Get the scoop on compost and mulch
Let’s first start with soil.
It's the loose stuff on the surface of the ground that covers over half of the earth’s land surface. It’s made up of minerals, organic matter, broken rock particles, many organisms, water and air. It consists of different textures and colors depending on the amount of mineral particles and organic materials present.
And dirt?
It’s the dead soil, with no living organisms in it. And when dirt is what we need to plant our trees and shrubs and other plants into, we need to make sure it’s alive. We want to have a rich enough matter for the plants and trees in our landscapes to thrive.
That is why we want to amend our dirt and available soils.
One of the best ways to make our soils a productive substance is to add something to it. Sometimes we think our soils just need fertilizer. We buy fertilizer and throw it on the surface, or sometimes mix it in and hope that works. This isn’t always the best or only method to improve soil.
For many gardeners and landscapers, the preferred method is to use compost. But what is this compost?
The term compost means “a composition.” We use the word in the gardening and landscaping world to mean the organic matter such as leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps, plant clippings that we gather over time.
Gardeners usually layer these items in a pile in a designated location near a garden area, or in a specially designed compost bin. They gather the greens (table scraps, fruits, vegetables, leftovers, spent cut flowers and fresh grass clippings) and browns (dried grass clippings, woody plant material, oats, grains, autumn leaves, sawdust, wood chips, hay, straw, uncooked pasta and shredded newsprint paper) and throw them into their bin in layers.
The best combination is to have at least two times more browns than greens, starting with a layer of brown material, then a thinner layer of greens, and so on, ending with a layer of browns.
They then water their pile or bin every so often between rains, and every month or so turn it in order to break them down to a dark brown humus with a pleasant earthy smell. The process could take a couple of seasons, or even longer.
The mixed soil will be rich in nutrients as the macro-organisms break down the materials, sometimes referred to as “black gold.” Gardeners will notice these busy decomposers in their bins and piles. Some of them are mites, centipedes, sow bugs, snails, beetles, ants and earthworms. The unseen ones are bacteria, molds, yeasts, protozoa and rotifers that break the materials into even smaller bits.
This mixture, or compost, is then added to the garden, a flower pot, or flower bed, at an approximate 1:10 ratio as it is a rich concentrate. It is also used at times in a thin layer spread over a turf area, in order to amend a poor or compromised soil.
What then is mulch? Mulch is the protective layer of material that is spread over the ground to keep the soil cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. It’s also used in many warm climates to reduce evaporation, and help prevent the growth of weeds.
Mulch may be some of the organic material mentioned earlier, such as grass clippings, shredded newsprint paper and autumn leaves, as well as shredded bark and wood chips. This layer is not mixed into the soil, but will decompose over time to be part of the soil, thus amending it.
So, the scoop is: use the compost with the soil, then add the mulch. And watch your plants survive and thrive.
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Grace Broyles is a member of the Big Country Master Gardeners.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Get the scoop on compost and mulch
