What Does It Take to Make Compost?

The good news is that anybody can make compost. Actually, compost will make itself without anybody. Consider a maple tree near a fence line. Each year it sheds its leaves, and some of those leaves are blown against the fence where they pile up. In time, the bottom layer of those leaves is no longer recognizable as leaves, but transformed into a dark, sweet-smelling, crumbly soil.
All organic matter rots. You can speed up the process by combining different types of matter, ventilating the mix to add oxygen, and keeping it moist. When you control the circumstances, the process speeds up considerably. You can make compost in weeks, not years.

In terms of composting, gardeners consider organic matter primarily a carbon-based material or a nitrogen-based material. Microbes burn approximately one part of nitrogen for every twenty-five parts of carbon they digest. So you need at least one part of nitrogen material for every twenty-five parts of carbon material. More nitrogen material is fine if you have it. Materials high in nitrogen, such as alfalfa meal, blood meal, or urea, act as pile activators by jump-starting the microbes into action. Which materials are nitrogen and which are carbon? In general the easiest way to tell is that materials higher in nitrogen are green and those higher in carbon are brown. Other ingredients add phosphorus, potassium, and trace minerals. Egg shells, wood ashes, banana skins, melon rinds, orange peels, stale bread, apple peels, potato skins, pea pods, and tea leaves are great for composting.

There are a few things that, although they are organic matter, do not belong in a garden compost pile. Leave the following out of the compost pile:

• Weeds that have gone to seed. The seeds may survive.
• Obviously diseased or insect-infested material.
• Any meat, grease, or fat. It stinks and attracts vermin.
• Cat and dog feces, which may transfer parasites to the garden.
• Grass clippings or weeds that have been treated with weed killers. Chemicals may persist and poison the garden.
• Pine needles or large branches. They don't harm the pile but take years to decompose.

Why Compost?

Let's answer this question not only from a frugal point of view, but from that of plant health and a healthy global environment as well. Yard and garden waste account for 17 percent of the trash that finds its way into our landfills. Kitchen waste makes up another 8 percent. Combined, kitchen and garden waste account for one quarter of all the garbage we throw out. By composting, you save money used to dispose of waste, including bags and cans, as well as your time spent collecting it. And the environment also wins. You also get the world's best free fertilizer, compost. Not a bad return.

What makes compost so great? It is very rich in nutrients derived from plant and animal matter. Unlike many store-bought soil amendments, it contains trace elements. Compost is rich in humus, and you remember that great stuff.
The process of composting helps purify the end result by killing many seeds and harmful organisms present in the raw ingredients. It's the closest thing gardeners have to spinning straw (and weeds and manure and eggshells and more!) into gold.

How to Fertilize Frugally

The method of application depends on the type of fertilizer. Sprinkle granules around the base of plants, scratch into the soil, and water thoroughly to dissolve. Shovel a layer of compost or manure over the soil at the base of the plants, and scratch in with a hoe. This method is called side-dressing.

You can apply some fertilizers, including compost and manure, in liquid solution. Apply liquid fertilizers either to the soil or leaves. This is called foliar feeding. Plants can absorb nutrients in solution through their leaves as well as their roots. In fact, they absorb them more quickly this way. Apply these products through a sprayer or dissolve in a watering can and apply by hand. The second option is cheaper, but takes longer.

Is it possible, you may ask, to apply compost or manure as a liquid? The answer is, yes, if you brew a batch of fabulous, free ''tea." Scoop some compost or manure into a bagtry using an old pillowcase, old pantyhose, gunnysack, flour sack, or any bag made of porous fabric. Tie off the top and set in a 5-gallon bucket. Use larger containers if you need more fertilizer. Fill the bucket with water to the top of the bag and let it sit for a day or two. Nutrients from the compost or manure leach into the water, which you then use to water your garden or to foliar feed.

For lawns, a spreader broadcasts fertilizer evenly over the surface of the grass, liquid fertilizer applicators that attach to your hose are also available. Either one is a fair investment. Fertilize woody landscape plants by broadcasting the product throughout the lawn and just outside the drip line. If landscape plants are growing through the lawn, however, punch holes with a soil probe or soil auger attached to an electric drill, and put the fertilizer into the holes. This prevents burning the grass with an overdose of nitrogen. Make the holes 1 to 2 inches across and about 8 inches deep, spaced about 2 feet apart. Avoid placing them close to tree trunks as this process could damage roots.