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OK, It's Done -- Now What? |
| Now that your compost is done, you
have successfully recycled organic waste. You have made an environmentally-friendly
alternative to chemical fertilizers. Congratulations! |
| Remember compost is not a soil; it
is a soil amendment. When mix with soil, it adds much appreciated microbes, organic
materials, and nutrients. A good rule of thumb is to mix one-part compost to
three-parts soil. There are many uses for compost in the garden - flowerbeds, vegetable
gardens, and lawns. |
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| Use Compost as a Soil Enrichment: |
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- Flower beds -- add about an 1" in
establish bed and 1"-2" of compost in new beds and work into the soil. Don't skip
the next step which is to water thoroughly. Your perennials, biennials and annuals
will be happy and produce well for you.
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- Lawn topdressing -- although
compost may be applied on the lawn at any time, the results come when it is
applied after the lawn has be aerated. A thin layer is generally sufficient.
Again, water thoroughly.
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| Use Compost when Planting |
- Tree planting -- mix one-part compost
to three-parts soil removed from the planting hole. Use this mixture as a backfill
around the root ball. Again thoroughly water the newly planted tree.
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- Vegetable gardens -- depending on the
quality of your soil, add about 1" - 2" of compost before you begin planting. Turn
soil to a depth of 5" of so. With vegetable, more is not better. Compost
is high in nitrogen. Vegetables don't produce well is the soil has excessively high
levels of nitrogen.
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| As a Mulch |
- Mulch -- compost is an excellent mulch
for flowering & landscape plants. A disadvantage of using compost as mulch is that
finely textured composts will not suppress weeds as well as more coarsely textured mulch.
It is better to use compost to gradually improve the soil by applying between the plants
for an added boost of nutrition.
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| Make a Nutrient-Rich Liquid
Fertilizer |
- Compost tea -- compost tea is a
good benefit for your plants and it's easy to make. The ratio is basically one-part
compost to five-parts water. Tie compost in a bandana or put in a cloth bag and
place in a container of water. Be sure to complete submerge the "compost tea bag."
Put the container in your garage or a shaded location. Let it "steep"
for a week or so. The compost tea can be poured over your indoor or garden
plants. Ailing plants can get a boost from "tea." The contents of the "tea
bag" can be tossed back into the compost or emptied in your garden.
An alternative method for making compost tea is to put a
shovelful of compost into a 5-gallon bucket of water. Let this mixture seep of about
a week. Then drain off the liquid. Dilute one-part of this liquid
strong-tea with two-parts water. The diluted tea can be used to water indoor or
outdoor plants.
Soaking the bag in a barrel or bucket of rainwater for
three days is even better.
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| As a Substitute for Peat Moss |
- Potting Soil -- make your own potting
soil for seedlings by mixing two-parts compost to three-parts soil.
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- Indoor plants: Add small portions of compost to
the surface of indoor plant pots. Over time the compost will break down. Your plants
will appreciate the added nutrition as the compost continues to decompose.
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| Further Composting Information
Internet Links: |
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