Gardening and Horticulture - Organically rich

Any ideas what can I mix with soil to make it organically richer? I heard that domestic leftovers (such as vegetables, fruit skins, used teabags etc) make the soil healthier for planting.
Any ideas?

Hi Robert,

You're basically talking about compost. Those items, or anything vegetative, can be dumped in a pile to let "cook" and become compost. You don't need a special bin, etc. Just put all your raw kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy products), garden clippings, leaves and other such items in a pile. Stir it once in awhile and keep it damp--not dripping wet. It usually takes one year to make compost using this method. There are quicker ways.

http://environment.about.com/cs/composting/index.htm?iam=dpile&terms=%2Bhow+%2Bto+%2Bmake+%2Bcompost

You can also buy compost in bags or bulk. Composted horse or cow manure is also a valuable supplement.

Everyone makes compost a different way. There are tons of gardening websites discussing this.

It is always suggested that you have a soil test made to see what your soil may be lacking. Check with your local county extension agent.

Some do throw kitchen scraps (nonmeat) directly in the rows of their garden and turn it under. I'm one of them--once in awhile.

Gami

Following Gami's lead - use table scraps but chuck them all in a blender and make a "cocktail" of sorts. Add water to whatever you throw in (vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, coffee grinds, egg shells - anything but dairy or meat) liquify everything and add water - it's a bit easier than digging up around the plants. Hope this helps!

For $2 you can get a 40# bag of manure & organic matter at any garden center.

For $50 you can get a truckload delivered.

Hi Mom,

Following your lead, I do the same thing! I learned the blender trick a few years back and pour it around my plants, especially my roses. It decomposes and the worms enjoy the tasty treat also!

Gami

Thanks for the blender idea.

Hi Robert,

I might add that I have a separate blender for the kitchen scraps and keep it out of sight under the sink.

I first learned about this when I bought a Vita-Mix. They recommend buying another one of their containers and keep it strictly for "composting". Of course!...and they wanted $100 just for that piece. I bought a regular blender at a garage sale for $3-5.

Gami

Attn: Gami & Mom of Sam.

Could you please help me out? Am I doing something wrong or not?

Just to put you in the picture this is what I did:- I accumulated kitchen scrap (mainly fruit skins and egg shells) in a well ventilated bag and stored the bag in a 25-29 degrees shaded place. After approximately two weeks I opened the bag in order to blend everything up and mix it with my soil. But strangely enough when I opened the bag….. it was full of small mosquitoes and crawling insects. It was a bit scary…..

Is this normal? Should I proceed and blend everything up? Should I have blended the material immediately after scrapping them when they are still fresh?

Thanks.

Hi Robert,

The problem is that you used a bag with holes in it. I store my scraps in a half gallon bowl with a tight fitting lid. That keeps the bugs out and the smell in. I keep it under the sink. It draws gnats unless you keep it covered.

I cut up banana peels, etc., in small pieces before I put them in the bowl. When it's full, I dump a little in the blender at a time and add water.

You don't need to keep it that cold. If you don't accumulate a lot of scraps, you'd want to blend before everything gets real rank. It doesn't hurt if it's slimy, it's just not real fun to deal with. You can add coffee grounds also.

What you have now, just dump in the garden and start over. That would be scary to me too, and I wouldn't want to touch it. :)

Gami

Thanks for the quick reply.