Don’t you just love compost?

Start with a mess -

One of the easiest jobs in the garden – making compost.

I received a compost bin several years ago when I attended a class by Lehigh/Northampton County Master Gardner’s. It was free with the class.

Penn State University Fact Sheet “Home Composting” provides all the details for making compost.

I don’t obsess about the process. I add plant clippings, weeds, vegetable scraps and coffee grounds. I’m not sure the bin ever gets hot enough to kill seeds so I try not to get weed seeds in there. I cut large stems into one or two inch pieces. It would take too long to decompose thick stems.

In fall we run over the fallen leaves with the mower. I fill the bin with the chopped leaves and save a pile to add all year. Every once in a while, I turn the top one third of the debris in the bin. I add water periodically.

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Before I had the bin, I made a pile in an out-of-the-way part of the garden. That worked just as well.

I spread the finished compost around plants. I don’t use much fertilizer - only a bit for the acid loving plants – azalea, hydrangea, rhododendron, etc - and sometimes some for the roses. Since I can’t make enough for the entire garden, I also get compost from the city recycling center. I get free mulch there too.

Over the years the garden soil has become rich and loamy – good for the garden, good for the environment, good for the gardener. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

- end with black gold.

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