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Composting!

Fall planting time is quickly coming upon us.

 I like to start by getting my smaller bulbs planted first. This time of year, I really don't like to go out to the garden unless I have bulbs or perennials with me. It seems while I'm cleaning, there is always room for a little something to be planted. I find when planting the small stuff such as, crocus, miniature iris, and scilla, these guys need to be planted by the handful. In masses they make such a beautiful display.

 I am also dragging around a bucket of compost. I am continuously adding this nutrient filled recipe to new plantings or side dressing the existing ones. Side dressing is simply digging small holes or trenches throughout the bed and turning in your compost. Be careful not to disturb root systems. For compact gardens just lightly toss your compost on top of the soil.

To compost, I use a small plastic garbage can under my kitchen sink. I like the ones that look like the old fashioned rounded metal ones with the swinging lid. I line it with a plastic bag and then a a paper bag inside of that. I toss all of my kitchen scraps in there - egg shells, tons of coffee grounds, all vegie and fruit scraps, old cut flowers,...What I avoid is meat products, glossy paper, plastics, and styrofoam. If I add paper, it is minimal and if it is cardboard, I shred it up first. So there it all sits in my mini garbage can until I am ready to bring it out to the compost pile out back. 

My pile is an informal one - no walls or boundaries. I dig a hole throw in my paper bag of scraps, add some leaves and grass clippings, chop it all up and bury it. The more you chop, the quicker it breaks down and gives you the "black gold"(full of earthworms) to side dress and feed your garden. Besides providing many micro-elements, the compost adds beneficial micro-organisms. I avoid using chemical fertilizers and treatments so as not to disrupt this balance. 

The beauty and bounty of these vegetable, flower, and herb gardens convinces me it is worth every bit of effort.

9/9/99