On Composting. A Readers Question.

I've recently received a question from a reader and decided to answer it in blog form in case anyone else has the same questions.

Catherine has asked "I'm using raised beds for my garden that up until this spring were just rock beds. Do you add anything to your soil after all of your crops are done to get them in shape for the next growing season?"

Thanks Catherine, both for reading and for the question. I have in fact worked to make sure my soil has plenty of what it needs in terms of nutrients. I have gotten into composting in the last year. I put anything in it that is bio-degradable and will break down within about 6-12 months. For our house, there are a lot of fruit and vegetable scraps (rinds from melons, banana peels, strawberry tops, etc etc) and we put all of our coffee grounds in the compost as well. Maggie has even brought the shredded paper scraps from work and I've thrown a few garbage bags of shredded paper in there to help even out the moisture content. I keep the scraps in an old coffee bin or those plastic ice cream buckets. Re-purpose those to hold your compost until you take the bucket out to dump it. Anything with a seal-able lid and is easy to clean out would be ideal. Just make sure not to put meat or dairy scraps in the garden. They will spoil and attract animals.

Now as far as where to put your compost. I keep mine in a pile behind my garage. I'm lucky that the back of my yard is framed in by a garage and a shed so it's fairly out of view and protected. Others may not have the space or opportunities to have a pile of compost in their yard without it being unsightly. There are composting bins available as well. A few different styles are available at varying costs. A quick search on Google will give you some ideas of what you will be looking at. Rate of decomposition is a matter of preference as well. My open ground style takes a little longer but I turn it from time to time (once a week or so) and I usually have a nice pile of usable compost in 3-6 months. I have two piles. One I start in the late summer when I pull up my crops and throw the tomato plants and squash vines and other crop scraps onto the pile. And I add onto it through the winter. By the time spring rolls around and you are getting ready to plant, that pile should be broken down pretty well. At that time, you start your new pile and since things break down faster in the summer heat, a good chunk of that pile should be broken down by the time the end of summer summer rolls around. You then can either spread and use that for fall crop planting or just to condition your garden beds before winter.

Another thing that I have next to my compost piles is a leaf pile. When I rake my leaves, instead of sending them to the curb, I dump them into a pile and let them compost and break down for about a year. What will form on the bottom of the large leaf pile is a thing called leaf mould. This is a great page to do a quick read up on it. Either way, the main thing is it is great for your soil and in turn, your plants. I have even asked my neighbors to give me their leaves. It works best to have them chopped up a bit before adding them to the pile but if not? Not a big deal. It might take a little longer to break down and you may have to turn the pile a little to keep the decomposition going but it will still happen. In the fall after I have collected leaves and cleaned out my garden beds, I spread a layer of leaves about 6-12 inches thick. It might look like a lot at first but it will settle over the winter. The leaves will also break down while on your beds. They will provide protection to the soil from the harsh winter and also draw up the worms to help work your soil. (Hint: Worms are one of the best things for your garden. If you find a lot of worms in your garden soil, chances are that is good soil). In the spring, I rake them off with a garden rake onto a blue tarp. I then drag the remaining leaves back onto the larger leaf pile and let them continue to break down through the summer. By the time fall rolls around, just before its time to start over and collect more leaves, your leaf pile should have a good layer of leaf mould on the bottom. Spread that on your garden before you cover it with new leaves from the new fall and repeat the process. Very cyclical. It makes nature happy.

And the last thing that I tend to do is add some organic fertilizer during the season about every 4-6 weeks. Make sure the package says organic and be sure to read dosage instructions. (The different kind of nutrients you'll find in different fertilizers is worth a whole other post).

Soil tends to settle and erode over the years, especially in raised beds. If you find or think that you don't have enough soil, be sure to add some top soil as needed.

I have detailed my own processes but composting can be variable depending on your own situation and your needs. There are a lot of good books on composting out there. Your local library may even have some. Read a few to try and get a feel for what would work best for you and to get even more information.

I hope this has helped. It sounds like it can be complicated but really it is as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. The process, decomposition, is the same in the end!