Compost is basically just all the biodegradable household wastes like plant and wood materials as well as food leftovers and animal manure heaped together to form an organic fertilizer. You may or may not use special types of worms to speed up the process although the common elements of food, air and water are always present.

You can just place your ready compost directly into the soil. It will achieve the same effect as store-bought chemical fertilizer although it must be emphasized that organic fertilizer often requires double the amount of chemical fertilizer. Still, to make full use of your organic fertilizer, here are a few beginning gardening tips for those with or without any prior experience with this type of gardening.

Soil Amendment

Often, soil must be amended to bring out all the nutrients hidden inside of it.  Basically, you just work about 2 to 3 inches of compost into the top 6 to 8 inches of ground soil.  Just remember to do this when the ground is warm and moist, around early mornings and late afternoons, since you want the compost to retain its moisture.

Vegetable Gardening

You have to amend the soil as abovementioned before planting your vegetable seeds.  You should then mulch the soil with an additional 2 to 3 inches of compost for plants that require intensive cropping and heavy feeding.  This is one of the most common and most practical compost gardening tips you will find.  

Perennial Flower Beds

You begin by layering in around 2 to 4 inches of compost on to the soil and then mixing n before planting your perennial flowers.  Just outside the root zone, you should dig a 2-inch layer of compost into the 6 to 12 inches deep soil.  You must also remember to add fresh compost mulch on an annual basis to the surrounding soil surface.

Annual Flower Beds

The use of compost on annual flower beds varies depending on the planting time, this works especially well in Soil Composting Bins. Before sowing the seeds, you should mix in 1 to 2 inches of compost into the top 2 to 6 inches of soil. During growing season, again layer the top soil with ½ to 2 inches of compost. For fall clean-up, you must spread 1 to 2 inches of partially decomposed compost material over the planting beds. In the winter season, it pays to dig the compost into the soil or cover the soil with mulch.

One of the best Compost Gardening Tips is that can adopt is in transplanting your perennials, annuals and vegetables. Always mix in a small amount of compost into the holes so as to promote faster growth of the transplanted plants.

Lawn Care

With compost, you can actually save on the costs of store-bought lawn fertilizers while maintaining the same level of green in your lawn. Think of it as going green while staying green in the lawn. Anyways, you can spread sifted compost about ¼-inch thick over the lawn during fall and early spring. Just remember to aerate the lawn and then raking it afterwards. If you are preparing for a new lawn, mix in 2 to 3 inches of compost into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil just before seeding.

These should make your garden the envy of the neighbors. Plus, it does pay to go green when you save on your green dollars, thanks to the humble but powerful compost.