4 EASY STEPS TO STARTING A COMPOST FOR YOUR VICTORY GARDEN

WHY COMPOST?

I love going to thrift stores. My favorite finds are taking someone’s discards and up-cycling them into my treasures. Composting is the ultimate up-cycle! What makes composting so amazing is that it’s easy and it is using stuff you plan on throwing away. 

I discovered the miracle of composting when we were living in base housing. My neighbor had a beautiful, lush, productive garden. My feeble attempts, right next door, was yielding sparse, sickly, yellow cucumbers and a barren vine that should have had tomatoes.So, I had to ask what her secret was.  I leaned in close to hear the gardening guru tell me, “I feed my dirt left-overs.,” Her secret ingredient wasn’t love- it was compost!

Even if you love the spontaneity of a Surprise Me garden (as I do!), healthy soil is essential.To have a bountiful garden, you must create a rich, nutritious home for your fruits and veggies. A great sustainable way to do this is through composting. Composting adds an abundant variety of nutrients that balances pH levels, prevents disease, and reduces draining problems in soil. 

To harness the superpowers of composting is easy. To compost, you trade your unwanted scraps – wait a bit; and then have rich, nutrient dense, loamy soil for your garden bed. (One man’s trash is a plant’s treasure!) Besides – an imbalanced, insubstantial soil may be the death of your garden’s potential.

So, let’s get started taking your apple cores, dog hair, eggshells and coffee grounds and put them to work -for you! 

STEP 1: WHERE TO PUT COMPOST

To begin, you’ll want at least 3 feet of space. This ensures the microorganisms have room to eat and reproduce with enough airflow.

If you choose an outdoor compost, ensure the area is dry and shaded. Your compost may be in a specified bin, or pile in an unbothered area. You may also consider placing it near a hose, or covering with a tarp, to maintain moisture.

If you live in an urban area, or have limited garden space, consider an indoor compost. Fear not! If you take proper care, you will avoid any pests or vile smells. I recommend using a container specifically for composting inside. You can find these containers at most home improvement stores. 

If you’d like to further ensure an odor-free, efficient compost: try adding worms! By letting worms take shelter in your compost, they will aid in feasting on your decomposing matter. This means, faster turnover and healthier compost! My husband made me one for Mother’s Day. (See my DIY blooper here).

I love having my compost touch the soil because it works so much faster. Whether you pile your compost outside, or use a composting container in your kitchen, is personal  preference. I say do what is most convenient for you (Psst-you can have more than one).

STEP 2: WHAT TO PUT IN COMPOST

Now that you’ve decided on where you store your compost, the fun begins- decomposition!. For a balanced compost, add a 1:1 ratio of organic matter, and water for moisture.

ORGANIC MATTER

Green material (Nitrogen) may include:

• Egg and nut shells
  
• Veggies and fruits
  
• Weeds and grass clippings
  
• Coffee grounds and tea bags
  
• Lint from your vacuum (including pet hair!)
  

Brown material (Carbon) may include:

• Dead leaves, sticks, and branches
  
• Paper and cardboard (ensure the majority is shredded)
  
• Napkins and paper towels
  
• Hay and straw
  
• Sawdust (avoid treated wood!)
  

Tip: Place brown material such as sticks and wood at the bottom of your pile. This will aid in producing oxygen, which you’ll read more on in Step 3!

Although you can add most scraps to your compost, you should avoid adding:

• Dairy product
  
• Sick plants or diseased organic matter
  
• Animal bones and meat
  
• Oil/fatty material
  

These products could upset your composts’ balance of nitrogen and carbon. And if it’s outdoors it will be more likely to have pests scrounge in it and have funky odors.

WATER

When adding water, make sure your compost feels spongy and moist. If the compost is too dry or too sludgy, it could slow down the whole process. (I say, trust yourself in this step, you’ll be able to sense the right amount).

Also, an appropriate water level is essential to caring for the little ones feasting on your compost. Too little or too much water could create poor environments for your worms and microbes. Remember, their health is essential to creating healthy, efficient compost. 

**Don’t forget water can be rainwater, water from your boiled vegetables and eggs, and even your fish tank water you’ve changed.

STEP 3: HOW TO CARE FOR COMPOST

AERATING AND TURNING

Now that you have a damp, balanced environment, it’s time to aerate your mixture.

Aerating is the process of turning your compost so your feeding organisms get fresh air. These living creatures use up oxygen rather fast, so be sure to aerate at least once a week. (It’s difficult to get fresh oxygen in a small, compacted space!)

This is where adding chunks of untreated wood to your compost could aid in oxygen production. Even without a weekly turning, your compost produces its own oxygen naturally. But, regularly aerating your mix will speed up decomposition. This means: faster and healthier compost for your soil!

To me, weekly turning is very therapeutic. It’s reassuring to see food scraps and garden clippings slowly turn into something reusable. It’s a great reminder of the Victory Garden’s humble beginnings and does amazing things for the environment, too! Compost increases nutrients, puts less things in the landfills, and gives us healthier soil- sounds like Victory to me!

STEP 4: ADDING COMPOST TO YOUR GARDEN

Fortunately, your compost will give you visual cues when it’s ready to use. This process could take anywhere from two weeks to a few months. When all organic matter has turned to dark, rich dirt – get out your gardening gloves! 

WHEN TO ADD COMPOST

Ideally, you’ll want to add your compost before your growing season. This means, if you grow during your region’s cool season, you’ll want to add compost one month beforehand. And since warm seasons overlap cold ones, you’ll want to prepare 1-2 months ahead for summer growth.

HOW MUCH COMPOST?

Though compost is very beneficial, adding too much can make your soil too phosphorus.

To add the right amount, I first consider the levels of organic matter in my soil. Just like compost, you’ll be able to tell your organic matter levels by simple observation.

If your soil is light-colored or looks sun bleached, it has low amounts of organic matter. Therefore, if it is dark in color, it has high amounts of organic matter. The more organic matter your soil has, the less your garden needs compost.

Use the following as a general guide:

• For low amounts of organic matter: Add approximately 4-6 inches of compost.
• For high amounts of organic matter: Add approximately 1-3 inches of compost.
  
• It’s also important to ensure your soil is ready to use, or else the decomposing material may release too much nitrogen. Balance and moderation works best for a happy, healthy Victory Garden.

METHODS FOR ADDING COMPOST

There are different techniques in how you can best add compost to your soil. No matter what method you decide, your garden will reap heaps of benefits from the composted material!

Sprinkling

If you’re already in the midst of your planting season, no problem! Consider sprinkling in compost on top of your sprouted garden. By spreading a small handful, you can add a boost of nutritious matter to your soil.

You may also add compost around your plants, and let it permeate through your routine watering.

Tilling

When preparing for your planting season, you may find benefit in tilling compost in your soil. However, if you have a compacted garden, you may want to first loosen your soil. A loose soil will allow moisture and nutrients to better reach germinating seeds.

To loosen your soil, dig into your soil at least 12 inches, and add a top layer of compost. After this, turn the compost under to a depth of 6-12 inches. This will allow a sustaining distribution of the compost’s nutrients.

THOUGHTS ON SUSTAINABILITY

By creating new purposes for our waste, we are making ourselves self-sufficient. The freedom of food security is very liberating. Not worrying about where our food comes from or even having plenty for the table and plenty to share makes you a very rich person. By composting you can take pride in your stewardship of the earth and actually repair damage that we have made intentionally or unintentionally- so easy and yet so miraculous. 

Composting is an easy way to create healthy gardens for our fruits and veggies to thrive in. We also may enrich and feed a few worms and microorganisms on the way, too. Sustainable gardening, repurposing, and leaving the earth better than we found which is the essence of the Victory Garden, as a whole.

Happy Planting-

DeeAnn – The Victory Garden Gal!

(with help from Brittany Haas)

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