Feed Your Garden with Compost

Most of us don't think of the ground beneath our feet as being alive. As far as we can tell, it's just lying there.

But savvy gardeners know that proper care and feeding of the soil is vital to the health of their plants.

So how do you feed soil? Simple - give it compost at least once a year.

Making healthy soil is something Glenn Church has been doing on a large scale for almost 30 years. Church, owner of Pacific Coast Soils in Marina, California, makes soil mixtures to sell to gardeners, landscapers and nurseries.

And the No. 1 ingredient: compost.

"Compost puts nutrients back in the soil that may have been depleted," said Church. "It's food to create a living soil, to feed the macro and microorganisms that live there."

Monterey Bay Master Gardener Paul McCollum agrees.

"You have to keep replenishing your soil with organic material," said McCollum, a resident of Aromas, California. "It has all the nutrients in a form in which organisms can eat it and break it down."

Although some people believe that simply applying fertilizer is enough to keep plants healthy, it usually isn't. Adding compost to soil has a number of beneficial effects, in addition to fertilizing it.

Compost made from yard trimmings and kitchen waste is especially nutritious, although it's often hard to find. Church makes compost at his yard at the Monterey Regional Waste Management District, using green waste that comes to the MRWMD as well as clippings and cast-off plant material from wineries, golf courses and nurseries.

Picking the right compost is very important, Church said.

"Woody compost won't be as high in nitrogen," Church notes, which plants need for lush green growth and overall health. "Compost made from animal manures is high in nitrogen, but can also be high in salts."

Knowing what you're getting in commercially made compost is vital, said McCollum.

He recommends reading the label as well as looking at the compost itself. If it's full of wood fiber, it won't be as rich in nutrients, and will take longer to break down into the soil. Often, though, the stuff you buy at Home Depot or other big retailers does contain a lot of wood.