Landscaping Mississauga Gardens – composting

If the soil tests described in our last two blog entries show that you need to improve the soil, you can do so in two ways; by adding the missing chemical components or composting.

The best way to build a better soil is to work in lots of organic matter that can solve all sorts of soil problems, such as poor drainage, lack of earthworms, extreme pH levels, or low nutrients.  The best source of organic matter is compost pile, which allows you to recycle leaves, grass clippings, plant debris, and household food waste into a nutrient rich soil conditioner.  Follow the steps below to learn how to make a compost pile:

1.Build a compost pile from alternating lawyers of “wet” material (green plant matter, fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds) and dry plant debris.

2. Sprinkle wet lawyers with wood ashes (for potassium and to lower pH) or lime (to raise pH) and livestock manure, or blood meal (a slaughterhouse by-product), or garden soil.

3. Spray the compost pile with water until it is moist as a squeezed out sponge; later moisten the pile whenever it gets dried out.

4. Turn the compost once a week, moving material from the outer edges of the pile into the center; the compost is ready to use once it is dark brown and crumby.

Repeat every year. Adding compost to your soil every year will keep it in good shape for growing plants.