Importance of Compost
Have you ever wondered why the use of composting is so beneficial to an heirloom vegetable garden? You may be surprised to discover the reasons and how easy it is to care for and feed your own compost pile.
For the best gardening soil, the most positive and cheapest step you can take is to introduce compost that has been allowed to evolve into rich humus. Humus is what gives a vegetable garden lush, rich vegetables by releasing minerals and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodide, copper, zinc, cobalt, manganese, and molybdenum into the soil-dependant upon what goes into your compost. The end product of compost, humus, also negates the need for fertilizer, as humus is fertilizer, but it is fertilizer in its most pure, organic state.
So what should you feed your compost pile? Well, the good news is much of what is delivered to the local landfill can instead be re-directed to the compost pile. Compost can contain kitchen wastes, yard clippings, leaves, weeds, and even paper products. Other than the occasional paper product, the rule to follow is “living” things. However, avoid cooked foods, and dairy and meat products, as this will attract vermin. Plant materials such as weeds and grass will decay quickly, so to avoid a stinky heap mix in an equal portion of kitchen scraps as well as leaves and wood products which tend to decompose slowly. Tree limbs and other heavier wood products should be reduced in size through shedding or chopping first before adding them to compost. Otherwise, they will not decompose correctly.
Compost is not finicky and enjoys coffee grounds and old tea leaves. Starbucks got on the bandwagon of organic gardening, offering their composting patrons free coffee grounds, so if you close by to a busy coffee shop, by all means, stop by!
If you happen to have cows, goats, sheep, horses, or chickens, their manure gets along quite well with compost and will add another layer of richness to the dark, rich, sweet-smelling humus your compost will produce. And feel free to toss in the used straw left over from the chicken coop!
If you’re a purest, your compost can be kept in a pile and protected from the elements with a covering of plastic sheeting or cardboard, or it can be kept in a decorative bin with solid sides and a lid. If for any reason your compost bin is made of slats, exposing compost, line it with straw. Either way, just remember to feed your compost often, stir it every once in a while to let the decomposing materials “meld”, and enjoy the benefits of what it has to offer your vegetable garden!
By Barbara Fix, Lipscomb Enterprises Inc. Researcher & Writer
