Last summer, we started composting. So, this year when we started our garden we used our compost. It was not quite ready, but my husband put it into the soil and turned the soil several times over a week long period. Then the dirt was ready for planting.
Since this is techniquely our first garden, we started out small. We planted tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, and okra. Most of the seeds were planted at the site of the compost soil, but we had so many plants to come up that we had to transplant a few to another part of our yard. As the plants grew, we could tell a big difference in how hearty the plants at the compost site were in comparision to the plants in other places. We were surprised to see the difference that compost soil makes in a garden. I actual had to put Miracle Grow on the plants that were not at the compost site to keep them from turning yellow.
Top Picture: No compost
Bottom Picture: Compost
We were so happy to see that the effort we put into composting has paid off for us. We have even had some volunteer tomato plants come up from the compost site. Score! Free tomato plants = FREE TOMATOES!
I hope you will be encouraged to compost. It is great for the environment, reduces trash, and makes for nutrient rich soil for your garden.
-Robin
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Hi Robin! Love the post! My family just started composting and will have lovely soil for our garden next year. I'm so excited. I'm following your blog now. Here is a link about our composting efforts.
ReplyDeletehttp://bigdreamsforasimplelife.blogspot.com/2010/06/recycle-reduce-compost.html