Posted on

How to use Compost

How to tell if compost is ready for use

The best way to tell if your compost is ready for use is if it looks like soil or if it still resembles whatever you put in your composting area. If it looks like soil and does not look like the things you put in to be composted, it is ready for use! Another easy way to tell if it is ready, is if it smells earthy, it is ready for use! If you are still unsure after these two techniques, there is one more you can try. Put some in a sealed container and remove the air from it; a plastic bag works best for this. Let it sit in the bag for a few days and after this open it up. If you detect any sort of funky smell coming from it, your compost is not quite ready for use yet and needs more time to decompose.

Where to use compost

As far as usage of your compost, there really is not a limit to where you can use it. Any plant that uses soil will love a compost home. It can be sprinkled and then raked into flower beds or gardens; it can used to fill outdoor containers; you can put some in your indoor plants as well to help maintain nutrient rich soil. It can also be spread around a newly planted tree to help it grow. Compost is especially helpful in enclosed raised beds which over time lose soil health. Essentially, compost is good to use just about anywhere you might try to grow something. It will provide the necessary nutrients to the soil to improve the growth of whatever you might try to grow.

Helpful tips to use compost more effectively

Generally speaking, indoor plants do not need to have compost added in the amount or frequency of an outdoor garden. This is mostly because an outdoor garden will have more plants removing more nutrients compared to an indoor plant. For indoor plants you only need to add compost every 6 months or so and you do not need to add more than a handful or two provided it is not a large plant.

For outdoor gardens, there are a few different approaches you can take. In the fall, add a layer of compost that is a few inches thick across the entire surface. Then in the springtime, till the soil so the layer of compost you added in the fall gets mixed in thoroughly with the topsoil. In addition to this, it would also be helpful to add a small handful to each hole as you plant something in within your garden.

What not to do when using compost

The most important thing to avoid when using compost is to ensure it is actually decomposed completely. If food scraps are still present or not completely decomposed, you may attract critters or pests and by removing it from your composter, you will significantly slow down the process. Be patient and wait until your compost looks and smells like soil.

Once it’s ready, use like you would regular soil. Be sure to till it in well with existing soil and plant as you normally would. You may be able to cut back on fertilizer when adding compost as this soil will be much more nutritious for plants than regular garden soil.

Posted on

Landscaping for Energy Reduction

maple tree leaf canopy

Saving energy use in your home starts outside! Strategically placing landscaping, garden plants, and trees around your home can help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In addition to reducing the amount of energy you use to heat or cool your home, it will also increase the look of your yard and home by adding beautiful landscape features to it.

3 things that affect your home’s temperature

Air infiltration

This happens mostly in the winter or during periods of cold weather accompanied by strong winds. When the wind blows, it can penetrate through the walls of your house. This is even more problematic in older houses because they have had more time to settle and more time for small cracks to develop. It also can be a problem in newer houses so nobody is truly immune to the effects of the wind when it is cold outside.

Solar radiation

Solar radiation is essentially the energy your roof and walls are exposed to from the sun. In Northern climates during the summer months, your roof is exposed to high levels of solar radiation (and year-round in warmer climates). This essentially soaks into your home causing you to increase your air conditioning bill. However, it is an advantage in colder climates to let solar radiation warm your house in the winter. To help conserve the energy you use to control the temperature in your home, you should minimize solar radiation in the summer and maximize it in the winter.

Heat conduction

Heat conduction is somewhat similar to solar radiation with one exception being it is the energy your home absorbs from the walls as opposed to the roof. Keeping the walls of your house shaded during the warmer months will drastically lower the amount of energy you use to cool your home. The more shade you provide for your home during the warmer months, the easier it will be to control the temperature inside your home in addition to reducing the amount of energy it takes to do this.

Summer time energy reduction

One of the easiest ways to increase the amount of shade your house is in during the summertime but ensure it will get plenty of solar radiation in the winter to keep it warm, is to plant deciduous trees. The reasoning behind this is because deciduous trees will lose their leaves in the fall. So, during the summer, the large canopy of leaves will provide your roof will plenty of shade. When they lose their leaves in the fall, it will allow the solar radiation to reach your roof and keep your house warmer than it would if your roof was in the shade. In addition to planting deciduous trees to shade your roof, you can increase the shade your house is in by planting climbing vines and tall shrubs that grow vertically along an exterior wall of your home (typically on the Southern or Western side which receives the most summer sun).

Winter time energy reduction

Luckily, some of the tips for summer time energy reduction also help during the winter. As mentioned earlier in the article planting deciduous trees that drop their leaves will allow your house to take advantage of the sun’s warmth in the winter. In addition to that, vines and shrubs that grow along an exterior wall to provide extra shade in the summer can help your house encounter less strong wind directly against it which in the winter seems to suck all the heat out of your house. As far as protecting your house from those frigid winter winds, you might want to consider planting various types of evergreen hedges that grow wide and tall. In addition to helping in the winter to protect from the wind, they will help shade your house in the summer too! As far as where to plant these, you will want to start planting them on the side of your home that is most exposed to the wind. If your goal is a windbreak in the winter, and shade in the summer, you will want to make sure you plant them close enough to your house, so they will shade your home in the summertime.

Posted on

How to Make your Own Rain Barrel

Why use a rain barrel?

Did you know that just a half-inch of rain falling on a 1,000 square foot house will generate about 300 gallons of water? Over the course of spring and summer (assuming 10 inches of rainfall), a roughly 1,300 square feet house can generate about 8,000 gallons of water! Saving that in a rain barrel to use in your garden means you’re not using municipal water (so dollar savings for you and better, untreated water for your plants)

Rain barrels can be part of your garden decor.

6 Easy Steps for Setting Up a Rain Barrel System

Step 1:

Install gutters on your house, along with a downspout. If you already have a home with these features this will be the easiest step!

Step 2:

Find something to collect the rain water in. Most people opt to use a 50-gallon drum, but just about anything that holds a decent amount of water will work. If you decide to use a smaller container, you might want to consider having a set up involving more than one. This can make the entire set up more complex so it would be best to have one large collection tank. Once you decide on your tank, you will need to cut a small hole to fit a spigot in the bottom of it. Make sure it is low enough on the tank for gravity to allow all the water to drain out.

You can also find premade rainbarrels at most home supply stores or through online retailers. Look for sturdy construction and attached overflow valves and spigots.

Step 3:

Install tubing or a short section of gutter to divert the water from the downspout into your rain barrel. This can be done in a variety of ways but is essentially just a tube connecting the two. When the barrel is full the water will just go out the downspout as it did before having a rain barrel. You can also buy an overflow pipe that connects into this system. This is an important component because it will direct the water away from your foundation once the rain barrel fills up.

Step 4:

Build (or buy) a stand to elevate the rain barrel — at least 1 foot high but customize to your height and landscape. The purpose of elevation is to use gravity to get the water flowing. If your garden is downhill from your rain barrel, you will need less height.

Step 5:

Install a filter between the downspout and rain barrel. Just a simple piece of screen will work but there are many premade options available online. This is an important step to keep debris out of your barrel which will eventually clog the spigot. It also would not hurt to have another back up filter where the spigot sits in the bottom of the barrel to ensure the hose connected to the spigot doesn’t get any unwanted debris in it that the other filter let pass through.

Step 6:

Connect a hose to the spigot and your rain barrel is ready for use! Once water accumulates in it, you can start watering your garden!

How to use Rainwater in your Garden

The water you collect with your rain barrel will most likely be very clean, provided you have a clean gutter system. This water is not considered potable because it’s run off your roof which has dirty, animal droppings, and so on. The water, though, is perfectly fine for all garden plants, bushes, trees, lawn, and even indoor plants.

Rain barrels do not typically have enough pressure to run a hose or sprinkler system. However, if you have enough slope you could use a soaker hose in between garden rows. It is also possible to install an electric pump (such as used in fountains) to create enough pressure to use with a hose.

Potential Problems with Rain Barrels

One of the biggest problems that come up with a rain barrel system is the connections getting clogged. This can be alleviated by using screen filters at the water intake site and by occasionally cleaning out the barrel.

Another thing to watch out for is insects that will try to reproduce in the water especially nasty mosquitoes. If you drain the rain barrel regularly the larvae will not have time to hatch. Also putting a lid on the rain barrel and draining it and disconnecting it before vacations will keep bugs away.