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Compost: The garden no-brainer. By: Jonathan Bille  |
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 There’s one part of your garden that understandably doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Why? because it’s unattractive, and it smells bad. Of course I’m talking about your compost, or as the farmers call it, black gold.
It still surprises me that so many gardeners, from beginners to pros, don’t have a compost in their garden. Perhaps it’s because there is so much information on composting that most people figure that it’s either too hard or that it requires expensive equipment to get good results. Both are completely false.
If you have even a small garden you should be composting. Consider these two different composting methods.
Cold composting: Perhaps the easiest way to compost is called cold composting. With cold composting you just section off a small area, approximately 3’x 3’with a material like wire fencing or in a bin, and dump all your lawn clippings, leaves and other organic materials into it. Over time the compost material will break down and decompose into great garden fertilizer. Cold composting requires little attention, perhaps just stirring the material once every couple of weeks. Te down side of cold composting is that it takes much longer for the material to decompose than with other composting methods, which is why it is often called slow composting. Don’t put weeds into your cold compost.
Hot Composting: requires more attention than cold composting but the material decomposes in a matter of weeks rather than months. For hot composting you need a specially sectioned area and a container like a bin or wood box. As the name suggests, hot composting takes into account that the compost pile is going to get hot. Hot composts do best when high carbon and high nitrogen materials are mixed in at a 1:1 ratio. As the pile heats up it will shrink. Keep your materials to be added near the compost so that they can be easily added. Every few days you will need to stir up the compost and add the additional materials. If you use a bin or a wood box, make sure to punch some holes in it to make sure it is well aerated.
There is no exact science to composting so the thing to do is to experiment and to find the method that works best for you. If you find your compost is too hot there is probably too much nitrogen. If you find that your compost is too dry it probably needs more water. With all things considered, composting is not a hard thing to do and the pay off is huge for your garden.
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