COMPOST

What is compost? Gardeners frequently refer to it as "black gold" because of its value to a healthy garden, whether it be full of flowers, fruits or vegetables. Composting is also the easiest way to dispose of yard waste, those trimmings or prunings we make to keep things looking their best and even the weeds we pull up from unwanted places. Autumn leaves and grass clipping are two excellent materials for compost and both are absolutely free. So... what is it good for and how do you make it?

Compost is the end product when you pile up all those things we just listed and then let them rot naturally. It may take a while, depending on how big or coarse your clippings are and whether or not you actually "work" at it, but eventually, the leaves, clippings and other materials turn into a rich black soil-like material that we call compost. This material is a natural fertilizer, preserving all the nutrients the original plant absorbed from the ground and the air and stored up in its leaves and stems. When the discarded plant material rots, these nutrients are converted into a form that can be used by other plants. 

Compost is clean with a pleasant earthy smell and is free of weed seeds when made properly. It can be applied freely to your garden or around your plants without fear of "burning" or over-fertilizing. If you doubt this, take a walk through any heavily wooded area and notice the spongy, springy feeling of the ground beneath your feet.  If you look at it, you'll see that you are walking on a carpet of leaves and that there are actually very few weeds around you. Scuff aside some of those loose leaves... and you will see that the "soil" is a rich dark color, very loose and "friable". This is compost, made the natural way. If you were to take a shovel and dig straight down, you would see that this rich dark soil goes down quite a ways, depending on the age of the forest.  And depending on the size of the roots you will encounter, which will probably stop you from digging too deeply.  The roots grow eagerly into this layer of rich compost. And why wouldn't they? This compost is a natural all-you-can-eat buffet for the forest plants.

We can produce this same compost in our own yards by simply recycling the normal plant wastes. Notice the word "recycle". If you put your yard waste at the curb for pick up by your local waste management company, you can bet they take it back to their own composting facility. Some communities bag and sell this compost while others give it away to anyone in the community who wants to take the time to go get it. Why not make your own, right in a corner of your own yard?

 written and maintained by Brier Ridge

Punta Gorda, Florida, USA

©2006-2007