Gardening glossary
Compost
Compost is organic matter — kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings, garden trimmings — broken down by bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates into a stable, earthy-smelling soil amendment. Finished compost is dark brown to black, crumbly, and smells like a forest floor rather than the inputs that went in.
Why I lean on compost more than any other amendment: it does several jobs at once. It supplies a slow, balanced release of macronutrients (typical NPK around 1-1-1 to 3-2-2 depending on inputs). It hosts billions of microbes per teaspoon that fight off pathogens and unlock nutrients bound up in mineral soil. It improves both sandy soils (by holding water) and clay soils (by opening up structure). And it raises cation exchange capacity, meaning the soil can grip and trade nutrients with roots more effectively.
How to use it: - New beds: dig in a 2-3 inch layer to a depth of 8-12 inches before planting. - Established beds: top-dress with 1 inch in spring and fall — earthworms pull it down for you. - Containers: blend 20-30% compost into the potting mix at repotting. - Compost tea: steep a shovelful in a bucket of water overnight, then water it in for a gentle liquid feed.
Make your own with a roughly 3:1 ratio of "browns" (dry leaves, straw, shredded cardboard) to "greens" (kitchen scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds). Keep the pile damp like a wrung-out sponge, turn it monthly, and you'll have usable compost in 3-6 months.
Avoid composting meat, dairy, oily food, diseased plants, and pet waste — they invite pests and pathogens. And resist using bagged "compost" that's actually fresh wood mulch dyed dark; real compost crumbles and smells sweet.