The Ultimate Compost: First Step to Taking Control of Sandy Soil
One of the biggest challenges of gardening in Wilmington NC is the poor quality of our soil.
Many overcome this problem by loading up on compost and manure at the local home improvement store. While effective, this can often be expensive. This may not bother you if you’re gardening in Wilmington just for fun. But many gardens to save money. Our goal is to spend as little as possible on our gardening efforts. Also, we are not in full control of the ingredients if we buy them from the store. It’s silly to spend money when much of what you need is already in your garden. You can be sure that your home garden in coastal North Carolina is nourished with truly organic mulch that you created from ingredients that already exist.
The advantages of composting are numerous. Your garden, lawn, flowers, house, and local landfill all benefit from composting. The first three beneficiaries of good organic compost are simple. Compost, when added to sandy soil, has the ability to provide your plants with nutrients and improve the soil’s ability to retain water. This is important during late summer when our hottest days are also our driest. You’ll also have a great place to put raked leaves, weeds and yard debris, keeping your garden tidy.
Your home and the local landfill will also benefit from composting. Food scraps will no longer be deposited in the dumpster. Let’s be honest; we usually take out the garbage when it starts to stink. With no degradable protein in the mix, your trash will never smell bad and you can use every inch of your trash bag. With fewer curbside exits, you’re also doing your part to reduce waste in the community.
Creating quality compost can be simple and hygienic. I like to think of a compost pile as a salad made up of greens, browns, and even dressing. As with any food, you can adjust your recipe to account for desired characteristics such as pH and nutritional composition. As a general rule of thumb, you want a ratio of 3 brown to one green. Brown ones are high in carbon while green ones are high in nitrogen.
Greens include:
tea bags
coffee grains
Seaweed
Manure
Hatred
eggshells
Feathers
Flowers
garden scraps
Grass
green leaves and stems
Browns include:
wood chips
Straw
Dead flowers and stems
dry leaves
Hay
pine needles
sawdust
shredded paper
Dressing Recipe:
Can of cola + can of beer + cup of ammonia + ½ cup of tea mix* + ¼ cup of baby shampoo
*Soak a used tea bag in a gallon of warm water + 1 teaspoon of dish detergent
Spray compost with top dressing once a month
Increase Ph:
The most effective way to increase soil pH is to add an alkaline mineral like lime directly to the soil. However, most of us do not have limestone cliffs in our garden. However, other organic materials that may be found on your property can be added to your compost or directly into the soil.
clam shells
oyster shells
eggshells
ashes
good food
Ph decreased:
The most effective way to lower soil pH is to add acidic minerals like sulfur. However, many effective fountains can be found in your garden and around your home.
sawdust
coffee grains
cottonseed oil
Manure
Oak leaves
pine needles
The chemistry of your soil is also very important. You can adjust the composition of your soil by designing your compost to give it specifically what it needs.
AddCarbon:
ashes
Add Nitrogen:
alfalfa flour
Blood meal
coffee grains
Manure
vegetable crops
Fish emulsion
corn gluten
Add phosphorus:
fish emulsion
Seaweed
poultry manure
good food
colloidal phosphate
Fish food
Guano
rock phosphate
Add potassium:
granite dust
green sand
Langbeinite
Seaweed
bananas
cow dung
wood ashes
Add Calcium:
Limestone
good food
clam shells
eggshells
Cast
Add Magnesium:
dolomitic limestone
epsom salts
Add manganese:
Manganese sulphate
Add sulfur:
epsom salts
ground sulfur
Cast
Manure
Add important micronutrients to your soil:
worm casting
alfalfa hay
wood ashes
sheets
Hatred
grass clippings
eggshells
Once you cook your compost, it is important that it can breathe. Humidity and aeration are important. Too much or too little of either can cause composting to underperform, or worse, the pile could start to rot. As in brewing, it is essential that both anaerobic and aerobic processes can take place. You want your compost pile to be moist but not soggy. It’s also good practice to turn the pile with a fork once a month or so. The goal is to rotate your mulch stock. This can be achieved by removing the well-composted material at the bottom of the pile and placing it at the top of the pile.
A few weeks before you start planting, you should start mixing your compost into the sandy soil in your garden. You’ll see a world of difference in this year’s harvest and get the satisfaction of knowing you created the food that will nourish the plants that will feed your family.
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