Compost is one of the best soil amendments you can use. It enriches the soil and adds structure and beneficial fungi and bacteria. Having healthy soil increases your plants pest and disease resistance and makes your garden more productive. Making your own compost at home is a simple way to save money on garden supplies. It’s also good for the environment, keeping tons of food waste out of landfills each year.

Selecting a Compost Bin

To get started you’ll need a compost bin. Many farms just have large compost piles but this may not be the best option if you live in a neighborhood or have pets that will dig through your compost.

Tumblers

Some folks opt to purchase compost tumblers. These are basically barrels on a stand that allow you to turn your compost without manually doing it with a pitchfork. The down side of these is that they can be pricey and hold a limited amount. They’re great if you’re just adding food scraps but if you have access to a lot of material or keep chickens or other livestock they fill up quickly.

Bins

Compost bins can be purchased or are easy to DIY. Pallets are commonly used to create simple bins. Just remember if your bin is closed on all four sides, it’s best if you can easily remove a side so you can turn your compost. You may also want to consider adding a lid to your bin. This can help keep your compost from getting too dry or too wet.

Multi-Bin Systems

If you opt to build your own bin you might want to consider actually making two or three. That way when your compost in the first bin begins breaking down you can stop adding new material to it and add it to the next bin. This way you have compost in various stages.

Acceptable Materials

Basically there are two categories of materials that you’ll add to your compost bin. These include “brown” or carbon-rich materials and “green” or nitrogen-rich materials.

A basic rule of thumb is that you want to add these brown and green materials in a 1:1 ratio. If your pile is too dry and not breaking down, add more green materials. If you’re pile is too wet, slimy, and smelly add more brown materials.

Brown

• Fallen leaves
• Wood chips, shavings, or sawdust
• Corn stalks
• Pine needles (can make your compost more acidic)
• Shredded paper (avoid glossy material like magazines)
• Straw
• Hay
• Nut shells
• Paper towels (unless they have cleaning chemicals on them)
• Brown cardboard
• Wood ash

Green

• Grass clippings
• Coffee grounds
• Vegetable scraps
• Fruit scraps
• Animal manure (avoid dog and cat)
• Weeds
• Eggs shells
• Seaweed
• Plant clippings
• Tea and tea bags 

Things Not to Compost

There are a few things to avoid putting in your compost bin.

• Animal products
  Meat, fish, and dairy can cause odor problems and attract pests. They should especially be avoided if you live in a neighborhood.
• Fats and oils
  Like animal products, these will cause odor and may attract pests.
• Diseased or pest-ridden plants
  You don’t want to add these problems to your new healthy soil!
• Cat and dog poop
  These can contain parasites that can be passed to humans handling the compost.
• Sawdust from treated lumber
  It contains harmful chemicals.
• Coal and charcoal ash
  It can harm plants.
• Treated plant or yard waste.
  It can contain harmful pesticides and herbicides that could harm your plants and be unhealthy for you.

Maintaining Compost

Every few weeks you should turn your compost. For those without tumblers, this means flipping your compost pile over using a pitchfork or shovel. This helps aerate your compost and encourages microbes to continue breaking down material. It also means new material doesn’t just sit on top.

Your compost pile will decompose best if it’s moist but not wet. If it has been hot and dry in your area and your compost seems dry you can add a bit of water with your garden hose or watering can. However, if your area has been really rainy you may want to cover your compost if it isn’t in a closed bin.

If your compost has a lot of dry brown materials and isn’t breaking down it’s a good indicator that you need to add more green materials. If it’s slimy, smelly, and not breaking down well you should add more brown material.

Using Your Compost

You can use your compost for a variety of applications. The simplest thing is to spread it over your garden beds. Additionally it can be added to potting soil or homemade potting mix to give your plants a boost. It’s also great for making compost tea which can be used to water plants that need a bit of extra nutrients.

Having blooms in the garden all summer long is the goal of many flower gardeners. Whether your aim is to keep fresh bouquets on the table or a banquet in your pollinator garden it will take a bit of planning. Many flowers can be succession planted to provide a steady supply of blooms.

if you would like to learn how to plant flowers you can use flower delivery the ponds to make your own decorations at home for any occasion.

Sweet Peas

Sweet peas are an excellent flower to start the season because they germinate at 55°F. Soak seeds for 24 hours and direct sow as soon as soil can be worked in the spring. Plant a second batch 2-3 weeks after the first. Those in cooler climates may be able to fit in another succession but sweet peas generally do best in cool, spring weather.

Bachelor’s Button

These adorable little flowers should be direct sown in mid-spring. Their ideal germination temperature is around 60°F. Like Sweet Peas, you can plant 2-3 successions early in the season. Look at these floral arrangements artificial flowers you can use for any special event.

Larkspur

Larkspur also prefers cool weather and germinates best when the soil temperature is around 60°F. It can be direct sown as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring. You may be able to get a couple more successions, planting every two weeks, before the weather gets hot depending on your climate. And then if you would like to gain even greater skills with flowers you could attend a floristry course in a city like London (there are lots more available in other locations)

Breadseed Poppies

Another spring favorite, poppies can be sown in late fall or early spring and germinate best at about 60°F. You may be able to get two or three successions planted before the weather gets too warm. The dried seed pods make a nice addition to cut or dry flower bouquets.

Cosmos

Cosmos are one of the best choices for those who want a lot of cut flowers! Cutting flowers and deadheading encourages cosmos to continue blooming. They’re highly productive. For extra early blooms, cosmos can be sown indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost. They germinate best when the soil temperature reaches about 70°F. Sow outdoors after all danger of frost has passed and sow every 2-3 weeks until midsummer if desired.

Zinnias

A workhorse in any flower garden, zinnias can be sown every 2-3 weeks until about midsummer. Zinnias will provide more continuous blooms if you “deadhead” them, removing blooms that are past their prime.

Sunflowers

Just like zinnias, sunflowers may be sown every 2-3 until around midsummer. Note that different varieties vary in their days to maturity. Ornamental varieties like Velvet Queen are great choices for cut flowers as they are poly-headed and offer multi-color blooms. Silverleaf Sunflowers are highly attractive to pollinators, heavily branched, and bloom until frost.

Asters

Asters can be direct sown or transplanted after the danger of frost has passed. They germinate best when the soil temperature is around 70°F. They bloom in about 85 days and can be sown every 2-3 weeks into July for continuous blooms.

Tithonia

Great for attracting butterflies, Tithonia germinates in a wide range of soil temperatures, 68-86°F. It can be sown indoors 3-4 weeks before transplanted or direct sown. Plant after last frost. It can be sown every 2-3 weeks until midsummer.

Marigolds

Marigolds offer a long bloom period. Our earliest variety Lemon Drop will bloom from June until frost. Marigolds can be direct sown or transplanted after last frost. Multiple successions can be sown every few weeks. How many successions will depend on the variety (days to maturity vary greatly) and your climate.

These are just a few of the flowers that you can succession plant to keep your garden blooming all season long. When planning other flowers just keep in mind the days to maturity and ideal planting conditions.

Additional tips for a full season of flowers:

• Plant perennial flowers like Rudbeckia, Butterfly Weed, or Phoenician Mullein.
• Deadhead any spent blooms.
• Try blooming cover crops like buckwheat or crimson clover to support pollinators.