4. Reuse and recycle.
Reuse items from your recycling bin in your composting projects. Store finished compost in (well-rinsed) bulk containers, such as five-gallon plastic pickle buckets and detergent jugs. Turn cardboard boxes into bedding for your vermicompost bin. Place a thick layer of newspapers at the base of a curing compost pile to deter invasive tree roots. Look for novel opportunities to use compost-garden methods to shrink the waste stream generated by your household’s day-to-day activities.
5. The magic is in the mix.
Decomposed leaves are called leaf mold, and rotted manure is . . . rotted manure. Both leaf mold and rotted manure have special uses, but they lack the diverse community of beneficial microorganisms found in true compost, which is made from a wide variety of materials. Each organic ingredient you put into a compost project—from carrot peelings to dead pepper plants—will host a slightly different group of microorganisms, and it is this diversity that makes compost greater than the sum of its parts.
6. Compost to suit your garden’s needs.
Treat every plant you grow to some form of compost. Blanket beds as you renovate them between plantings, amend planting holes, or mix your best batches into homemade potting soil. Use rough-textured, partially decomposed compost as mulch, and sprinkle vermicompost into containers of flowers or houseplants. Match compost-garden methods to the situations you encounter most often in your gardens, and always put soil care first and plants second.
This article is excerpted from Compost Gardening by Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin. (Storey, 2008)
New for your e-reader or tablet: Compostology 1-2-3.
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