Time to Make Compost

In our Southern California garden there are always things growing and things to do, even in the middle of winter. We have cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and snap peas ready to harvest as well as oranges, tangerines, limes, and avocados. Soon it will be time to plant bare-root roses, fruit trees, and berries. In a couple of weeks, we'll be starting seeds indoors for plants to set out after the danger of frost has passed (usually around the first of April).

One thing we like to do in January is to look through the seed catalogs and garden books for ideas. Another is to add to or begin compost piles. Compost adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil. It will improve any soil over time, even if you add no other amendments. For us January and February are great months to make compost because of the availability of leaves. We have them, our neighbors have them. We get them from our neighbors for the asking (and the raking).

There are a number of different ways to make compost for the garden. Some are labor intensive, others not so much. We prefer the less labor intensive sort when we can get away with it. However, the less attention and work you give your compost, the longer it will take to be ready for your garden.

The easiest way to make compost is to make a pile and let it sit for months until it is finished and/or you are ready to use it. Pick a spot in an out of the way corner of your garden to make your pile, keeping in mind that you will be hauling stuff to and from the pile. (If your garden is in the near part of your yard, you don't want to build your compost pile in the far part of your yard. Unless of course, you enjoy using the wheelbarrow or carrying a bucket.)  After you've chosen a convenient spot, scratch up or turn over the soil that will be under the pile. Then, add your yard and kitchen wastes to the pile, mixing them together as you go. You could build a bin out of wire or hardware cloth, or other materials, but this is not absolutely necessary with this method.

Add kitchen scraps (but no meat or fats) and yard trimmings to the top of the pile over time. You may need to sprinkle a little water on the pile once in a while to keep it moist but not soggy.  When you are ready to plant your garden, remove the top layers of unfinished compost, setting them aside for starting a new pile. The finished compost will be at the bottom of the pile. Collect it into your bucket or wheelbarrow, put the unfinished stuff in its place and head for the garden with your finished product.

You can dig the compost into the soil as you plant or you can use the compost as a mulch, or both.

There are other ways to make compost that require more effort, but produce a finished product in as little as two weeks. Duane and Karen Newcomb's book, The Postage Stamp Garden Book: Grow Tons of Vegetables in Small Spaces has an appendix devoted to various methods of making compost.

We don't have much kitchen waste that makes it to the compost pile because most of it goes to the ducks, geese, and chickens (oh, and the rabbit, too). We do use bedding from the goat pen and yard trimmings. You can read here about Our Composting System that goes on right in the garden beds.

One of the best books we've found to help us understand the soil is Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition, by Lowenfels and Lewis.