Composting Reduces Global Warming and Gives Free Sources to Improve Your Garden

It is becoming more and more obvious these days that we need to recycle as much as we can, and anyone with a garden has a head start and can make a great contribution.

Composting your kitchen and garden waste is a great way to reduce the amount of waste you dispose of in your rubbish bin. By composting your waste you can generate a free source of rich compost to help improve your garden, and also help to reduce global warming in the process.

When sent to landfill organic waste is compressed under tonnes and tonnes of other waste types. The organic waste therefore does not have enough access to air, which restricts the waste from being able to decompose properly. Instead of decomposing, methane gas is produced which contributes to global warming.

To many novice gardeners this subject can be somewhat difficult to grasp; but in fact it is really straightforward.

The first step to start composting at home is to get a compost bin.

You can either purchase a compost bin or you can make your own.

If you know how to wield a saw and some nails, you can make a wooden slatted enclosure, one metre square, or you buy them readymade and cover it with a piece of old carpet to keep the worst of the weather off.

The next important step is to decide where to position the compost bin, which can affect the overall quality of the compost that is produced. For best results place the bin in a well drained area which has good access to sunlight. The drainage will enable excess water to drain out of the compost and placing the bin in a sunny spot helps to speed up the composting process.

What waste items can be put in the compost bin?

There are lots of everyday waste items from your garden and kitchen that can go into your compost bin. These are broken down into “Greens” and “Browns”.

Greens are the type of items that provide moisture and nitrogen and are quick to rot.

Items classed as Greens includes:

-      All uncooked vegetable and fruit peelings

-      Tea bags, tea leaves and coffee grounds

-      Dead flowers from the house

-      Spent bedding plants, dead leaves, lawn mowing

-      Spent compost from hanging baskets or containers

-      Rabbit and guinea pig bedding

Browns are waste items that take longer to rot but provide pockets of air, along with fibre and carbon.

This includes items such as:

-      Cardboard boxes

-      Scrunched up Newspapers

-      Toilet roll tubes

-      Crushed egg shells

-      Shredded paper

-      Twigs and hedge clippings

-      Soft pruning from the garden

To make good quality compost it is important to use a good mix of both “Greens” and “Browns”. If you have too many grass clippings in a big mass, they will turn soggy and slimy, or if there is too much paper and pruning, it will be too dry. It is simply a case of monitoring the compost and adding more waste depending on the look of the compost. For example, if it looks too dry add more ‘green’ waste, and if it looks too wet add more ‘brown’ waste. Every so often it is also a good idea to mix or turn the contents of your compost bin with a fork to add air.

Avoid putting meat products and bones, bread and cooked food into your compost bin, because these will attract vermin. Woody material will take too long to compost. Weeds can infect your compost with their seeds.

And because you won’t always feel like taking a trip to the compost heap when it’s wet or cold or every time you peel vegetables why not keep a lidded container by the back door which you can fill up and then make the trip to the compost bin every one or two days?

How long will it take for the compost to be ready to use?

Over a period of time – 3 months to one year, depending on conditions, all this matter will have broken down into lovely dark brown crumbly compost, which you can fork into your beds and borders. It makes an excellent soil conditioner and ban be used as surface mulch, helping conserve moisture and discourage weeds.

You can also convert fallen leaves into wonderful compost. Rake up any leaves from your lawn – you may have to do this several times over the autumn – and collect them from the borders. Put them all into a black waste sack, sprinkle with water, put a few holes around the sack with a fork, tie the top, and leave it in a corner for about a year. What you end up with is known as leaf-mould.

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Green Is a Colour of Growth and Nurturing

Many gardeners are the nurturing type: just like Mother Nature. People say they have “green thumbs” because they can make anything grow. Is your personality the growth type? Are you the kind of person who wants to see others grow and develop? If so, you probably love to be around children and, though you are exhausted at the end of the day, you feel like it is all worth it if you have helped other people. So is there green in your garden?

It seems to be a silly question: is there green in the garden? Most people think that green automatically appears in the garden. Leaves and stems are almost always green. But green can also be used as an accent colour itself, though it is often overlooked – just like the nurturing individual – a teacher, a preacher, a farmer. These nurturers are vital to the world, but often go overlooked.

Why does the colour of a garden even matter? Many psychologists have studied the effects of colours on the human psyche for years. Colours both reflect our current emotions and elicit certain emotions from us. In other words, if you feel happy, you may wear your yellow shirt to work. Yellow is a happy colour. If you look on the walls in the doctor’s office, they are most likely blue or some other calming colour. Green is a colour of growth and nurturing. Used in the garden, can give those feelings liberally.

Many people focus on the brightly coloured flowers – the reds, yellows, and oranges, but they overlook what a simple green can do for the garden. The next time you go to the greenhouse to pick out flowers for your garden, take a moment and consider this. It is important because the garden – and your whole house – should reflect your personality. If you are the nurturer, let the green come out and show the neighbourhood that this is your sanctuary.

When it comes to greenery, use it liberally in the garden. It is difficult to have too much green. Using green in the garden has a two-fold effect. First, by filling the garden with a green backdrop, the other colours will stand out more vibrantly. If you set off a firework in the middle of the day, it is rather unimpressive. But if you place it on a dark backdrop, it will light up the sky. Green in the garden helps to accomplish this. Green also has a second effect. It gives the appearance of a lush, healthy garden. It is nice to see the different flowers in a garden, but if you fill in the areas between them with some greenery it makes the entire landscape seem to jump to life.

So when it comes to your garden, does your loving and nurturing side come to the front? Can your neighbour see the effect of your green thumb? With the careful placement of some green plants, you can bring your garden to life and make it an extension of yourself. After all, you spend a great deal of time, effort, and money in the garden. Shouldn’t it reflect part of you?

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Gardening – Love and Passion

Gardening is perhaps one of the best hobbies that a more laborious nature lover can take up. The reason why I choose to call this hobby laborious is because it surely does involve a good deal of physical activity. This hobby is not meant for those nature lovers who simply want to bask in the natural beauty that already exists. Rather it is an ideal pass time for those who want to make their own contribution to the nature.

In order to be successful in gardening one must have these qualities:

-      Besides having a love for gardening you should also have the will and determination to pursue your hobby.

-      You must be physically fit and agile. Laziness and gardening are anonymous to each other.

-      Learn to exchange your ideas and information with like-minded people who can show an equal passion for gardening.

-      Try laying your hands on almost any books, magazines or articles that can enhance your knowledge on gardening.

-      Be prepared to invest a small amount of your earnings in purchasing the “Can’t do without” gardening tools.

The world of gardening is wide and it has immense possibilities for those who want to explore it with the right zeal and enthusiasm. You can choose from indoor gardening, outdoor gardening, landscaping, cultivating exotic herbs or growing bonsais and thus the list is endless. However it is important to do a fair amount of research work before delving into any of the above fields. You should master up the art of choosing the right plants and also learn the techniques favourable for their productivity and growth.

Growing plants is not enough. Deciding where the plants should grow is also an important aspect of gardening. Nothing can be more distasteful than a garden which has colour clashing flowers growing all around in a haphazardly manner. So be careful about allocating the plants their respective locations. Arrange the assortments of flowers in accordance with their heights, textures and colours so that they complement each other without diminishing the beauty of your garden.

Keep aside one day from the entire week to be your gardening day. Generally week-ends would be a good choice. On this day, equip yourself with all the essential gardening tools and accessories and get down to your work. If you have children or friends who are equally interested in gardening call for their assistance. The more the merrier!

Once you are done for the day clean your tools well and store them in their right place. Be sure to maintain your gardening tools because well maintained tools can give you years of good performance. After all tools aren’t something that you can afford to buy every week.

Whether you are an efficient gardener or not can be best proved by your garden itself. So stop twiddling your thumbs and put your green fingers to use. If you have really put in hard work your efforts will never go futile, as far as gardening is concerned.

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How to Care for Your Plants

I am a lover of house plants and I’ve got different plants in the house all over the place.

Many people worry a lot when it comes to caring for their plants. When talking about house plants, there is no need to worry. There are just a few things you need to consider.

1. A watering can is a must-have in every garden. It is recommended that you purchase the one with a narrow spout to ensure adequate watering. But that does not always apply, so the finger test may come in handy. Insert your index finger up to the first joint into the soil. If you feel that the soil is damp, don’t water it. If the soil is light and crumbly, the plant needs to be watered. The best water to use is rainwater.

2. Don’t use garden soil in your pots, because it contains weed seeds and most likely pests. Buying compost with special mixtures is the better choice.

With foliage plants, they need to be high in nitrogen. For flowering plants, on the other hand, K2O is needed. Fertilizers such as the slow release ones can be mixed with the compost. There is also liquid food available.

However, some plants like cactuses and orchids need special feeds. Feed plants on the height of their active growth.

3. Plants like Sansevieria (Mother-In-Law’s Tongue) and Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant) require no shade. They can be placed away from a window. Spider Plants need semi-shade. You can put plants like these near a window that does or doesn’t get sunlight. Others need sun or no sun at all.

4. With house plants, they can survive in temperatures a little bit higher than 15 – 25 degrees C (55 – 75 degrees F). But drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good for them.

5. Some house plants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. The compost will not dry out. Plants are capable of creating their own climate if grouped together. This tip can also be used for keeping the soil moist. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the day’s temperature.

6. Other plants require re-potting for optimum growth but some plants may not be suitable for this idea. They would not want their roots to be disturbed or some other plants’ root systems are too small. One way to check if your plant needs re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then re-pot.

You just need to have a little care for your plants and in turn, you will reap its benefits. You don’t only have a garden that can add to your house’s beauty, you can also add beauty into your house and learn how to respect and nurture life in its varied forms.

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