or bin. Almost anything from the yard or garden can be used. However, you should avoid adding diseased plants. The pathogens may not be killed in the composting process, and you can end up transferring diseases in the compost to other areas. I also choose not to include weeds if they are at or near the flowering state. Weed seeds can persist for a very long time, and may also survive the composting process. From within the house, the biggest items to avoid are meat, fish, bones and dairy products. They can attract outdoor pests.
Your compost will be ready to use when its dark brown, crumbly and has an earthy smell. The end results are undoubtedly the best soil food and conditioner available and a thriving garden when you combine compost with a properly placed plant and top it off with a generous layer of mulch.

(Joe Lamp'l, host of "GardenSMART" on PBS, is a Master Gardener and author. For more information visit www.joegardener.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)

THE GARDENER WITHIN