Composting for a Greener Garden

    PHILADELPHIA, PA, June 04, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The hero in "Green" Gardening is the compost pile. By using leaves, grass clippings, fruit and vegetable skins, gardeners can make their own compost and give their gardens a nutritional super-sized meal. This will not only cut down on waste so gardeners will save money, but will also enhance the soil with all necessary nutrients.

Composting is nature's natural recycling process and converts old scraps and "natural trash" into a nutrient rich treat for the garden. In addition to providing a nutrient boost to soil, compost helps combat plant disease.

Compost needs a good mixture of "green stuff" and "brown stuff." Green stuff is high in nitrogen and is the heating agent for your compost and gets the mixture cooking. The brown stuff, which is high in carbon, helps the compost break down. Dead plants, fall leaves, and dead weeds all serve well for compost.

An alternative way to collect materials for composting is to look at everyday life and what gets thrown away. Materials that are organic and are not animal-based can be tossed in with the dead plants and leaves to provide additional nutrients. The following items are also safe to use:
- Egg shells
- Coffee grinds
- Food scraps
- Tea bags (be sure to remove the staple)
- Stale bread or crackers
- Paper bags
- Toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls

Starting a compost pile is relatively easy. Gardeners can place compost ready materials in a container or they can start a mound in a specific area of the garden. Applying a compost starter product, like Ringer Compost Plus Organic Compost Starter, will kick-start the composting process as this product supplies additional nutrient resources that start the compost process more quickly and efficiently.

Ringer Compost Plus Compost Maker uses a range of natural microorganisms designed and selected for the materials they decompose. In particular, they combine thermophilic organisms that work at higher temperatures.

After the starter product has been applied, the compost materials should be watered so they are about as wet as a damp sponge. To maintain compost regularly, green and brown materials like leaves, grass clippings, fruit and vegetable skins can be added to it as they are available. The compost pile should be aerated every 7-10 days by raking through it with a pitchfork or spade.

When it is time to plant and begin the garden, composted materials can be worked into the soil for a healthier garden and harvest. Plants will be more resilient and hearty with the use of compost and gardeners will have saved time and money by using nature's natural recycling process.

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