There are many benefits to growing veggies. However, if you are going to grow veggies, then a compost heap is essential. If you are new to gardening you may be wondering what the benefits of a compost heap are. Let’s look at those now.
Compost has the following benefits:
- It improves the structure and health of the soil.
- Compost enables the soil to retain moisture and nutrients.
- It attracts good organisms to the soil.
- Compost helps reduce the need for pesticides and fertilisers.
- It improves plant growth and health.
- Compost provides the nutrients plants need to grow and thrive.
- It helps to increase the plant rooting depth.
- Compost improves the physical, biological and chemical properties of the soil.
- It helps to reduce erosion.
- Compost helps to conserve water.
- It helps to moderate the soil temperature.
It’s easy to understand why compost is so crucial for a veggie garden. Aside from providing the nutrients the plants need it also fulfils so many vital functions that help the plants to thrive.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST
It’s simple to start your own compost heap. You need green material like veggie scraps which are high in nitrogen and have lots of moisture. Then you need brown materials like wood chips and cardboard which are high in carbon and don’t have much moisture. You can add these to your compost heap as you have them but it’s important to remember to have as much diversity in your compost heap as possible.
If you have the space it’s a good idea to have 3 compost bins. One bin will be the one you are filling, the other one will be full with the material breaking down and the final bin will be ready for use. In this way you will have a continual cycle of compost available.
Another crucial element for a veggie garden is regular water. It can be difficult doing this by hand particularly when you are away for a holiday. As a result, a great solution for this is to have an automatic irrigation system. In this way, all your watering needs are taken care of while you are away.
Contact us today for a quote for water filtration and irrigation system installations, Cape Town!