Compost, how and why

Compost, how and why.

'The Nipomo Composters'
Sung to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies"

Here's the story 'bout a man named Dicus,
The fellow had a sad, wilted little ficus,
And then one day he was pouring on some goo,
And the roots popped right up and said "Well thank you"

"For that Black Gold you see,
real compost, garden tea"

Now you know that compost is really good,
made from manure, kitchen scraps and wood,
Any time you need some you just grab a little bit,
and the plants will grow really, really quick.

Like weeds you see,
growing fast, mighty strong.

Other composting pages we have,

The role of compost
What is compost
How to build a compost pile
The types of compost
How to use Compost

WHY USE COMPOST?

Compost, that magic elixir of the soil has been used in one form or another all through the gardening world for centuries. And why? Because compost alone can cure many of the ills of the soil. It can open tightly bound soils, it can bind up too porous of soils. It can make soils hold water longer for the plant roots to be able to get it when they need it. It provides a moderating effect to the soil chemistry reducing extreme alkalinity and acidic problems. It helps soils warm up in spring by enabling the warm air to spread through an otherwise tightly bound cold clay soil. It can reduce the excessive airflow through sandy soils permitting the retention of humus. Compost enables the soils' microbial and insect life to expand and create a more beneficial environment for the plant roots. It feeds earthworms as they push their way through the soil making their burrows through which the plant roots follow gleaning the highly nutritious worm castings. There is so much that compost does that it is hard for me to imagine gardening without it.

The value of 'Black Gold' One can look at the soil as a bank, one in which one has a personal account. Each time you plant vegetables they take a certain amount from the soil in the form of nutrients. Also the regular microbial activity eats away at the amount of organic material in the soil. In time the soil, like a bank account that is constantly taken from without being added to is encountering deficit problems. Like the hapless consumer at the checkout line is saddened to find she has no money in her account, so to is the gardener saddened to find a constantly smaller harvest each year, and more and more pest and disease problems as the plants' ability to fend off these problems is reduced due to poor nutrition and an inhospitable environment. Who should compost?

Suffice it to say that I direct this discourse to the small acreage farmer and the backyard gardener who desires to work hand in hand with nature using natural easily understood processes of decay and renewal. Put back some money into that soil bank, let the surplus accumulate and the excess will generally be retained in the soil to enable you to discontinue worry over the amounts of chemicals in the soil. You will know that in general, whatever the season, your garden soil is accumulating a reserve at all times, a reserve that will be there whenever your plants need a bit. They will be able to take from the reserve that tiny bit they need at that instant. You will not need to anticipate their needs like the chemical dependant farmer who is constantly taking leaf analysis tests to maintain 'just the right amount' of soil chemicals.

Compost is truly the most wonderful of soil additions you can make to the garden. Especially a new garden, and yearly afterwards. In this lengthy treatise I will try to explain a bit about how to make compost as well as detail a bit of my personal beliefs on when and how to fertilize your garden or acreage with compost.

Here is a listing of sites that are good resources for information on compost

Humus.ORG is a group from Europe who have gathered on the internet to compile all the humus building thoughts and philosophies of individuals, societies and the world together to help all learn about this resource, and how they can make their own. Even though the site is not very large at present, I have hopes that the authors of it will in time turn it into a seminal work of compost theory and practical knowledge.

This site is one of the most succinctly written treatments on humus I have ever come upon. It is so brilliantly written and explains in clear terms the complex processes that occur to materials that are being transformed into humus.

About compost comes from Florida where they are trying to inform people about the benefits of composting to reduce household yard waste in the landfills. This is indeed an informative site.

The researchers at Texas A&M Agricultural University (my favorite) have done it again. They have scooped the world with a high quality easily read scientific explanation of how compost goes through the various stages of decomposition. If you wish to learn about actinomycetes, and fungi, mesophilic and thermophilic bacteria and other cool things like that which actually do the work of the decomposition in a compost pile visit their page.

Here is a page with a nicely written article on building a compost pile. Illustrations of compost pile structures and a tool list is given. As well is a listing of common carbon-Nitrogen ratios for materials to help you decide how much of each material to use.

Cornell University has made a very interesting slideshow with attractive photos of nice fungi and piles of manure.

Rockwater Farms has a patented composting system for use in small and large scale farming operations. I like their idea.

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The role of compost
What is compost
How to build a compost pile
The types of compost

Rivenrock Gardens
Organic Philosophy