GreenSage E-zine 03/2008

Lifestyle — What You Can Do:
Start Natural and Organic Gardening Habits
by Elaine Ireland

Where I live in Northern California, my daily walks have been gloriously dotted with blooming trees and flowers of all kinds — the fruit trees and magnolias — the daffodils & hyacinths. And yes, the crocus.

With the coming of Spring, March 21st, its time to think more about the outdoors and how we'll prepare for the planting season. For some of us, that time is right about now. For others, as the snow melts and soil thaws, it will come later, but the time to plan is the first of Spring.

First the flowers, fruits and vegetables. Organic gardening connects us to the natural rhythms of nature, plants our hands and feet squarely in the soil and, if its food we're planting, gives us promise of good bounty. More healthy plants, especially trees, also helps reduce green house gasses. Its a win:win:win situation.

To Start, Create Your Own Compost Pile in Preparation of Good Soil Health
Backyard composting is a great way to convert waste like yard trimmings and food scraps into compost that can be spread in garden beds, under shrubs, around tree bases, or used as potting soil. Organic compost feeds your plants and supports their health to naturally ward of bugs and disease. Creating your own compost allows you to recycle your own scrap materials and keep control of what you put on your plants.

There is no one "right" way to compost, but before you begin, here are some basics for better understanding the process. All composting requires three basic ingredients:

• Browns— materials such as dead leaves, branches, twigs
• Greens— materials such as grass clippings, organic fruit & vegetable scraps
• Blues — Water

The brown materials provide carbon for your compost and the green materials provide nitrogen, while the water provides moisture to help break down the organic matter. Having the right amount of these three ingredients is important for compost development. Ideally, your compost pile should have an equal amount of browns to greens and alternate layers of organic materials of different-size particles.

Read up on the science behind composting. Learn what materials to compost and what materials not to compost, including which variables should be controlled during composting. For more detailed information, click.