Filed under: Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Burning Leaves, Compost, Compost Tea, Composted Manure, Composting, Fall Cleanup, Fall Gardening, Fertilizer, Free Compost, Gardening, Green, Kitchen Scraps, Leaves, Nitrates, Organic, Organic Gardening, Starting a compost pile, Vegetable Scraps, Vernicompost
I have been asked a few times on the radio lately about composting, so I went back in the archives and pulled this up. This was 1st published over 10 years ago!
A big blowing storm just came through and left plenty of leaves đ to get us all started…
âFall is one of my Favorite seasons! Cooler weather, fall planting and gardening and all the great family gatherings and food are wonderful. Fall is also a GREAT time to start a Compost Pile. All those leaves, plants and grasses that you have to cut back and all of the upcoming holiday food scraps add up too a great supply of usable components in a compost pile!
Starting a Compost pile is quick , easy and wonât cost you anything to get started! Compost is one of natureâs best mulches and soil amendments and you can use it instead of chemical fertilizers. Compost improves soil structure, texture and increases the soilâs water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils to retain water. The organic matter in compost provides food for microorganisms, which in turn keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.

Itâs easy to get started .
-Bag your grass clippings or mulch up all those leaves for the compost pile!
-Save those kitchen scraps and add them to the compost pile. Kitchen scraps are typically high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are good candidates for the compost pie. But DONâT add meat, grease or other animal products!
â With a compost pile, bigger is often better. Heat builds up with a bigger pile, but you donât want to get much bigger than about 3 feet by 3 feet, if itâs too big it can be hard to work around. Multiple piles may be in order .
â Aerate your compost! If you are composting with a pile, or in a static (non-tumbling) compost bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down effectively. Turn it with a pitch fork from time to time .
â Donât let the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active , BUT , donât keep it too wet.
â Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. Itâs best to keep a balanced mix of green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) materials.
When ready, this compost will be wonderful for the whole garden!
Good Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!â
Mark Carter
Carterâs Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. â
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Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Alternative Gardening, Archives, Bill Way, Bill Way Show, Compost, Gardening, Gardening Ideas, Homegrown Tomatoes, Lasagna Gardens, Organic Gardening, outdoor lifestyles, Vegetable gardening, Vegetable Scraps, Vegetables
I do a weekly Gardening Show on the radio with Seabass (The 180) @ 101.5fm radio. Itâs a call in talk show where people ask questions about all sorts of things. Last week âLasagna Gardeningâ came up and it brought back some old memories from way back when… Hereâs a Blog I wrote about Lasagna Gardens back in the day with Bill Way. 2009 Or so I believe. Bill was a HUGE Lasagna Gardener đ Enjoy –
âMy friend, Bill Way, turned me onto this idea of simple, organic style gardening and I think it is really catching on here in my neck of the woods. Itâs not a new idea really, just a cool take on an old one⊠Best thing is, IT WORKS! Below is a very simple breakdown on âHow Toâ make your own Lasagna Garden⊠ENJOY!
Thereâs no hard and fast rules about what to use for your layers, just so long as itâs organic and doesnât contain any protein (fat, meat, or bone). Just as with an edible lasagna, there is some importance to the methods you use to build your lasagna garden âLayersâ. Youâll want to alternate layers of âbrownsâ such as fall leaves, shredded newspaper, peat, and pine needles with layers of âgreensâ such as vegetable scraps, garden trimmings, and grass clippings. In general, you want your âbrownâ layers to be about twice as deep as your âgreenâ layers, but thereâs no need to get too picky about this. Just layer browns and greens, and a lasagna garden will result. What you want at the end of your layering process is a two-foot tall layered bed. Youâll be amazed at how much this will shrink down in a few short weeks.

Lasagna gardens are a bit less work than a conventional garden. And they are a great way to get rid of grass clippings and leaves đ
â The basics of making garden lasagnas are simple:
â Donât remove the sod or do any extra work, like removing weeds or rocks.
â Mark the area for your garden using a water hose or a long rope to get the desired shape.
â Cover the area youâve marked with wet newspapers, overlapping the edges (5 or more sheets per layer).
â Cover the paper with one to two inches of peat moss or other organic material.
â Layer several inches of organic material on top of the peat moss.
â Continue to alternate layers of peat moss and organic material, until desired thickness is reached.
â Water until the garden is the consistency of a damp sponge.
â Plant, plant, plant and mulch, mulch, mulch.
 Ingredients For A Lasagna Garden
 Anything youâd put in a compost pile, you can put into a lasagna garden. The materials you put into the garden will break down, providing nutrient-rich, crumbly soil in which to plant. The following materials are all perfect for lasagna gardens:
 Grass Clippings
 Leaves
 Fruit and Vegetable Scraps
 Coffee Grounds
 Tea leaves and tea bags
 Weeds (if they havenât gone to seed)
 Manure
 Compost
 Seaweed
 Shredded newspaper or junk mail
 Pine needles
 Spent blooms, trimmings from the garden
 Peat moss
 Straw
 Hay
If itâs too late in the season this year for you to start one, there is a whole summer of grass clippings and veg. scraps to get started with and FALL is coming with tons of leaves to use! With all this FREE organic material at your fingertips, that you have to dispose of anyway, put it too good use! You wonât regret it!
 Hereâs to the Life Abundant!
Mark Carter
Carterâs Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.#Â 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. â
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. â https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. â https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Amended Topsoil, Compost, Compost Tea, Composted Manure, Composting, Food, Free Compost, Gardening Ideas, Grass Clippings, Leaves, Natural Resources, Organic, Organic Gardening, Permaculture, Soil Amendments, Starting a compost pile, Vegetable Scraps, Vernicompost
I have been asked a few times on the radio lately about composting, so I went back in the archives and pulled this up. This was 1st published 10 years ago – To the day! đ„
A big blowing storm is coming thru tonight, ie; A leaf stripper! đ Plenty to get yaâ startedđ
âFall is one of my Favorite seasons! Cooler weather, fall planting and gardening and all the great family gatherings and food are wonderful. Fall is also a GREAT time to start a compost pile. All those leaves, plants and grasses to cut back and all of the upcoming holiday food scraps add up too a great supply of usable components in a compost pile!
Starting a Compost pile is quick , easy and wonât cost you anything to get started! Compost is one of natureâs best mulches and soil amendments and you can use it instead of chemical fertilizers. Compost improves soil structure, texture and increases the soilâs water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils to retain water. The organic matter in compost provides food for microorganisms, which in turn keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.

Once the process is complete you can use this free resource as mulch, soil amendments, top dressing for your lawn, to make compost tea for veggies & more. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee
Itâs easy to get started .
-Bag your grass clippings and mulch up all those leaves for the compost pile!
-Save those kitchen scraps and add them to the compost pile. Kitchen scraps are typically high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are good candidates for the compost pie. But DONâT add meat, grease or other animal products!
â With a compost pile, bigger is often better. Heat builds up with a bigger pile, but you donât want to get much bigger than about 3 feet by 3 feet, if itâs too big it can be hard to work around. Multiple piles may be in order .
â Aerate your compost! If you are composting with a pile, or in a static (non-tumbling) compost bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down effectively. Insert a few pvc pipes to get oxygen to the core and Turn it with a pitch fork from time to time .
â Donât let the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active , BUT , donât keep it too wet.
â Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. Itâs best to keep a balanced mix of green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) materials.
When ready, this compost will be wonderful for the whole garden!
Good Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!â
Mark Carter
Carterâs Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.#Â 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. â
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. â https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. â https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/
Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Compost, Compost Tea, Composted Manure, Composting, Earthworms, Fall Cleanup, Free Compost, Grass Clippings, Leaves, Mulch, Mulching, Organic, Organic Gardening, Organic Pest Control, Vegetable Scraps, Vernicompost
FALL is one of my Favorite times of the yearly ! Cooler weather, planting, gardening, fire pits, football đ and all the family gatherings – Wonderful!
All this beautiful color has gave way to the incredible yearly leaf đ fall… Thatâs why Fall is a GREAT time to start a compost pile!  All those leaves + all the plants and grasses that we have to cut back + all of the upcoming holiday food scraps = a great supply of FREE usable components in an âall natural compost pile!
Starting a Compost pile is quick , easy and wonât cost you anything to get started! Compost is one of natureâs best mulches and soil amendments and its natural! Plus you can use it instead of chemical fertilizers to feed your veggies & other plants.
PLUS –
- Â Compost improves soil structure & texture, plus it increases the soilâs water-holding capacity.
- Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils to retain water.
- The organic matter in compost provides food for microorganisms, which in turn keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition.
- Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.
Itâs easy to get started
-Bag your grass clippings and mulch up all those leaves for the compost pile!
-Save your kitchen scraps and add them to the compost pile! Kitchen scraps are high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process.
– Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are good candidates for the compost pie. But DONâT add meat, grease or other animal products!
â With a compost pile, bigger is often better. Heat builds up with a bigger pile, but you donât want to get much bigger than about 3 feet by 3 feet, if itâs too big it can be hard to work around. Multiple piles may be in order .
â Aerate your compost! If you are composting with a pile, or in a non-tumbling compost bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down well. It helps to turn it with a pitch fork from time to time .
â Donât let the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active , BUT , donât keep it too wet.
â Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. Itâs best to keep a balanced mix of green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) materials.
When ready, this compost will be wonderful for the whole garden!
Good Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. â https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. â https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/