Organic in The Garden – Manure, Grass Hay and Lawn Clippings – 5 Steps to the Ultimate Compost

No organic garden is complete without a couple of compost heaps. It is the most valuable nutrient and soil conditioner for all aspects of a garden environment. From the backyard vegetable patch to the formal front yard with neatly clipped Box hedges and weeping ornamentals.

Compost should be made using 2 separate and uniquely individual methods:

  1. Traditional Compost is made using organic matter from around the yard. Traditional compost should not include household or food scraps as these are likely to increase pests, vermin, flies and disease into the heap.
  2. Household and food scraps should be used as feed in a worm farm where they will be turned into quality food for all yard and houseplants in the form of worm castings or vermicast.

Traditional compost will typically include a mixture of green and brown matter. Green from grass clippings and old seed free weeds will provide Nitrogen and heat to the compost while the brown from old leaves, grass hay or pea straw will provide carbon, aeration and a home for beneficial insects in the heap.

The best and most freely available ingredients for a traditional compost are manure, Grass Hay and Lawn Clippings. These can be collected from within your own property, neighbour, family or friends (best) or from a local garden centre (next best).

Now to put these ingredients to work. 5 steps to the ultimate compost:

Step 1
Compost should start with a fluffy layer of grass hay to aid in drainage from the base of the heap. Place hay around 30 cm (12 inches) thick but avoid manual compaction – the future layers will be sufficient compaction.

Step 2
Add about 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) of fresh green lawn clippings to the heap. This could be one or several standard “catchers” full depending on the size of the heap.

Step 3
Manure should be added to this at around the same thickness as the lawn clippings. I find rabbit manure is the best but this can be substituted for sheep or cattle manure. Keeping your own rabbits is a good way of maintaining an ongoing supply of manure for your compost or as a direct feed or soil conditioner.

Step 4
Add another fluffy layer of grass hay on top of this and repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 until the heap (or bin) is at the desired height.

Step 5
When the heap has shrunk to around half its original size it may be ready to use for some applications such as mulching leaf vegetables. If being used as a soil conditioner prior to planting, now would be a good time to turn and aerate the heap.

Using a bin is a personal choice but you could just as easily build a heap on its own or within a wire cage for support.

July 17, 2010  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Composting

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