Compost

Bryce: Capable to normalizing every problem soil, it can bring to life sand dunes or rock-hard red clay, to patches of slick, shiny wax gumbo or to hard-scrabble, high-limestone earth with barely a trace of topsoil. By heating organic wastes to 160 degrees F, the composting process deactivates weed seeds and reduces levels of plant pathogens and toxic substances, producing a sweet-smelling crumbly humus.

Becuase compost releases its nitrogen slowly, it creates lower concentrations of nitrates in nitrate-storing leafy vegetables like lettuce than chemical fertilizers with an equivalent amount of N-P-K (an important plus since high nitrate levels in food have been linked to cancer). unlike chemical fertilizers, compost attracts earthworms, which feed on organic tidbits and return them further enriched to the soil in the form of castings.

This is my compost pile--we have a small back yard, so I squeeze in what I can. The wonderful thing about a compost pile is that a lot of our trash (paper products, vegetable matter, scraps [not meat]) all go into it, reducing my carbon footprint on the dump, and giving back to my garden what the vegetables take out of it. There's not much to do--I turn it every once in awhile (the more you turn it, the faster you get compost) and in a couple of months, I take it out, sift it, and add it to my garden beds.

Since I've been doing this for a few years, I have deep rick black soil and the plants LOVE it! The kids think it's neat too. I use bales of straw because they are cheap, insulate well, look nice, and eventually, when they are broken down, go into the compost pile! What's not to like!