One of the secret ingredients used by successful gardeners is Black Gold® Garden Compost Blend. What exactly is garden compost? Compost happens when microbes break down or decompose organic or living matter–such as leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable waste. The next time you take a walk in a forest look down at the forest floor, and you will see compost being made naturally from fallen leaves. The final product is a dark, rich, earthy smelling material that gardeners commonly refer to as “black gold” because of its high fertility. And whether bought by the bag or made at home, it does wonders for the garden.
Black Gold Garden Compost can either be mixed into the soil before planting as a soil amendment, or applied to the surface of the soil as mulch. Either way, adding Black Gold Garden Compost Blend to your garden soil will naturally boost overall garden performance. It will encourage the presence of earthworms and other beneficial organisms, provide organic matter and natural nutrients, and improve soil texture and structure. It will also add needed organic matter to sandy or clay-rich soils, improving water-holding capacity and drainage. Improving your garden soil with fertile compost is an easy way to encourage strong, productive garden plants.
Today at Black Gold, we add garden compost to many of our products, which helps gardeners reap “All the Riches of the Earth™”. What’s more, Black Gold’s ready-to-use Garden Compost is OMRI Listed for organic gardening. This means that our garden compost is so naturally rich and pure that it can be used to produce all organic garden products. Our high-quality natural and organic compost is a fertile, rich garden product you and your garden plants can trust. And buying a bagged product ensures consistency our gardeners trust.
Still, you can never have too much garden compost, which is why we also encourage gardeners to make their own compost at home. In just six easy steps, its easy to create your own fertile compost from green kitchen and garden wastes that typically get thrown away without a thought. In addition to creating a rich amendment for a flourishing garden, you will be turning your waste into “black gold” rather than filling up landfills. Here are the steps:
1. Choose a Composter
Invest in making or buying a composter just the size for your living area. There are lots of different sizes and styles to choose from. The best composters are porous for good aeration and allow composting contents to be easily turned and watered.
2. Collect & Chop
Gather vegetable wastes, coffee grounds, eggshells and yard wastes, chopping them finely before adding them to the composter. The smaller they are, the faster they will compost.
3. Pile it Up
Compost piles need to be the right size to achieve the heat needed for quality compost. Piles should be no smaller than 3′ × 3′ × 3′. Big piles get your compost cooking!
4. Layer Fresh & Dry Wastes
Nitrogen is needed for a healthy compost pile and fresh, green wastes are high in nitrogen. Layering your greens (fresh grass clippings) with your dry wastes (dried, fallen leaves) will help keep your compost composting.
5. Keep it Moist
Light moisture keeps compost microbes happy and healthy, which keeps your compost happy. Watering your compost thoroughly but intermittently should do the trick.
5. Keep it Aerated
Tumbling, turning, or pitchforking your compost regularly will add needed air and loft to keep microbes happy. Every few weeks or so, give it a mix for good health.