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Each fall one of the most celebrated and iconic natural displays is the changing colors of leaves. This beautiful visual show of natural color comes out in bright splashes of red, orange and yellow just before the leaves begin to fall for winter. What many don’t know is that those falling leaves can actually be applied to your lawn or garden as powerful compost to help boost your plant growth!
Making compost is fairly simple. The first step to making an effective compost is to gather the leaves. Gathering the leaves from your yard is not only an important step in composting but it will also help keep your lawn healthy. Leaves left to rot on an open lawn can cause the growth and development of mold and other unsavory lawn offenders. Additionally, leaves are largely responsible for blocking out much-needed sunlight from lawns and depriving them of oxygen.
The second step in the composting process is to break down the leaves. The easiest way to do this is by using a shredder or chipper. If you don’t have one of these available you can use a common lawnmower to shred the leaves. If you do choose to use a lawnmower be sure to attach a bag for collection. The breaking down of the leaves is an important process that facilitates the fast decay and natural breakdown of the leaves. The more finely shredded the leaves, the more efficiently they’ll compost.
The decomposition process is long and arduous. In some extreme cases a single batch of rich compost can take up to two years to mature. For this reason it’s very important that you give yourself every available edge in facilitating the decomposition process. To help give your compost a suitable texture and consistency for mulching you should add in additional supplemental materials such as coffee grounds or egg shells. This blend will provide the perfect balance of carbon and nitrogen for mulching.
Churning and stirring the compost materials is important. Once a month you should take a few minutes to stir the compost. This will allow fresh oxygen and air to pass through the compost and help to further facilitate the decomposition of materials. When laying compost you want to be sure that the weight of the compost layer on the soil is no heavier than a plant sprout would be able to break through. Additionally, the texture of the laid compost should be fluffy and gentle. If your compost layer is thick and matted it will restrict the growth of your plants.
Composting your garden is a very important aspect of keeping it in great shape. However, providing adequate nutrition for the garden in the form of compost is not the only way to ensure your garden stays healthy and flourishing.
Using an irrigation system such as drip irrigation to facilitate the blending of the compost and soil is a safe way to slowly introduce a rich mulch to the regular soil of your garden.
When growing a garden you should be diligent and caring using Irrigation Systems and the adequate environment necessary for plants to flourish. This includes composting natural sources of nutrients for your plants to facilitate their growth and bolster their development. Additionally, providing Water Irrigation will be key to getting the most out of your home garden. Drip System will be an important part of the nutrient spreading process as well as providing adequate sources of water to your garden.
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