How to Create Compost to Fertilize Your Vegetable Garden

If you're looking for a simple and inexpensive way to fertilize your garden, consider making a compost pile. Compost is simply a mixture of organic materials, such as leaves, grass, manure and table scraps. These things are usually put in a pile and left to decay. Over time it will decompose, creating a homogeneous soil treatment for your garden.

Creating a compost pile is quite simple. Start with whatever organic materials you have lying around. Pick out an area around 10 feet (3m) on a side. Start piling whatever organic materials you have in this area. Over time, add other materials, such as grass clippings, straw and vegetable scraps to the pile as you find them.

Your pile should be between 3ft-5ft (1-2m) high. Make a cup-like area on the top of the pile to collect water. Try to prevent the pile from retaining too much water, though, as that will reduce air circulation that the pile needs to complete the process.

The organisms that do the work of breaking down the materials need that oxygen to survive. The pile should be dense enough to retain some of the heat that it will naturally produce. This will help the process of decomposition take place.

There are things you can add to your pile that will increase it's effectiveness as a fertilizer when the time comes. These items are not for the purpose of being broken down, but they will help make a better final product. Among these are raw bone meal, ground rock phosphate, and lime.

Layer these items between the natural organic materials. For example, after about a foot of grass clippings, put some rock phosphate on. Five pounds per 100 square feet of compost should be sufficient. Add proportionally as the amount of compost increases. A pound of limestone, on the other hand, should do for the whole pile.

You can use manure as an additive by adding a few inches for every foot of compost. In most cases, though, the compost pile is unnecessary if you have that much manure laying around. Manure in itself makes a great natural fertilizer with all of the nutrients that your garden will need. Manure can be used as mentioned above if your goal is to create an extra rich fertilizer compound.

Every couple of weeks, stir up your compost pile to keep all of your materials evenly distributed. The organisms that break the pile down may have accumulated more densely in one area or another. Stirring will keep them spread throughout the pile, and keep one area from decomposing quicker than others. This will also help the entire pile to progress at the same rate to be ready for use. This will also allow you to be sure the entire garden is getting the same amount of nutrients.

Spread the compost over the entire garden when it is finally ready for use. 25 pounds per 100 square feet is recommended. If you don't have enough for that, concentrate your efforts in the areas that the plants will be growing. Give the compost about three weeks to do it's job before you begin planting your vegetables. This will be plenty of time for the nutrients to work their way into the soil and create a rich and healthy soil for your plants.