Composting is an important part of yard care for the environment as well as turf health. The nutrients in compost give grass the food it needs to grow strong and healthy. There is a growing trend of compost proponents in Winnipeg for a variety of reasons. We will cover what compost is, what it’s used for and some other important items related to compost in this article.
Compost as a noun, is humus which has been broken down from green organic matter. This green matter could be grass clippings, leaves, perishable food waste, or nearly any other organic material. The key is to keep the material quite moist for the composting process to occur. Depending on the material this can take anywhere from weeks to months. Grass takes longer to break down than most forms of organic matter.
After the green matter has rotted, many of the nutrients remain and the substance is now stable enough to be used around the yard to grow new plant matter in. The other thing that happens after the composting process has occurred is the foul smell is reduced and the material resembles the look of generic black dirt but with a slightly browner tinge to it. This material can be sold on its own as pure compost or it can be mixed with other soils to create an appropriate mix for the desired application. Soil mixes for gardens, flowerbeds or other high quality growth applications usually have a higher mix of organic matter like compost or peat moss in them. More generic applications like for planting grass can make due with a lower organic content, but some organic matter is important because it helps feed the new plants.
Winnipeg has a growing trend of environmental proponents who greatly stand behind compost. Many individuals compost in their back yards with their food wastes and then use this waste as a fertilizer for their gardens or flower pots. There are also businesses in Winnipeg who will pick up your organic waste and take it to their facility to compost it there and re-sell the product as finished compost. There has recently been a hot debate about this process as there were a number of complaints over the smell coming out of this facility. Hero Winnipeg has been on this facility many times and we can tell you that the smell at this facility is not bad at all.
Whether composting occurs at a facility or in your back yard the process is very similar other than size and scale. Organic matter needs to have considerable moisture content, so if the matter is dry it should be watered to about 40-60% moisture content. From here the pile should be turned over to ensure an injection of oxygen and a more thorough compost process. The more often the pile is turned over the quicker the compost process will complete. The most frequent turning should occur is every 3 days or so. During the process there will be considerable heat in the pile and if moisture levels are too low the piles can actually catch fire. Even with lots of moisture the piles can get hot enough to burn you so be careful when turning, touching, or stepping in piles and look for steam rising as an indicator of heat. The heat generates from the inside of the pile so this steam will be visible once the pile is turned or opened up.
Another instance of compost occurring is on your lawn every day. If you leave the clippings on your lawn they settle into the soil and the organic matter slowly breaks down and releases nutrients back into the soil to feed new grass. The term for this is grass-cycling. Of course this process occurs much slower as the thatch isn’t turned constantly and isn’t nearly as moist as it should be for a typical composting application. However, the general idea still occurs and the act of grass-cycling is a great benefit to your turf. It also helps divert waste that may otherwise be sent to the landfill by throwing away the grass clippings. This helps the landfill, and negates the need to hire a garbage collection company like Trash Bandicoot Junk Removal Winnipeg, to haul away your excess clippings.
If you need organic matter for your gardening, grass seeding, or flower applications look at picking some up from a supplier or start your own compost. You can start by grass-cycling on your lawn or by starting a compost with food scraps or other organic waste around your home or yard. Join the Winnipeg trend of eliminating waste and re-using waste for the benefit of your yard.
