As fall harvesting ramps up, it’s the right time to reflect on our gardening successes and failures as we look ahead to boosting the backyard garden’s performance level next season. We have a gardening-pro secret, a magic soil approach to solve those production problems: composting-it’s ridiculously simple and equally rewarding. Nick, Cindy & Nicholas Davis with RE/MAX Premier Group have a list of all you need to know to master the art of the compost pile.
Feel You’re Prepared to Compost? Let’s Talk Dirty
The Ideal Compost Recipe
You’ve heard compost buzzwords like “activator,” “aeration” or “carbon and nitrogen”-it can start to sound like a complicated science project. Start your pile with three essential components: carbon-heavy elements, nitrogen-heavy elements and moisture.
Carbon-heavy elements include wood, shredded cardboard and newspaper, sawdust, woodchips, straw, pine needles and shredded leaves.
Nitrogen-heavy elements like coffee grounds and filters, food scraps, manure and grass clippings, ideally outweigh the carbon-heavy elements.
The brown to green ratio should favor the brown or carbon components. Moisture is essential; don’t forget to water the pile if the food scraps don’t provide enough moisture or rain to naturally keep it damp.
Subdue the Stink and Critters
Some homeowners never consider creating a compost pile for worry of the stink as well as the pests that it may attract. Fear not-if you avoid spoiling the pile with certain elements, there’s no reason to be concerned about the stench. Moisture is key-if it’s too high the pile may start to stink, so water sparingly while increasing aeration by adding more brown components to the mix. Avoid composting meat and bone scraps because dogs, raccoons, rodents and flies will see it as an invitation to dig through the scraps. Exclude diseased plants, both garden plants and weeds, from the mix to prevent poisoning future plants that will grow in the soil.
Turn Baby, Turn
Aeration is so critical to the composting process. An occasional turn mixes thing up and keeps the soil decomposing. Turning is a task that you can do easier by purchasing a compost bin with a turning handle or on the simpler side, you can hand-turn the pile with a shovel to mix it up while adding more dry or wet, brown or green and carbon or nitrogen components to the pile. Add it to the chore chart and allow your kids take a turn-it will be educational and fun for them to watch the scraps that they’ve been adding to the bin break down into something brand new.
Bonus! Turning the Leaves
For homeowners with big yards, ’tis the season of leaf raking. Regardless of how much time you may spend raking, the trees just won’t cooperate. This year, turn those pesky leaves into a leaf-centric compost pile. Layer massive amounts of shredded leaves with manure to produce a vitamin-rich compost. You’ll thank the fall 2018 version of yourself come spring 2019.
Composting will probably be your easiest, and likely favorite, backyard experiment to date. If you’re searching for a new backyard to experiment in, you are in the right place. Nick, Cindy & Nicholas Davis are here to help get your home search started.
Have a questions or concern? Nick, Cindy & Nicholas Davis with RE/MAX Premier Group are here to assist you with all your Real Estate Needs. We are always available at 813-300-7116 to answer your questions or you can simply click here and we will be in touch with you shortly.
Ways Our Family Can Help Your Family
