ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Home & Garden

A Compost Primer

Author : Dean Novosat

Most gardeners and landscapers will agree almost unanimously that the single best thing you can do for your lawn is to add compost. Good, organic compost can remedy almost any problem you have with your soil. If you soil is too acidic, adding compost will help neutralize it and bring it back to a proper pH level. If your soil is too alkaline, ditto! Adding compost will help balance the alkalinity in the soil. If you live in an area with a lot of heavy clay, adding compost will help loosen and aerate the soil. If you live in a coastal or southern area with a lot of sand, adding compost will help bind it together. Soil lacking nutrients? Add compost to add new life to overworked soil.

So how do you make compost? It’s easier than you can imagine and cheaper than anything else you will do. How cheap? How about free! All composting is, is the natural decomposition of organic matter. Walk through a dense forest and take a deep handful of soil from under your feet. Notice how black and rich it is. It didn’t get that way from fertilizers or manure. It got that way from all the decomposing organic matter. A forest takes care of itself by recycling. It recycles every leaf, branch, berry, and bush. It does this quite simply. All the organic and living matter in the forest decomposes into compost which feeds the existing plants (and some animals!).

In the forest, when leaves fall from the trees, they all gather on the forest floor. In storms, branches may fall, as well as entire trees. This creates layers of organic matter on the forest floor. Eventually it rains adding fuel to the mixture. The rain aids the microbes that begin to eat the organic matter, eventually turning it into the rich, thick carpet you see on the forest floor. This compost feeds the living trees and other plants providing nutrients that rival the best fertilizers.

You can emulate the forest by creating your own compost. Avoid store bought compost, especially those made from manure. There’s nothing natural about spreading rotted and decomposed cow feces on your lawn or garden. It’s actually pretty gross! Especially considering the number of chemicals and steroids that are given to cattle and cows in the United States. If you must purchase or acquire compost from somewhere else, call your local municipal office. Many municipalities have their own composting facilities and they give away the compost to their residents for free! In our township, for example, all the leaves that are gathered in the fall from the local streets, are mulched up and composted in a huge field. In a year or two, once the leaves have thoroughly composted, we are permitted to haul away as much compost as we like! The only catch is that we must load it ourselves, but this is a small price to pay for free, organic mulch.

About the Author

Dean Novosat is an avid gardener and landscaper. He has transformed many boring yards into beautiful landscapes. He has several websites including http://www.the-garden-doctor.com " target="_blank"> http://www.the-garden-doctor.com and http://www.dr-landscape.com " target="_blank"> http://www.dr-landscape.com.

Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. How To Save Your Fruit Tree Blossoms From A Spring Freeze.
  2. Planting Roses - Tips And Ideas To Ensure Beautiful Results
  3. Helpful Ideas For Designing A Flower Garden
  4. Fertilizing Your Flowers And The Importance Of Choosing The Right Flower Food
  5. Choosing The Perfect Flowers For Summer
  6. The Best Flowers For Spring
  7. The Great History Of Roses
  8. How to choose your garden furniture and make it last
  9. Garden Leaf Blower Maintenance
  10. Garden Composting Tips- The Art of Composting
  11. Types Of Lawn Mower Batteries
  12. Mulching Benefits / Organic And Inorganic Mulch Types
  13. Soil Basics - Creating Fertile, Healthy Soil
  14. Everyone Needs A Spaghetti Garden
  15. Fall Planting
  16. Soil PH And Its Effect On Your Garden
  17. Caring For Christmas Trees
  18. It's Time To Select Your Snow Blower
  19. How to make your landscape look good.
  20. Introduction to bonsai tree growing: an overview
  21. How to Grow Wildflowers
  22. Make Your Fresh Cut Roses Last Longer!
  23. Bonsai Soil And Additives
  24. Tips For Buying Lawn Tractors
  25. Gifts for the Gardener
More related feeds
A Compost Primer
Most gardeners and landscapers will agree almost unanimously that the single best thing you can do for your lawn is to add compost. Good, organic compost can remedy almost any problem you have with your soil. If you soil is too acidic, ...

A Composting Primer (or Confession)
We have two spaces for composting at our house. At the back of our lot along the tree line we stacked concrete blocks to form a square. We built that when we first moved into our house and for years have been throwing all kitchen scraps ...

Why Compost?
An easy-to-understand primer on landfills on the US Department of Energy’s Energy Kids site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/landfiller.html. The EPA on composting’s environmental benefits: ...

WEEK 9: Compost, Irrigation, & Rainbarrels - OH MY!
LABOR: J. began to attack the crown molding with hand-sanding and white primer (more on that later); M. continued working on the sink-side kitchen, focusing on power and plumbing issues, namely that we needed to run water to our fridge ...

SOIL & COMPOST GENERAL INFORMATION
Several publications address fertilization and composting specifically for organic production. Soil management can also play an important role in protecting water quality, and additional resources are listed on that topic. ...

Azpeitia produce el primer 'compost' a partir de alimentos en Euskadi
La planta de compostaje de Lapatx, en Azpeitia, está en plena fase de elaboración del primer compost orgánico de Euskadi, logrado únicamente a partir de los restos de alimentos no cocinados. En marcha desde junio pasado, ...

Find Spring Lawn Tip care
Collect leaves and place them in a compost pile for future use. Spring Care Lawn Tip 3: Keep your lawn looking healthy and vibrant at all times. -Always check the phosphorus level of your yard soil and see to it that your applications ...

Off the Record: a New York City Gardening Primer
Bring along your kitchen scraps and drop it off at the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s stand, and while you’re at it pick up a bag of ‘black gold’ (worm casting compost) for only 50 cents a pound. Then decide on home baked garlic ...

Week 25--Reduce Your Garbage
You can get a free or low-cost composting bin from your local state university's co-op extension program, your municipality's recycling facility or on Freecycle (like I did). Here is a composting primer: First, you can throw any organic ...

Pregunta sobre compost y similares
Primer paso: enterarme de qué software de foro podía yo usar en el alojamiento que tengo en http://www.imagina-canarias.org, y encontrar a una o dos personas que sepan para que me ayuden a configurarlo y todo eso (imagina.canarias en ...

 


 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved