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15-12-2022
Last modification: 15-12-2022
An ecological and economical alternative to fertilizer, compost is ideal for the development of your garden and helps to limit your waste. But how to do it and what is it for? This article explains everything about compost in the garden!
Compost is an organic material created by the decomposition of our daily waste. Composting is an ecological and economical action with great benefits for your garden.
But what are they? First, creating compost is a way to recycle your waste. All the organic waste that could have gone to the trash will go to your compost. By limiting your waste production, you then participate in reducing the pollution caused by garbage collection.
But compost is also the best natural fertilizer for your plants, forget expensive and superficial chemical fertilizers, compost brings the best nutrients to your garden. It contains humus and fertilizers which are released slowly, so your garden is constantly nourished and according to its needs.
Deposited at the foot of your plantations, this natural fertilizer enriches and nourishes your soil and therefore your plants, it improves the structure of your soil.
Indeed, a soil fed with compost becomes more spongy, it better retains the humidity and nutrients necessary for the growth of your plants. Compost helps stabilize the pH of your soil and limits erosion, so your plants are more resilient and thrive best in your garden.
Compost is therefore ideal for your garden, the planet but also for your wallet, it allows you to reduce your expenses for watering, fertilizer and waste collection.
Creating compost is not very complicated, you just have to know how to go about it!
Compost works by decomposing and fermenting organic waste, including kitchen waste such as eggshells, fruit and vegetable peelings, leftovers from your meals or coffee grounds. No question of putting them in the trash when they can join the compost.
But garden waste is also welcome, opt for rather soft waste such as branches, dead leaves, mowed grass or weeds. Obviously, not everything is composted, we leave plastic, metal and glass waste in the trash, but also wood that has been treated.
Place this waste in a wooden or plastic bin, remember to stir well to mix the dry and wet elements in order to start fermentation thanks to the humidity of certain waste.
In the early stages, your compost will need a lot of oxygen and air as this promotes fermentation and the development of micro-organisms. So remember to stir it well!
Be careful to monitor the humidity of your compost, it should be neither too wet nor too dry, so remember to alternate dry plants and wetter plants.
To be sure, take a handful of compost and squeeze it, if nothing flows it is too dry, if a lot of water flows it is because your compost is too wet, only a few drops should flow from your handle.
Otherwise, you can opt for compost tea, in the same way as a tea bag, place well-moistened compost in a cloth or jute bag and let it steep for a week in water. This compost tea will allow you to water your plants to improve their fertility and protect them from disease.
Be aware that your compost can take a year to be usable, it needs time to ferment well, so be patient...
Once the compost is ready to use, you need to know how to use it!
Compost is ideal as an amendment, on the surface at the foot of your bedding plants, shrubs, roses or other fruit trees, it provides them with nutrients and promotes the resumption of flowering. Hoe and weed your soil and deposit about 3kg per square meter and between 3 and 5 cm thick.
But in the same way, compost has great benefits for your vegetable garden, placed at the foot of your vegetables in high season or as mulch when planting, compost will promote the yield of your vegetable garden.
When planting your ornamental garden, compost is ideal for providing your plants with the best conditions to thrive! Scratch and hoe your soil and mix ¼ of compost for ¾ of soil, it brings moisture and nutrients so that your plants flourish best in this new environment and that the roots are strengthened.
Finally, compost can also be used to nourish your soil before sowing grass. Dig the first layer of soil, remove the weeds and lay out compost at the rate of 2 to 5 liters per square meter of soil, finally, mix the compost and the soil on the first 15 centimeters.
Note that compost is also suitable for repotting, mixed with your potting soil or even to be placed on the surface of your planters. It's up to you to find the use that suits you!
No more excuses for not taking this good resolution in the garden, go to the compost!