Composting according to Dictionary.com states as follows: (a mixture of various decaying organic substances, as dead leaves or manure, used for fertilizing soil).

Compost vegetable gardening is the natural decay of organic matter converting yard trimmings into a product that can then be returned back to your garden. The final result is a rich dark acrobatic soil through the process of decomposition. At this point, bacteria and other organisms feed on the material to break it down with the help of such creatures as earthworms eating the bacteria or decomposed material to create a perfect compost.

Compost vegetable gardening improves the quality of your soil. When added to your garden, the compost breaks up the hard clay type soils, helps sandy soils to retain the water and releases important nutrients that help your vegetables to grow into healthy plants.

Fallen leaves, pine needles, flowers, grass clippings and your remaining garden plants are all organic trimmings you use for your compost. It is not recommended using any trimmings that have been treated with herbicides and pesticides for your vegetable garden. Compost is also made up of kitchen food scraps such as vegetables and fruit pieces, eggshells, tea and coffee grounds and turns them into every nutrient your vegetable garden will ever need. It is not recommended to add any meat by products into your compost.

Compost vegetable gardening contains carbon and nitrogen. The leaves, straw and sawdust are high in carbon and the grass clippings, manure and vegetable scraps are high in nitrogen. This is often referred to as “greens and browns”. Greens as in grass clippings are high in nitrogen and the browns such as the leaves or sawdust are high in carbon.

Composting needs the right amount of greens and browns to break down quicker. If you were to take sawdust alone and expect it to decay, it could take years. But if you were to add greens such as grass clippings or food scraps, it would decay more quickly and produce compost in much less time. You need to just experiment with compost to learn what works and what doesn’t.

Your compost is finished when the original material has broken down into a dark crumbly product. There may be some woody chunks remaining, but can easily be screened out and returned to another pile of compost. It is a good idea to stop adding to your compost pile once it gets to optimal size and let it continue to decompose while starting a new pile.

Adding the compost to your garden is done in different ways. One of the ways is adding about 6 inches the compost to your garden in the fall, watering it good and covering with burlap sacks to hold in the moisture to allow it to continue to decompose until spring. Another great way is by adding your decomposed compost to your garden in the spring and tilling it into your garden soil or you can hand till it gently into the top 6 inches of the soil. Allow it to sit for a few days before planting.

There is no right way or wrong way to learn how to compost. You will gain knowledge to what works best for you by experimenting with the organic matter. You can alter the process to suit your needs to find out what best works in your home situation.

The definition of raised bed gardening from Wikipedia states:

Raised bed gardening is a form of gardening which the soil is formed in 3–4 foot (1.0–1.2 m) wide beds, which can be of any length or shape. The soil is raised above the surrounding soil (6 inches to waist high), sometimes enclosed by a frame generally made of wood, rock, or concrete blocks, and enriched with compost.

Building a raised garden bed in early spring ensures the gardeners can plant earlier then the traditional in ground garden. With the raised bed gardening, soil dries and warms up quicker in the springtime allowing earlier planting. Word of caution, beds should only be as wide as can be so you can easily work from both sides.

To reduce soil compaction is to reduce foot traffic on the beds themselves. Make the beds narrow so that the center of each bed can be planted, weeded and watered from the footpath next to the bed.

Preparing your raised garden bed with two to three inches of organic material mixed into the soil. Organic material may include compost, bark, leaves, manure, planting mis, sawdust, etc. By adding additional nitrogen also help the organic material to break down more efficiently.

Raised garden beds require closer attention to the moisture of the soil. Be extremely careful to not overwater your beds or to allow them to dry out, as they will dry out quicker then in ground gardens. However, raised garden beds are smaller in size then your traditional gardens, making them much easier to maintain.

The idea of  planting your vegetables in raised beds at higher densities, spaced far enough to not overcrowd but close enough to block out weeds, will lesson the labor you have in the garden. The better the root growth, the deeper soils mean more production per square foot.

There are disadvantages with raised garden beds. The close proximity of the plants can promote plant diseases caused by reducing air circulations and allowing plants to remain damp for longer periods of time after watering. Air circulation is very important in raised beds. However, if you do have good air circulation, you need to be careful that your beds don’t dry out to fast by using soaker hoses or you can also add mulch to cut down on the time and amount of watering you do.

Raised garden beds are extremely easy to build. It doesn’t take much. Basically, you build an open top and bottom box in any shape you want it. Decide what you want to make your beds out of. Draw out your plans, measure your garden space and add the measurements into your drawing. By doing so, you will be able to determine how much material you will need.

Once you’ve gathered together all the materials you will need. You can simply nail or screw your beds together and they will increase in strength once you place the soil in the beds. Before you add the soil, it’s a good idea to put down a barrier first by using a piece of gardening plastic. By doing so, it will significantly reduce the amount of weeds that grow in your bed. Remember once you place your beds, it will be somewhat permanent, so make sure you have it in the best possible location.

BloodLust asked:


My mom loves gardening and little things in her yard to show off. What are good sites for gardening and yard statues or home decorations?