Recipe for fertile garden soil

Andrew Mangwarara

THIS week we feature a fascinating garden at Innocent Kundiona’s surgery, which is located along Cleveland Avenue in Milton Park, Harare.

The gardener responsible for maintaining the place is Matches Kamukono.

But for a garden to flourish, as is the case here, a good recipe is needed.

One way of ensuring that you have fertile soil for your plants is composting organic matter regularly. You then apply the resultant manure into the soil.

The secret to greening up your space successfully is making your own compost.

Even though a lot has been written about making composts, many gardeners still get it all messed up.

A compost needs three parts carbon (dry matter like sawdust, dry leaves, grass and newspapers)  and one part nitrogen (green stuff such as fresh grass and fresh manure). This is how nature makes its own compost.

If you look at the forest floor, you will find lots of dead leaves and twigs that accumulate, and a few green leaves.

When making a compost, choose a level site and mix the proportions as indicated above. Make sure it is a sunny position as composts need heat. Also have a black plastic sheet ready as a form of cover, especially when it rains, as composts need to be moist but not water-logged.

Ensure that you do not add weed seeds on the compost heap. If you do not heed this advice, the seeds will come back to haunt you in the garden as weeds.  A compost acts the way nature works by returning what was once alive to the soil. In this way, it helps to improve plant growth. Additionally, it improves the nutrient- and water-holding capacity of the soil, whilst ensuring that plants resist diseases.  There are certain items you should not add to the compost heap, for example, dairy products and food scraps, as they attract ants.

Too many citrus peels radically change the pH of the heap and kill microorganisms essential for the success of the compost.

Other things not to add are large pieces of watermelons as they attract rats, chemicals, coloured paper and plants with thorns (they will make gardening a nightmare).

Finally, grow comfrey (syphytum officinale) next to the compost heap as it works as an activator.

However, many things can go wrong on a compost heap, such as a foul smell. This means the heap is too wet and has become anaerobic. You need to add more brown stuff (carbon) and a handful of dolomite or lime (even wood ash), whilst turning the heap. You can also add more green stuff or move the heap to a sunnier spot.

If you would like to be featured in our green-up campaign, contact us on the number above. Feedback: [email protected] or [email protected]