subject: How Composting Helps In Organic Gardening [print this page] Organic gardening can be described as a sort of going back to the basics. It involves gardening sans the use of synthetic products such as pesticides and fertilizers as a way to enhance plant propagation. Relatively, the prime advocacy of sustainable gardening is based principally in promoting ecology friendly gardening practices. In a broader scope, sustainable gardening encompasses organic gardening, landscaping and the plant nursery industry to assimilate environmental and socio-economic factors to a more sustainable environment in Australia.
Since the soil is the basic component of all the plants we grow in our gardens, it is very important to start with a healthy soil that can sustain healthy plants. Pests are less likely to thrive on healthy soil. Composting is a good way to begin in making a healthy soil. In Australia, composting is done by turning decomposed organic matter into a compost soil which has the aroma of a woodland bed, crumbly in texture and deep brown in color.
A compost bin used in compositing can be built on your own but if you do not have the luxury and time for building your own compost bin, these are available at gardening implements shop in your area. Keep a close watch of what you put in your compost bin as not all composter materials are suitable for composting. According to experts, the secret to a good composting is to include a balanced carbon to nitrogen composter materials but that issue is too technical to discuss here. To put it simply, the best composting materials would be garden debris, fruit peelings, crushed egg shells and saw dust which are less likely prone to invite harmful microorganisms. The unlikely composter materials to avoid are cooked food, dairy products, meat, certain types of paper products like aluminum wrappers and human and pet wastes. Composters will take anywhere from four weeks to five months to turn into a good compost depending on what kind of materials were combined in making the compost.
However in case you are growing impatient and want to get your compost right away, say you want it in two to three weeks time, a rotating composter is available in your local gardening tools shop. Garden tools like this rotating composters are convenient to use and work by turning its drum on a regular basis. Turning the rotating compost bin ideally once a week speeds up the process. As you turn the bin, composter materials are broken into smaller components while providing air that evens up the temperature inside, thereby producing better quality compost. The rotating composter is also a better choice since it keeps away rodents and harmful insects that infest the composter materials.
In organic gardening, pests and harmful microorganisms cannot be done away with 100%. Gardening tools like hanging baskets can be very helpful. Pests that inflict diseases have little or no access to the plants in hanging baskets since these can be moved in and out of indoors from time to time. Moreover, another advantage of growing plants in hanging baskets is that there is total control over the compost soil, watering and drainage and the environment with which the plant needs to be exposed to.
The climate in Australia is well suited to organic gardening and growing seasoned variety of fruits and vegetables. The most important point to consider is to grow your own fruits and vegetables into your own garden and start this with a good soil by do-it-yourself composting. Harvest your own crops directly from your own garden and serve them into your dining table for your loved ones to enjoy.
