By Carolyn Parker

YUMMY COMPOST is the rose topic this month, but before I give you my magical compost making method, I’d like to share a few thoughts about a recent trip to visit friends in Washington, DC.

For a gardener, traveling is a fascinating opportunity for observing how things grow in different habitats. I enjoy seeing which plants and trees thrive, and how familiar plants differ. And design wise, it’s a good way to perk up my perspectives.

In Washington, petunias, snapdragons, and zinnias grow with a vigor I’ve never seen in local gardens, especially my own. Hydrangea paniculata, the glorious 10 to 15 foot tree, foaming with ivory blooms, thrives in the moist Washington environment. Only in my dreams can I grow this beauty. Roses do well in Washington, but their around-the-clock summer diet of warmth and humidity takes its toll on bloom size and abundance.

There were similarities, the perennial hibiscus, I mentioned in my last column, and the deciduous shrub hibiscus ‘Rose of Sharon’ royally hold court in Washington–mine, as I write, are definitely doing the same. A bouquet of ‘Heritage’ the charming pale pink David Austin rose, in Washington, surrendered her petals in my friend’s home after only a day–mine do the same thing in Lafayette. And Bermuda grass was on its summer rampage there as it is here. Pull it out before it sets flowers !

On my return, six days later, many of my roses were in full bloom. And I saw my garden with renewed appreciation for its design and for its place on the earth. It was bliss to focus on the plants, dead head my roses, and think about what they’d like for a summer snack–COMPOST.  

I’ve mentioned here several times that roses love organic compost. Twice a year, I make big batches in a 6’ x 6’ bin of stacked fence posts. Since I don’t turn my compost, it’s frustrating to have to wait six months to use it. Then it dawned on me–make small, quick batches in large nursery pots . Many compost products are available for purchase, but if you’d like to try making your own, give this method a try.

Quick and easy compost

1. Collect your kitchen waste. I keep a 1-gallon stainless steel bucket, with a lid, in my kitchen sink. Tea bags, coffee filters, eggshells, and all vegetable scraps, except citrus peels (they take too long to break down) and avocado seeds (they germinate quickly into little trees) go into the bucket.

2. Find an empty 5, 10, or 15-gallon pot. You probably have a few left over from planting rose bushes or trees.

3. Add two or more shovels full of soil to the bottom of the pot. This is a good way to make use of poor soil discarded from garden bed or planting hole preparation.

4. Put in the kitchen waste with layers of soil, grass clippings and or leaf prunings. I also add a special, optional ingredient–bulk used coffee grounds. (Starbucks and Peets will bag them up for the asking.)

5. To this mix, I add a few earthworms and then more kitchen scraps, as they’re available. The volume reduces as the concoction decomposes; continue to add scraps until the pot is full.

6. To deter insects, seal the kitchen scrap additions by placing a layer of grass clippings, soil, or used coffee grounds on top. Keep it moist.

After only a month or so, you’ll have compost for your roses–rich, soft, sweet loam full of earthworms.

Even quicker compost

Kitchen waste decomposes very quickly in soil. A friend, Jolene Adams, told me how her mother bypassed compost making altogether. Through the year, each of her rose bushes, in turn, received fresh kitchen scraps dug directly into a hole, at the base of the bush.

I’ve put so much compost in my garden over the years; earthworms abound even in places I haven’t directly amended. It’s a good feeling to see average clay become rich, dark, and crumbly. The roses love it.

Compost by my slow method

Above I mentioned my 6’ x 6’ bin of compost. If you’d like to know exactly how I make it—read on. Keep in mind that it’s not the scientific kind, which burns weed seeds and bacteria. However, it has enriched our garden, without harm, for many years.

The quick method uses mostly kitchen scraps. The slow method can handle everything, except citrus peels, avacado pits, reseeding annuals, weeds with seed heads, rose prunings, and diseased prunings. Autumn leaves, grass clippings, old potted plants, sod, castaway perennial and grass clumps, prunings cut small, kitchen scraps, and more can go in the pile. If you have a shredder, you’re a step ahead of the game.

I buy cheap steer manure from Home Depot ($1.50 per 5 lb. bag) and make layers. Here’s one layering formula:

1. Garden prunings in a layer about a foot thick, or more.

2. Thin layer of garden soil or purchased mulch or compost.

3. Thin layer of steer manure

Water it in and repeat layering and watering. After 6 months, your compost should be ready to use. It's a good idea to periodically water the batch, to keep it moist, when there are no rains.

Cherry tomatoes

In our family we eat lots of salad, and usually with cherry tomatoes. I throw rotten ones in my compost bucket, and invariably little cherry tomato seedlings pop up around the base of my roses. I'm amazed at how easily the seeds germinate, but I don't want to ban them from the compost. Thery're easy to pull out and, who knows, I might want to havest a few.

 

COLUMN ARCHIVE