Compost is More than Organic, It's Natural!
What is the importance of compost in the garden? Compost is nature's way of adding nutrition to the soil for the plants, protecting surface roots, reducing water run off, retaining moisture and reducing methane gas in the landfill. Compost can be used to amend clay type soils and as top dressing instead of mulch or with a fine layer of mulch on top. Anyone can do it following a few simple steps.
Composting doesn't have to take a lot of your time, you can compost for a quick return or long term. Whatever works for your schedule and needs. It’s a natural decay process that produces a rich soil like humus. Compost won’t smell bad unless there are inappropriate waste materials added.
Not interested in regular compost maintenance? You can still get compost in time for spring by piling your vegetable and plant debris (I'll tell you how in a bit) in your compost bin. Let it pile up and do its thing over time and you’ll have some compost in spring. It will take about a year if not processed. A 3'x3'x3’ bin will give you about 6-9 cubic feet of usable compost in a year. You will need a minimum of 3’x3’x3’ bin and a maximum of 5’x5’x5’.
Interested in more compost? Then a bit of maintenance to regular maintenance will give you quicker results. Here's the skinny:
Turn and process your compost about 2-3 times and you will have compost in about 8 weeks. The standard is to turn it once a week and spray a bit of water for a return in 6-12 weeks. You want the pile to be layered with browns and green (more on that later) and reach a temperature of 158 degrees F. You can get a compost thermometer to determine when it is ready. After turning, you wait for it to build heat again and turn again until it is ready to use. Turning the pile adds oxygen, add some moisture with water, and nature will add the organisms. You will see earth worms, red worms and sow bugs in a short time. Bacteria, fungus, nematodes and other microbes will add to the decaying process. If you get ants, then it is too dry and you need to add more water.
My own compost is on the slow schedule. I really don’t have time to look after it. I pile in fruit and vegetable debris from the kitchen, flower tops from my hydrangeas, leaves and grass and chipped larger stuff. I even chip the branches from my Christmas tree each year. I process it in spring and fall and I get about a cubic yard of compost each year. I use it for my vegetable gardens, to amend my clay type soil when I plant a new plant, and I top dress plants that need a nutrient boost. Other than my acid loving plants, I try not to use store bought products to fertilize my yard. If you don't want to invest in a small chipper (about $100) you can still get results composting the smaller stuff.
So just what can you put in a compost bin? The objective is to layer “brown” and “green” waste. BROWN adds Carbon: fallen dried leaves, dead branches then broken into a few inches of bits or chipped, shredded paper (no glossy color ads that contain lead), toilet paper and paper towel tubes, shredded cardboard, paper egg cartons, saw dust, wood chips. GREEN adds Nitrogen: green leaves, grass clippings unless you leave them on the lawn, coffee grounds including the coffee filter, vegetable and fruit waste from the kitchen and garden, plant pruning broken down to bits, chicken manure. Dryer lint is ok if it is natural fibers and not synthetics, like cotton.
DO NOT add any dog or cat waste (possible parasites), meat & dairy products (attracts critters), wood ash, thorny plants, any plant that you don’t want to grow in your yard like poisonous plants such as Oleander or invasives such as Ivy and weed seeds, and nothing that has been treated with herbicide. Avoid adding diseased plant material so you don’t spread it to unaffected plants. Dog or cat fur from grooming is ok and if scattered in the yard in spring, the birds will use it to line their nests.
The Maintenance: turning with a pitch fork and mixing the layers a bit helps add needed oxygen. Grass clippings need to be mixed a bit when added to avoid matting. Add your produce debris from the kitchen as you acquire it. Potato peels, broccoli stems, banana peels, apple skins, artichoke leaves, trimmed lettuce leaves and so on. Leaves in fall are easy to process when they fall on a lawn and are mowed and instantly chipped and mixed with the grass clippings. Occasionally spray in some water to keep things moist. Adding green wastes will add moisture too. If it just isn't heating up or processing, you may need more green stuff.
Composting in Place: Leaving grass clippings on the lawn allows for those nutrients that were used to return to the soil. It provides Nitrogen to the soil, promotes deeper root growth, and encourages worm and nematode activity which help to aerate the soil naturally. Likewise when dead heading flowers and pruning leaves I leave them in the planters to compost at the site. I always remove anything that looks diseased to avoid spreading and contaminating other plants. Also avoid any piling of debris against plant stems and tree trunks.
You have rich brown compost, now what? For a new planting, mix in 4” of compost with existing soil. For annual amendment, top soil with ½ to 3” layer and mix in with the soil. It will add nutrients, microbes, help retain water and improve plant growth. Coarse compost (not like a fine soil yet) can be used to top dress your planting beds. Screened fine compost can be added to lawns, about a ½”. Compost can also be used on house plants and is great added to vegetable beds before new planting in Spring. See my post on vegetable gardens for more info.
Compost bin available through Santa Clara CountyTypes of bins: there are those shaped as cubes or have little domes these are all rodent ‘resistant’ due to the tops and no holes larger than ¼". You do have to keep them closed to keep critters out. Open piles or those contained by chicken wire etc., are accessible to rodents and have to be actively turned. If you keep an open pile you can only use yard trimmings and no food products. It is against the law to attract rodents. The more “active” your maintenance the less likely rodents will want to nest in your compost.
If your composting pile isn’t decaying you either don’t have enough moisture or too much brown material. A pile of branches will take a very long time to decompose.
If your compost pile smells bad then you have too many food scraps, or inappropriate food scraps like meat and dairy or it is too wet.
Worm composting bins for just food scraps is another method of composting. You will also need shredded paper for the ‘brown” part of the mix and add fresh produce waste buried into the existing decomposing mass.
The County of Santa Clara has a lot of info and they have low cost sales of compost bins and worm bins throughout the year often tied into a free workshop.
Vegetable Gardens
You can grow vegetables straight in the ground of your existing flower beds or raised beds and containers. Planting beds raised off the ground gives you a few advantages of not sitting on the ground when planting and maintaining and complete control over the soil composition. Even if you are a beginner and just want to try a tomato for the season you can have home grown ripe produce! Following are some tips to help you have a successful vegetable garden. Just remember, full sun, space to grow, good soil and regular water.
Seeds can grow very fast and add a drip system on a timer and you are good to go!
Vegetable Gardening Notes
Soil:
Using the existing clay can be a chore but it is do-able. Mix the tilled soil 50/50 with compost and manure mix and remove all the rock. A minimum of 12 inches deep, 18 inches is better especially if planting root or tuber vegetables. You may just want to plant tubers in a pot! The compost helps break up the dense particles of clay type soils.
Compost can be made or purchased and mixed with either chicken manure or bat guano. If purchasing the manure by the bag it should already be ‘aged’ and ready to use. If it is fresh, it will need to be aged by mixing with the compost and sitting for at least a week to cook and leach out the acids that will burn plants. Do not use cattle manure. It is too acidic and may contain many weed seeds. Rabbit manure is fine if aged as well.
Plant placement:
Placement of tall plants such as tomato, corn and pole beans need to be in a North location of the bed in order to not shade other plants. Tomatoes like a lot of heat, so next to a stucco or brick wall will add heat even after the sun sets.
Sprawling plants need support and it helps save space and prevents disease. Tomatoes, Pole beans, peas, cucumbers, squash, and so on. They can grow on an arbor too.
Mix long lived and short lived vegetables. Long lived tomatoes and peppers etc. and for example short are carrots, radishes, and lettuce. Every couple weeks or so add some fresh new seeds of short lived veggies to keep the crop going.
Air circulation helps prevent disease, so plant according to full grown size. Example a baby tomato next to young basil, the tomato will grow too big and overwhelm the basil which will not do well. Although next to carrots which will be harvested before the tomato is too big helps use space efficiently.
Cool vs Warm plants:
Generally the difference between cool and warm growing plants is if you eat the seeds or fruit it needs heat and is warm growing, such as beans and tomatoes, if you eat the plant itself like lettuce it is cool growing. There are a few exceptions such as sweet potatoes need the heat and peas prefer cooler weather. All can be planted in early spring after frost (usually mid March). Early fall for cool plants only.
Raised beds vs. Using the Existing Ground
Sunset Magazine June 2009The existing ground is already there but it may not be ready to use. Usually it contains rocks and at times roots of other plants that may need to be removed. Also if the soil isn’t well draining it will need to be dug up or tilled with compost and manure mix added. If the soil is a loose fluffy well drained soil without rocks, then it is ready to use. The best pH level is between 6.0 and 7.0. Simple do-it-yourself soil test kits are available at home improvement centers and nurseries.
Raised beds cost more up front but are less work if the soil needs a lot of help. Raised beds also give the gardener control of the height and can include a ‘bench’ to sit on the side and work in the bed easier. Raised beds can be used in conjunction with the existing soil to create a vertical design aesthetic. Plants climbing up arbors or tomatoes in cages can also add to the multi-dimensional look of the garden space.
If building raised beds from scratch do NOT use any pressure treated wood. This is made with arsenic or another toxic chemical and is not a good use with edibles.
Any framing lumber will do. Redwood may hold up longer but it isn’t necessary to pay the extra cost. A wood bed can last a decade easily. You could even use composite such as Trex. Making a bed from brick or stone is everlasting but also can not be relocated if needed and more expensive than wood. Deck screws are better than nails. The screws hold better than nails and deck screws are made to be rust resistant. Galvanized nails are also considered rust resistant but it is coated and not always reliable. There are many design options or you can do a simple constuction as mine is at the top of this post. One afternoon it was built, filled with new soil, planted and ready to grow! Note, the stain used to color and seal the wood was NOT applied to the interior of the bed, only exterior.
Sunset Magazine May 2005
Flowers in a Veggie Garden
Adding flowers to a vegetable garden has many benefits. It is visually appealing but also attracts pollinators and beneficial insects. Without the pollinators, many of the vegetables may have small harvests. Also, the flowers seem to be a magnet for harmful insects as well, it is better to sacrifice a nasturtium to the aphids than your vegetables! Some veggies can add color as well, many chard and kale have beautiful colors and peppers come in various shapes and colors as well. Tomatoes can even be yellow and eggplants have that deep purple color. Check my web links for Renee's Garden for interesting and heirloom seeds. Yamagami's Nursery in Cupertino also carries many interesting vegetables ready to plant.
Adding visual interest there are some perennial vegetables to consider, artichoke, asparagus, horseradish and rhubarb. These require a permanent location much like herbs such as sage, rosemary, lavender and thyme. Artichoke may die back midsummer, the space can be covered with annual cosmos which also brings color and pollinators. French Tarragon is not available by seed and is superior for culinary uses than Russian Tarragon. Yamagami's should carry it in spring. Herbs in the garden always attract more pollinators and can be grown with your ornamental plants in the landscape with other water wise plants. Just remember, full sun is just that and plants need at least 6 hours of sun.
Climacteric Fruit:- Continues to ripen after picking such as Apple, apricot, avocado, banana, fig, guava, kiwi, mango, some melon, nectarine, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple guava, plum, quince and tomato.
Non Climacteric- Don’t ripen further after picking such as Blackberry, blueberry, cherry, citrus, grape, olive, pineapple, pomegranate, raspberry and strawberry.
Espalier possibilities
Apple, apricot, cherry, citrus, currants, fig, grape, peach, nectarine, pear, persimmon, pineapple guava, pomegranate.
Nectarine, grape and peach form fruit on new wood. Prune carefully.
Blueberries are being used more in landscapes and are beautiful shrubs. They need hot afternoon shade and pH levels 4.5-5.5 just like azaleas and Japanese Maples. Use four varieties to lengthen the harvest period and you need at least two for good pollinization. Acidic organic matter can be purchased. Use pine needles or composted oak leaves for top dressing of mulch. Blueberry roots require a wide non-compacted well drained soil. The roots do not grow deep much like roses and need a wider area for growth. Check out my section on Blueberries for specifc plants that do well in mild winter climates such as California.
Poisonous plants to know about:
Oleander leaves and flowers, hyacinths bulbs, daffodil bulbs, castor bean, crocus, lily of the valley leaves and flowers, iris underground stems, foxglove leaves, bleeding heart foliage and roots, wisteria seeds and pods, azaleas all parts, , jasmine berries, yew berries and foliage, black locust tree bark, sprouts and foliage, morning glory, cytisus (or genista /scotch broom), delphinium, flame lily, lantana berries, horse chestnut, columbine, belladonna, oak acorns, passion flower leaves, Ligustrum (Privet) leaves and berries, sweat peas, sumac, Daphne berries, honeysuckle berries, calla leaves.
Also to know: tomato leaves and flowers, potato all green parts including potato if green, rhubarb leaves, Prunus species-cherry, plum, almond, peach- stems and leaves, elderberry roots, asparagus berries,
Poisonous to dogs and cats:
All bulbs, grapes, ferns, asparagus fern, cyclamen, kalanchoe, hydrangea, fox glove, morning glory, onion, tomato plant, dieffenbachia (house plant), heavenly bamboo, holly, oleander, rhododendron, sago palm, yucca, mistletoe, aloe, avocado, Japanese yew, schefflera (house plant), ivy, Easter lilies, lantana, chocolate, raw kidney beans, lima bean, garlic high doses, all lilies – attractive to cats
Euphorbia and poinsettia (euphorbia family) are not particularly toxic but can upset stomach and fluid can cause irritating rash.
So get out and try something simple such as a cherry tomato or bell peppers in a 18" wide pot, your success will inspire you to try more!
Resources: Sunset's Western Garden Book of Edibles, Rosalind Creasy's book Edible Landscaping, and my own personal experience gardening and growing up in the countryside. Check out my book list for great tips and inspiration for gardening and landscaping.