Composting is a great way to add nutrients to your garden or flower beds by reusing kitchen and garden scraps. There are many ways to do it and although it may not be the prettiest part of landscaping it is a useful tool that utilizes waste around your home.
Depending on your space you can create a compost heap or use a small container to keep things more contained. If possible you can create multiple heaps in various stages of decomposition.
Composting requires three types of materials
– Carbon rich products such as newspaper, wood clippings, straw, cardboard or leaves
– Nitrogen rich products such as grass clippings, weeds, stems and fresh leaves or vegetable scraps from the kitchen
– And most importantly – air
The best ratio for compost success is three parts of nitrogen rich material and two parts carbon rich material. Too much or too little can leave your pile overly wet and smelly or overly dry and slow to decompose.
It is important to turn your compost pile every few weeks so that the bottom material can be moved to the top and vice versa. This allows plenty of air to reach all parts of the pile. If you can’t turn it the pile will still work it will just be slower to decompose.
Rain assists with the composting process so if your pile is covered be sure to add some water occasionally. Try to avoid large branches or pieces of wood that won’t decompose as quickly as the other material.
Never include the following in your compost pile:
– Meat or seafood scraps
– Dairy products
– Plants treated with pesticides
– Charcoal ash
– Animal or pet waste
You can compost:
– Dryer lint
– Coffee grounds
– Egg shells
– Used paper napkins and paper towels
– Shredded newspaper
– Tea bags
– Fruits and vegetables
With a little effort you can turn your yard and kitchen scraps into amazing soil food for your plants and vegetables all year round! For more insight into how you can improve the health of your landscaping talk with the experts at Gregory Landscape Services today!
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Making Your Own Compost
