4 Common Composting Mistakes

It's summer and my compost is in full-swing! Is yours? Organic gardeners know that compost is good for your garden because it adds vital nutrients to the soil, thus helping build disease-resistant soil and plants that thrive. However, instead of buying bags of pre-made compost every year at the gardening store, you might want to make your own. It's much more economical, and helps your garden be more sustainable - the waste from last year's garden can feed this year's.

Making your own compost is not hard, especially if you know ahead of time what the common composting mistakes are and avoid them.

1.  Adding the wrong thing.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are lots of things you can add to your bin that will break down into wonderful "black gold", but there are some you should avoid for a variety of reasons. Some will attract critters or won't decompose at a decent speed. Large tree branches or chunks of wood are better left out of the pile. The same goes for treated wood. You should also avoid adding meat, bones, animal remains, animal feces, fatty foods from your table, pernicious weeds or weeds with seed heads.

2. Not having an appropriate mix ratio.

Creating your compost pile doesn't have to be an exact science, but you should have your green waste and brown waste ratios in the ballpark. A good rule of thumb is layering brown, then soil, green, then soil, and repeat. If you'd like to do it in a casual manner - whenever you take out a load of vegetable scraps, throw some of your shredded paper or dead leaves on top and then a shovel-full of dirt.

3. Failing to break up big items or dead leaves.

Your compost pile needs to breathe. When you add dead leaves, they tend to mat down making for a dense pile that's especially hard to turn. Mulch them with your lawnmower or with your weed eater first and then add. Also, the bigger the item, the longer it takes for it to decompose. Clip your big stuff down to size. This also makes it easier to turn everything.

(Photo credit: normanack)

4. Not managing your compost.

Of course you can throw the ingredients into the bin and do nothing. Eventually it will break down into some semblance of what you want, but it will take a lot longer. Make a point of watering the mix when it's dry, to the point of just barely damp, and turn it often. The more you turn it, the faster it heats up and the faster it decomposes.

Making your own compost is not hard once you get started. Start collecting your acceptable kitchen scraps, rake up and shred your dead leaves lawn clippings, and start layering. Manage your compost by keeping it damp and turning it often and you'll be amazed at what you end up with! Plus your garden will thank you - and so will your pocketbook.

Compost Tumblers Make It Easy to Manage Your Compost:
     

Answers to Your Organic Gardening Questions

Whether you've just made the decision to garden organically or you've been at it a little while, you no doubt have questions. Organic gardening does require a little more effort, but the end results will be worth it. The following are popular questions often asked by new organic gardeners, and their answers:

1. What is organic gardening?

There are many definitions, depending on who you ask, but boiled down it means growing plants without the help of synthetics - synthetic herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers.

2. Why should I plant a cover crop?

Cover crops are also thought of as green manure; that's because when they're finished, they can be tilled into the soil, like compost, and will enrich the soil with nitrogen.

Planting a cover crop may be better than leaving a garden plot empty not just because of the green manure outcome, but also because a cover crop helps keep the topsoil from blowing away in the wind. In addition, you can eat some of the products of these crops, think peas or beans, and also the roots help break up hard-packed soil.

3. What are the greens and browns I need in my compost bin?

 (Photo credit: Joi)

Greens and browns are not really referring to the color of the waste you put in your compost bin. Greens refer to nitrogens and include items such as grass clippings, vegetable peelings, manure. Browns are higher in carbon and mulch, leaves and small twigs are classified as browns.

One way you can tell the difference is to think about whether the item will start to stink after a few days sitting by itself. If so, it's a green.

4. How do I get rid of aphids on my tomato plants?

Make up a spray, either Tomato Leaf spray or Oil and Soap spray, and apply it to both sides of the affected leaves. You can find recipes for these sprays by doing an Internet search. You'll notice they use common household ingredients. Otherwise, you can buy commercial products that have organic ingredients.

5. Can I get rid of weeds organically?

Yes you can. The most obvious method is pulling the weeds out by the roots. If that option does not appeal to you, then try household vinegar in a spray bottle, being careful not to get it on your plants or grass. Additional applications may be necessary. Other options are to pour boiling water on the weeds or burn them with a wand made for that purpose.

6. So why are worms a good thing to have in my soil?

Worms produce castings that are sometimes called "black gold". To capitalize on these little wigglers, you can set them up in worm bins and feed them your organic waste. What comes out the other end is a nutrient-rich addition that will build up your soil.

No doubt, starting an organic garden will mean you have questions. Finding ways to assist Mother Nature naturally can give you the greatest reward - a healthy garden with beautiful plants and good-for-you vegetables!

How to Build Raised Vegetable Garden Beds

There are many benefits to using raised vegetable garden beds in your garden.

For starters, elevated garden beds are easier on your back and knees because they require less bending, kneeling and crawling than regular beds.  In addition, raised garden beds offer better drainage, which means your plants aren’t stuck sitting in excess water every time it rains. Plus, it is much easier to build your soil UP than it is to work amendments into the ground.  

Fortunately, building raised vegetable beds is a super easy do-it-yourself project. All you need are some readily available tools and materials, and an extra pair of hands.

How to Build Raised Vegetable Garden Beds

(Photo credit: angela n.)

Tools and Materials: 
 (makes two 8’ x 4’ x 6” high beds)

• (6) 1” x 6” x 8’ cedar boards* – 2 boards cut into 4’ sections
• Wood screws and/or 8 metal corner brackets 
• Power drill

Important Note: Cedar is naturally insect and moisture resistant, so it tends to hold up well in outdoor environments. Avoid using pressure treated lumber for your food growing areas because the chemicals used to create them can leach into your soil.

*Cedar boards come in a variety of lengths and widths. Obviously, using 6” wide boards will give you more shallow beds than 10” boards. Choose whichever length and width combination you prefer. If you find 4’ beds are too wide, simply reduce the length of each shorter section to 3’ – 3.5’.

Instructions:

To assemble your raised vegetable garden beds, line the ends of an 8’ foot section and a 4’ sections up so they form an “L” shape. While your helper holds the boards in place, secure the two boards together with wood screws or with the metal corner brackets. 

Repeat this process with the remaining cedar boards until you create 2 wooden rectangles, each measuring 8’ in length by 4’ in width.

Once your beds are assembled, carry them a sunny spot in your garden and place them where you want your raised beds before you begin filling them.

Raised bed of lettuce, tomatoes, 6 different types of basil, marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Filling Your Vegetable Garden Beds

Of course, you can fill each bed with pre-packaged gardening mix, but you may find that gets a bit pricey. You can also create your own more cost-effective planting medium very easily.

Start by adding a thick layer of newspaper or flattened cardboard across the bottom of your raised garden box. This will help prevent weeds and grass from growing up into your planter. Then, add alternating layers of peat moss, compost, aged manure or barn litter, and topsoil.

You can add additional amendments, such as bone meal or a slow-release organic fertilizer, once you decide which plants you want to grow in each bed and you’ve conducted soil tests to determine what nutrients your soil needs to accommodate those plants.

If you prepare and fill your raised beds in the fall, simply cover them with dark plastic to “cook down” all winter.  You will be rewarded with beautiful rich soil in the spring, but it will be quite a bit lower than you remember – so be extra generous when filling the beds.

If you assemble your raised vegetable garden beds in the spring, you can plant right into the layered mixture. Over time, the layers will break down to form a rich soil. In the near term, your plants will do just fine in it as long as you don’t use fresh compost, manure or barn litter, all of which can “burn” your plants.

As you can see, learning how to build raised vegetable garden beds isn’t difficult. If you follow these easy instructions, you can look forward to years of more rewarding and efficient gardening!

Note: If you don't want to build your own, you can also buy raised-bed gardening kits:
     

3 Must-Know Vegetable Gardening Tips

Welcome back!  We're back from vacation - it sure is good to see how much the garden has grown! How is your garden coming along this summer?

Few things in life compare to the simple pleasure of biting into a freshly picked tomato while it is still warm from the summer sun! When you grow your own vegetable garden, you can experience this little piece of heaven all season long.

However, growing an abundant supply of fresh vegetables year after year takes some practice - especially for organic gardeners. For most people, becoming a consistently successful vegetable gardener comes after years of hands-on experience. However, you can shorten your own learning curve by adopting some tried-and-true vegetable gardening tips from the pros.

Here Are 3 Vegetable Gardening Tips You Need to Know:

Tip #1: Amend Your Soil. 

Compost. (Photo credit: wisemandarine)

Few gardeners are blessed with an abundant supply of beautiful, rich topsoil. Depending on where you live, you may find yourself struggling with heavy clay, rocky, sandy or other less-than-ideal soil conditions.

Each of these soil types presents different challenges ranging from retaining too much water (or not enough) to being devoid of the essential nutrients plants need to survive and thrive. For example, if you have heavy clay soil and you just dig a hole in the ground and drop a plant into it, chances are good that plant won’t make it. The heavy clay around your plant will act like a bathtub whenever it rains, which means your plant will be forced to sit in a pool of water with nowhere to drain.

So your first step will be to identify the type of soil you have so you can take the appropriate steps to amend it. Once you know what you are dealing with, you’ll be able to determine which specific amendments are needed to make your type of soil a hospitable place for your vegetable garden. Be sure to choose organic and naturally occurring substances to keep your veggies chemical-free and healthy for you to eat!

Cucumber plant climbing up the trellis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tip #2: Grow UP.  

Whenever possible, make sure you take advantage of vertical space in your garden by utilizing fences, trellises, and other structures to keep your plants off the ground.

There are many advantages to growing your vegetables vertically. For starters, you can grow more food in a smaller area, which is great for urban gardens or those with limited growing space. Plus, growing vegetables on structural supports makes harvesting and weeding around your plants a lot easier. This is especially true for older individuals or those with other physical restrictions because less bending and stretching is required to perform these tasks.

Growing vertically benefits your vegetable plants, too.  Raising the plants off the ground leads to better air circulation around them, which is associated with fewer fungal infections and pest infestations.

Tip #3: Give Your Plants Some Friends. 

Companion planting is a smart way to increase the yield of your vegetable garden, and is a common practice among most organic and sustainable gardeners.  Learning which plants work well together is an important step towards maximizing the efficiency of your vegetable garden.

Companion planting of carrots and onions (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some plants are particularly beneficial to one another, so it makes sense to group these plants together in your garden. These beneficial plant combinations may add needed nutrients to the soil, deter unwanted pests or attract beneficial insects into your garden.

You may have heard how Native Americans planted “the three sisters” – maize (corn), beans and squash – together because each plant benefited the others in some way.  For example, the corn stalks provided structure for the beans to grow upon, while the squash provided an effective weed barrier as it spread out along the ground.

Vegetable gardening is an acquired skill that evolves over time. However, applying these 3 must-know vegetable gardening tips will lessen your learning curve significantly.