How To Cheat At Gardening And Yard Work

How to Cheat at Gardening and Yard Work by Jeff Bredenberg

Author:Jeff Bredenberg [Jeff Bredenberg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781594869594
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2009-03-10T04:00:00+00:00

YOUR BACKYARD PILE:

GIVING NATURE A LITTLE NUDGE

As a cheat-at-gardening enthusiast, you're determined to pare unnecessary labor out of the composting process, right? So keep this crucial fact in mind: Compost happens just fine without your help whatsoever, says Colón. So why bother fretting over the right structure of compost bin, how often to turn your pile, and pouring on "accelerant" formulations to speed the process? Forget all of that. Wait for nature to take its course. Colón calls herself an "efficient" composter, "Which I spell l-a-z-y," she says.

Marvin Duren, owner of Marvin's Organic Gardens in Lebanon, Ohio, also is no fan of barrels, bins, and other structures intended to help composting. He believes that such devices require too much work. His approach to composting: Just find a spot in the yard and start piling your compostable materials there. It might seem counterintuitive, but Duren recommends including in your compost pile a layer of bulky limbs and brush. This will allow air circulation through your pile to help the rotting process along.

Duren favors composting with a minimum amount of equipment and a minimum amount of work on your part. "The organisms are the ones doing the work," he points out.

Make it convenient. Where's the best place in the yard to establish your compost pile? Your No. 1 priority should be to find a spot that's extremely convenient, says Colón. Likely candidates: a screened-off corner near the garage or next to the garden, or a closed bin next to garbage cans, or outside the kitchen door. The harder your compost pile is to get to, the more often you will find excuses not to carry new material to it. Eventually, you will abandon the project. Otherwise, consider the needs of the organisms that do the actual work of composting—they need moisture but not sopping wetness, so a low spot in the yard that puddles up frequently won't do.

Gardening author Danaan agrees that convenience is the top priority. For her, composting is an informal, throw-everything-into-a-pile process. (She once inherited a compost bin made from wooden pallets, but found that the structure made the finished compost hard to get to.) Her structureless compost pile is right next to her garden, so it's very easy to shovel the spoils right onto the garden soil. "It's not pretty, but I don't mind it," Danaan says. "Frankly, I'm a lazy gardener." Bottom line: It works!

Try compost the lazy way. Here's a really easy way to make compost. Fill a wire bin with leaves, grass clippings, weeds you've pulled that haven't yet gone to seed, and other plant debris, dust with bone meal, and moisten with a hose until the stuff is as wet as a wrung-out sponge (in other words, moist but not dripping wet). Wet down the pile when it gets dry, but otherwise leave it alone. In a year or so, you'll have compost!

A pile is the easiest way of all. Compost happens. It's as simple as that. If you do nothing but throw your

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