What is compost?
Anything that was once living can be composted. For the home gardener composting helps you recycle scraps from the kitchen and green waste from the garden.
Composting can be achieved several ways...
Cold composting (Anaerobic): in lidded bins is the slowest method but you can speed it up by using a compost aerator in the bin several times per week.
Hot composting (Aerobic): is achieved by creating a heap using the right ratios of nitrogen and carbon materials, water and aeration. Tumbler composting bins work a little like this.
Trench composting: if you can’t be bothered with any of the above, just burying your green kitchen waste in trenches in the garden is an option.
Compost as a fertiliser:
Compost isn’t quite the same as your general ready to purchase fertilisers, but it does have fertilising qualities.
Compost won’t have the same high percentages of macro and micro-nutrients that a bought bag of organic formulated fertiliser will, but it will have a certain amount of nutritional value and release these nutrients slowly over time.
Compost is even better as a general soil additive, but why?
Compost can be an environmentally friendly material which improves and enriches the soil structure by increasing the nutrient content in it.
Thanks to continued decomposition (after we get ‘almost finished compost’), it releases nutrients to the soil slowly and steadily, usually over a few years it improves the structure of sandy soils, helping it to retain moisture and improves the drainage of heavy clay soils.
Compost attracts earthworms, which live in and make tunnels while moving through the soil. Compost helps to raise the level of aeration and increases the moisture level in the soil thanks to the ability of water retention and improved drainage. Acting as a buffer for your plants by changing the pH levels of the soil, along with improving soil structure and stabilisation against erosion and drought.
Thanks to bacteria from compost, your plants will create antibodies and become more resistant to diseases. Adding compost improves the quality of your plants and makes them healthier.
And to top it all off, the process of composting will minimise the amount of waste coming from your home and garden. At Rocky Point you can buy ready to go compost with additional additives such as ActivGrow Soil Improver. This is a great option for those needing more compost than they can make or have the time to make.
Whether buying or making your own compost you can also make your own liquid compost by steeping a quantity in a bucket and straining it off and diluting it to the colour of weak tea. This liquid compost can be used as a foliar feed or applied at the roots.
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