Digging in the Dirt..and Composting

March is fast approaching.. and it's time to start thinking about preparing your flower beds and veggie patches for planting. I like to get a early start! As soon as it's possible to work my soil..I begin the preparation process. Here in Indiana we have experienced a very wet snowy winter..Hence the ground is extremely saturated..not so great at this point for tilling or working the soil..We have had a couple very sunny windy days, which has helped alot to dry things out. Anyone who lives in Indiana knows Spring is typically very wet..sometimes to wet!! At times I feel like I'm rolling the dice or playing the waiting game when it comes to picking the right time to prepare by beds. Picture this...you've been waiting all week for the rain to stop..finally it does then your blessed with a few sunny days and you think, "Finally I can till my beds". Then Bamm!! The day that was supposed to be sunny..isn't..It then rains and you have to start the whole waiting process over again. The running joke here is "Wait a few minutes and the weather will change". You just never know.. one day it can be 75 and sunny the next its 25 with a chance of snow..strange..But we are accustomed to Mother Nature's shenanigans!! It's been mid to late April some years before I'm even able to get a cabbage plant in.. Hopefully this year, if the weather cooperates I will have them in much sooner. Usually when I am able to work my beds I get out there in the morning and pull up any straggler weeds and rake up the yard waste that's been deposited throughout the fall and winter..This is my first step. I then move on to phase two..which entails cultivating the soil. Sometimes I can hoe up flower beds my self and they are just right for planting. Other times especially with the larger vegetable beds I have to end up tilling.. Many folks add compost to their flower beds.

Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments, and you can use it instead of commercial fertilizers. Best of all, compost is cheap. You can make it without spending a cent. Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil’s water-holding capacity.
Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants. The organic matter provided in compost provides food for microorganisms, which keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.Most gardeners have long understood the value of this rich, dark, earthy material in improving the soil and creating a healthful environment for plants. So how do you actually produce compost? And when do you apply it?

I'd like to try one of these "homemade" pallet compost bins!!

Don’t throw away your kitchen scraps — add them to the compost pile. Kitchen scraps are typically high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are all outstanding materials to add.If you’re composting with a compost pile, bigger is often better. Heat builds up with a big pile. You don’t want to get much bigger than about 3 feet by 3 feet though.Keep your compost aerated! If you are composting with a tumbling composter, make sure you turn it whenever you add new materials. If you are composting with a pile, or in a static (non-tumbling) compost bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down effectively. I usually use a pitch fork to turn mine a few times a week. Also you can make your own compost bin..pictured above or you can buy one from places like Home Depot or Lowes. Don’t let the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active.Don’t keep your compost too wet so that it gets soggy and starts to stink. Just as too dry is bad, too wet is also something that you should avoid. We're trying to find a happy medium here!Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. In general, it’s good to keep a mix of green and brown material. Some great things to add to your pile include, grass clipping, pine needles, leaves, wood ash, spoiled straw, manure,and kitchen waste. A note on Manure..careful!!

Manure is one of the finest materials you can add to any compost pile. It contains large amounts of both nitrogen and beneficial microbes. Manure for composting can come from bats, sheep, ducks, pigs, goats, cows, pigeons, and any other vegetarian animal. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid manure from carnivores, as it can contain dangerous pathogens. Most manures are considered “hot” when fresh, meaning it is so rich in nutrients that it can burn the tender roots of young plants or overheat a compost pile, killing off earthworms and friendly bacteria. If left to age a little, however, these materials are fine to use.
Manure is easier to transport and safer to use if it is rotted, aged, or composted before it’s used. Layer manure with carbon-rich brown materials such as straw or leaves to keep your pile in balance.
One inch thick is enough to spread on your garden beds. Compost continues to decompose, so eventually the percentage of organic matter in the soil begins to decline. In northern climates, compost is mostly decomposed after two years in the soil. In southern climates, it disappears even faster and should be replenished every year.

To bolster poor soil with little organic matter, spread 2 to 3 inches of compost over a newly dug surface. Then work the compost into the top 6 inches of earth.
A garden soil that has been well mulched and amended periodically requires only about a ½ inch layer of compost yearly to maintain its quality.
Some people recommend late fall as a good time to spread compost over a garden bed, and cover it with a winter mulch, such as chopped leaves. By spring, soil organisms will have worked the compost into the soil. Others recommend spreading compost two weeks before planting time in the spring. There is really no wrong time to spread it. The benefits remain the same.
Composting is a very "Organic" way to go in "feeding" and "correcting " your soil, this year I'm going to try and be more diligent in the upkeep and care of my compost bin. I am the queen of miracle grow..soooo it's a fresh start!! Not that I'm completely giving up my blue plant crack!! LOL