Better soil, less toil

Sustainable living › Natural gardening › How to garden naturally › Better soil, less toil Better soil, less toil

Learn the key to healthy soil and how easy it is to give your lawn or garden what it needs to thrive.

by Metro natural gardening and toxics reduction specialist Carl Grimm

Compost works while you rest

With 5-10 billion organisms in a heaping tablespoon of fertile soil, many “hands” make gardening work light. We owe our very existence to this life in the soil. From each morsel of food we chew, to the well-being of Earth’s vast oceans, from home gardens to global climate change, soil organisms play a vital role. For a key to harnessing this humble work force to do the chores in your garden, look no further than your compost pile.

Little helpers fertilize and till your soil

Why waste time and money buying and applying fertilizers? Soil organisms from compost continuously generate fertilizers for your plants so you don’t have to. Bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic organisms dissolve minerals in tiny rocks, recycle nutrients in dead plants and animals and release these into the soil where roots can absorb them. Some bacteria even “fix” nitrogen from the air, making it available to plants. To ensure these little workers stay on task, avoid fast-acting fertilizers and pesticides, maintain proper moisture levels, and keep all soil covered with mulch or living plants. For best results, reapply compost at least once each year.

Larger soil organisms like earthworms and insects make tiny tunnels and transport organic matter down from the surface and soil up from the depths – without the hassle, noise and air pollution caused by rototilling. When applied as an amendment, mulch or tea, compost improves structure by gluing microscopic soil particles together into visible aggregates or crumbs. This allows air and water to flow in and plant roots to grow more easily. It also makes your soil look and feel a little like chocolate cake.

Compost practically makes itself

Thanks to the ubiquity of organisms that decompose plant and animal wastes and materials, compost is pretty easy to make. For fall leaves and small garden clippings (six inches or shorter), a simple pile covered in winter and kept a little moist in summer will break down in about a year. Larger woody materials and fruit and vegetable trimmings do require a little more effort to compost, but not much. The basic ingredients for compost are “browns,” “greens,” air and water. Browns like fall leaves and woody materials are high in carbon, an essential energy source for microorganisms in the compost. Greens like grass clippings and fruit and vegetable trimmings are high in nitrogen, an essential nutrient for the decomposer organisms.

For best results, chop up materials as you add them, as this will increase the surface area microorganisms have to work on, speeding the process. Be sure to mix browns and greens so the microbes have a balanced diet. Maintain moisture as damp as a wrung-out sponge so they have the water they need, but not so much that they “suffocate.” Excessive moisture blocks the flow of oxygen and can foster anaerobic microbes that produce smelly, sulfurous gasses. Another way to speed the composting process is to turn the pile regularly. When it looks like soil and smells sweet and earthy, it is ready to use. Dig into your compost pile and fork out the best soil conditioner on the planet.

Humble beginnings, grand achievements

The work done by creatures few pay attention to and many walk on daily is indeed the beginning of a long process of topsoil formation absolutely critical to our gardens and our lives. Thanks to this process, the earth’s thin fragile crust can absorb the rain, recharge groundwater supplies and protect streams, rivers and oceans from harmful soil-laden runoff. Humus formed by soil organisms even acts as a carbon sink, sequestering greenhouse gasses that may otherwise contribute to global warming. To help tiny creatures achieve Herculean tasks, all you need is a compost pile.

Need assistance?

Metro Recycling Information
503-234-3000
mri@oregonmetro.gov

Search the site

Metro