You have counseled in numerous articles the value of treating our clay soils with organic mulch. Could you suggest a source for good quality organic compost? I have been warned that the local recyclers’ material may have weed seeds, pesticide residues and other junk.
Yes, indeed, I have preached repeatedly that the best way to improve any soil (especially clay soil) is to add organic matter from any source. You are correct in being concerned about recyclers who accept our yard waste and chip it into a compost to sell back to us. It is possible to heat sterilize compost to reduce problems, but I don’t believe most recyclers do that.
Most of us could create our own compost by recycling materials from our own landscape. Two of the best materials available to us are grass clippings and leaves. When I moved into a new home with soil that needed a lot of help, I went around the neighborhood collecting other people’s grass clippings and leaves that they wanted to get rid of. I piled the grass clippings and leaves several inches deep on my bare soil and sprinkled a little lawn fertilizer on top. Then I rototilled two or three times. If I had more money and less time, I probably would have just tilled in bark dust instead.
It would have been better if I had composted the leaves and clippings for a year. That is what I do now. Creating your own compost is an easy process. Just find a corner of your yard. Besides lawn clippings and leaves, add kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds and egg shells. Throw weeds (without seeds) and yard trimmings on the pile. Add a little lawn fertilizer to each layer to supply the nitrogen needed by micro-organisms as they break down the materials into humus. Keep the pile moist by sprinkling it occasionally. About once a month, turn or stir the pile with shovel or fork. This adds oxygen, which is also needed by the microorganisms.
