‘Tis the season of spring, which means that you’re going to be planting new varieties of flowers and vegetable plants. You’re also going to have to assess your landscaping and find out which plants survived, didn’t survive or are somwhere in between. For those plants that are in limbo, you can try to richen the soil with your fresh compost and attempt to bring them back to life. With a little tender, love and care you might be surprised to see your shrubs or bushes bounce back.

Use your compost to start your herb garden or vegetable garden. Designate your garden area and till in your compost. This helps to prepare the soil, and it will add nutrients, minerals and moisture that the dry soil lacks. If you’re not planning on growing outdoors, you can use your compost in your indoor planters.

Making use of your compost can save you money. You might recall in years past having to pay hundreds of dollars for top quality soil. This might not have even counted the flowers you paid for. Stop paying high prices to beautify your yard, and rely on rich, homemade compost.

Any food scraps such as apple cores, vegetables, etc. as well as yard refuse (leaves, twigs and grass clippings) can be composted. After these materials break down in a bin, they can be used to enhance nutrient poor soil and encourage plant growth. Because the act of composting is so easy, it can also be turned into a fun family activity.

A compost bin should be layered with the following materials (coarse materials, soil, nitrogen rich fertilizer, organic material, soil and nitrogen rich fertilizer). Once the contents are in place, it’s beneficial to monitor certain aspects of the bin.

Turning and mixing the compost bin two or more times per month provides oxygen to the materials and, in other words, aerates the bin. The increase of oxygen aids in helping the food and yard waste break down at a quicker rate.

Moisture can help or hurt a compost bin, because if it’s too soggy, it will prevent the transformation from occurring. Another way to ensure the compost process is successful is to add materials that are small in size. Larger pieces will take a longer time to decompose.

The last part of the compost you need to monitor is the temperature, because this dictates whether microbial activity is happening. For instance, if the temperature inside the bin is cool, the contents will not decompose as successfully as they would if it was warm. When measuring the temperature, it should be between 110 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and you should check it at the same spot every time.

Composting is as simple as throwing food into the garbage can. If you and your family can remember to throw excess scraps into the compost bin, you will have nutrient rich compost.

What is compost tea?

Compost tea is a liquid solution made by steeping compost in water, usually for a week or more. It is then used as a natural (and free) fertilizer to promote plant growth, and some say it also helps prevent plant diseases.

How to make compost tea

While you can buy fancy machines that are supposed to make really great tea, the basic process and is simple and can be done with nothing more than a bucket and some cheesecloth or some such for straining.

“Steep 1 part compost in 3 : 9 parts water, with optional additions of a handful of basalt-meal or granite-dust and seaweed powder, and stand at room temperature ( 20 – 25C°) for 3 – 24 days, with frequent stirring. Sieve through cheesecloth or a fine mesh screen.” ~ From the Wikipedia entry on compost tea

I grabbed a discarded bucket I found by a trail while walking the dogs and have my first batch of the season going now.

Now if you want to get fancy, you can also add some molasses and an aeration method and brew compost tea. This is supposed to be chock full of beneficial bacteria that will help prevent diseases in the soil and on the foliage of the plant. This is something I may try in the future.

What about you? Have you tried compost tea or are you thinking of it? What has been your experience?

Check out the company’s video to see how it works (in the second half, they go into their mole-shaped worm composter, which is kind of cute as well):

Alas, the piggy composter costs about $350 in the U.S., so if you’re trying to garden to save money, this wouldn’t be the least expensive way to get into composting (there are lots of plans on the Internet on how to build a basic composting system using little more than a few used wood pallets cadged from a local store). But if you’ve got the money to spare and are looking for ways to make gardening appealing to the kids, this could be an option.

RolyPig
(In the U.S., you can buy it at the NGA Garden Shop)