Good Compost Graphic

Images of Compost Types

Use pallets to build an enclosure.  Usually you can find these free at local businesses.  Tie pallets together with wire to create a frame. The slats provide good air circulation.

Use any kind of wire to build an enclosure.  Place near your garden for easy access.

This is a worm composter. You feel your worms your vegetable scraps and they in turn eat the scraps and provide you with fertile 'castings' that you can use in your garden.

There are several composters you can buy at places like Costco or online gardening stores. These structures of plastic provide good aeration and work best for folks in suburban neighborhoods where it is best to not see an open compost pile.

Building a Compost

1. Pick a site and figure out the size and shape you want
Find a site that is in a well drained area that gets full sun; Either make a free standing pile or build an enclosure using scrap wood, pallets, bricks, hay bales etc. Pictures to follow.

2. Add ‘food’ to your pile
Only add plant scraps to your pile, no meat or oils. Rule is add the following ratio: 4 to 1. (4) parts high Carbon items (dry material such as leaves, straw) to 1 part high Nitrogen materials (moist materials such as kitchen veggie scraps, grass clippings).

3. Turn it and use it
Once your pile is 3-4 feet high it is big enough to start heating up (thanks to millions of microorganisms). Wait for consistency to be crumbly then work into your soil or side dress your plants.

Building Garden Soil

There are many approaches to building soil.  You can either start from scratch, or you can ammend your existing soil.  In the spirit of keeping it 'simple', I am going to talk about two approaches: sheet composting and soil for raised beds. 

Remember, GOOD SOIL is an invesment, the most important investment you can make.  Soil gets better with time, so remember 1) don't step on your soil 2) compost, make it and add it 3) test it to see if you need any additional ammendments (here is a link to soil testing laboratories throughout the US - http://www.organicgardening.com/soiltest/1,7775,s1-2-7-0,00.html)

Sheet Composting- an approach where compost ingredients are placed in layers, rather than in mounds or containers.  The Lasagna gardening technique follows these principles.

1. Choose your area and lay down decomposable layer

Follow the rules for Determining where you can grow a food garden (http://123foodgardening.blogspot.com/2009/11/determining-where-you-can-have-food.html) .  Once you find a spot, cover the ground with either a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard.  If I don't have enough newspaper I go to my local recycling center and take some from their bins.

2.  Start layering materials

Alternate layers of peat moss (available in bales at Home Depot, Southern States etc.), with leaves, straw, grass clippings, basically any organic materials you have in your yard.  Example layers go like this: peat moss, compost, leaves, peat moss, grass clippings, wood ashes, peat moss, leaves etc.  For your top layer use a thin layer of compost.  NOTE: peat moss is finicky stuff.  Make sure you soak it will water prior to layering or else it will go airborne on you.

3. Plant your seeds or plants

If using plants, make a hole by pulling back some of the layers, put in your plant, pull materials around plant, and water thoroughly. 

If planting seeds, soak top layers, and depending the type of seed, make a small indent with your hand (read the instructions on the seed packet), place seeds in indent, and sprinkle loose soil over seeds to cover them.

Building soil for raised beds- an approach where you create soil 'from scratch' using three core ingredients.  This is the approach the Square Foot Gardening technique utilizes:

1.  Mix up your ingredients

Make a mix of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite. Compost= nutrients, peat moss and vermiculite = consistency and moisture retention.

2. Fill your Frame/Plant seeds or plants
Whatever frame you are using, make sure to put down weed barrier or thick cardboard to control weed growth. Make sure the mixture is soaked.

3. Keep adding Organic Materials
Throughout growing season use organic fertilizers such as kelp or fish meal. Each new season supplement with new compost.

Determining WHERE you can have a Food Garden

    1. Location is essential

Without the right place a garden will not flourish even if all other factors are perfect. You need 6-8 hours of sunlight & good drainage.

 

    2.   Soil is everything

Note that good soil doesn’t come out of a bag, it is built over time. You can either build your own soil, or supplement your existing soil.

   3. Water, you just need it

So make sure you have access to water so you can routinely soak the soil.  Remember a quick spray of water is bad for your plants as it causes the roots to come to the surface.  Give it a good soaking!

Planting Garlic

1.  Prepare the garlic cloves:

Plant garlic from mid-September through mid October. Break the garlic bulb apart into individual cloves and soak them in a jar mixed with water, one tbsp baking soda, and one tablespoon of liquid seaweed (to prevent fungal disease and encourage vigorous growth).

2. Prepare bed for planting:

Garlic grows best in rich, well-drained soil. Push cloves down 3 inches and space 6-8 inches apart. Plant fat part of bulb down so that the slender tip is on top.

3. Cover the garlic bed:
Cover the cloves with 2 inches of soil and cover with 6-8 inches of compost, straw, or leaves. Shoots should poke through the mulch in 4-6 weeks. It will stop growing in winter and will resume in spring.

Start of something special...

I am a huge supporter of people growing their own food.  After writing, talking, and teaching people how easy it is to food garden, no matter their space or time, I realized the missing component to making people start gardening. SIMPLICITY.  In a world with information overload, and packed schedules, people are craving something simple. So I came up with a new game plan, break all gardening elements into three simple steps. 

I will pull some of  my previous posts from my other blogs, but I promise, every post will involve no more than three SIMPLE STEPS!