Tough Love: Composting

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Since perennials live several years in the same spot, it’s important that they enjoy the proper growing conditions and composting. I know you already knew this, but I had to start my blog somehow!

Now, my mother believed in “survival of the fittest” – whatever fails to destroy you, makes you stronger. She carried this Tough Love philosophy into her flower gardens: no carefully applied soil amendments, no 24 hour surveillance for aphids or other pests, no irrigation system for her! Just dig a small hole in the rock hard clay soil, stick a plant in and let the thing fend for itself. She did love her “flowers” and strangely enough, they thrived.

I hate to admit this, but her garden did better than mine and I really tried hard to be a good gardener. I talked to my plants, I watered them, I felt like a failure.

Now, a good garden needs five “Rights”: Right Place, Right Sun, Right Water, Right Plant and the Right Soil. The last Right was the one I always got Wrong! It took me a long time to realize that just because my Mom could grow plants in asphalt, I didn’t quite have her touch and the orange clay that passes for soil around here wasn’t going to grow plants that looked like the ones in the seed catalogs, not for me anyway!

Composting for good soil

Finally, while taking the Purdue Extension Master Gardener class taught by Larry Caplan, the light bulb went on in my head! Organic matter! That’s the solution!

What is organic matter? Don’t confuse organic matter with organic gardening or organic chicken eggs or veggies. The organic matter needed for good soil is made up of dead plants, leaves, roots which decay – releasing nutrients back into the soil, retaining moisture and improving the texture of the soil.

How to get organic matter into your soil? I cringe every time I see rows of black plastic trash bags filled with grass clippings or leaves set out for the trash. What’s wrong with that? 1) You’re spending YOUR money on a one-use plastic bag made from oil. 2) The garbage truck will use diesel fuel (oil) to transport it to the landfill, which (3) will fill up and (4) you’re throwing away Green Gold! Compost it, recycle it, use it for mulch!

The Modern Method:

Of course you can (and I do) purchase bags of compost and manure at the garden centers.

The Composting Method:

Create a compost pile or make a nice compost bin – just use Google and you will find dozens of websites for both projects. I’d be wary of the expensive composting equipment for two reasons: One, if you have a large lawn or large garden, it will fill up mighty quick. Two, the smaller ones are too small to maintain the temperature necessary to turn vegetation into good compost during cooler parts of the year.

The Lazy Method:

When I mow the grass, I bag most the grass clippings and dump them in an out of the way spot. During the fall, I use my mower to chop up and collect the dead leaves and dump those on the grass clippings. The next spring, when I put them in a garden bed and till them in they turn into just gorgeous soil.

The Natural Method:

The leaves that fall on my perennial beds just stay there through the winter. This gives cover for lizards, insects and small mammals. The birds forage through the leaves to find insects and seeds. The leaves act as mulch for my plants, protecting them from the elements and it’s all good! Next spring, I’ll gently brush the leaves off the plants as they’re just pushing up out of the ground, but the leaves stay and gradually decompose while they discourage weeds and retain moisture.

The Worm Method:

Raising earthworms (vermiculture) has a lovely side benefit – it makes rich soil. This is a great way to recycle kitchen vegetable scraps – you can set up a plastic tub “farm” in your garage or shed (as long as it stays somewhat warm in the winter). Again, just Google it (ain’t technology wonderful?)

My Latest Method:

This last year, I knew I wanted to start a new garden bed around our driveway. I dumped my grass clippings and leaves all summer and fall on my “soon-to-be” bed, which did a nice job of killing the grass underneath. My Wonderful Husband did NOT give me a hard time about it, but some of our neighbors and friends were a bit puzzled. This spring, I paid a friend to use a heavy duty tiller to break up the soil and WOW! Earthworms and lovely soil were the result! Go, ME!

Thanks for everything YOU do to make the world a Greener, Cleaner, Kinder Place!

Meet Dona Bergman

Dona Bergman is a founding member, Southwest Indiana Chapter of the Indiana Native Plant & Wildlife Society, and an Advanced Master Gardener.

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