Compost adds numerous benefits to soil and should be part of a gardener's plan.
Walking into a Middle Eastern restaurant and ordering humus instead of hummus may get you quizzical looks. Hummus--with two "m"s--is a dish made with chickpeas, while humus is the organic portion of soil that's no longer actively worked by microorganisms. Depending on the type of organic material, the type of available microorganisms, and their number, it may take several years to several hundred years for certain material to become humus. This complex mixture bears no resemblance to its origin and is still not completely understood by scientists. Humus is a vital part of fertile soil and is extremely important to plant growth.
Instructions
1. Add to the soil on a regular basis. The greater the variety--such as leaves, vegetable and fruit waste, and animal byproducts including manure and fat--the richer the humus. Compost is already mostly decomposed and helps the soil create humus much faster.
2. Avoid fast-acting chemical fertilizers, which often add too much salt to the soil for the microorganisms to survive. The loss of the soil-dwellers greatly slows down the decomposition process.
3. Keep the soil moist. Dry soil loses the ability to decompose its organic material. Lay a protective mulch over the soil after the soil has warmed in the spring to keep the moisture in.
4. Avoid disturbing the soil by tilling or turning it over. The complex web of decomposing microorganisms depend on a stable environment. Disruption of the soil forces the soil microbes to regroup and start their efforts over again.
Tags: organic material
