Compost is much like mulch and looks similar to garden soil. It’s a completely decomposed type of organic growing material that is an awesome soil conditioner. It can be purchased in a store or you can make it yourself. Bin composters are available in your local garden store and are a great way to take advantage of kitchen scraps (no meats), grass and garden clippings.
Larger gardens might use larger piles or mixing bays that utilize a tractor with a bin bucket, to turn the piles, along with plenty of watering, to create faster decomposition of the mixture. Others with smaller gardens or greenhouses use tumbler bins that can be turned by hand, for smaller quantities (see picture).
Vermicomposting is quite the rage – – piles of incomplete material with worm and worm castings added. It is watered and turned often to decrease the time needed to make the compost viable for garden use. Here are more steps to follow: in raised, garden beds, spread a 2 – 4 inch layer of compost at the end of each growing season (you should have 2 -3 growing seasons yearly). Then cover the compost with an inch of mulch after the beds are planted, to hold moisture, protect plants, insulate the soil from excess cold and heat and finally, suppress weeds.
So what is mulch? It’s simply a mixture which can include leaves, straw, bark, grass clippings, pine needles and wood chips. Your plants will also need some fertilizer which we will go into in our next blog entitled “Red Bull for that Garden, Baby”.