Question
QUESTION: Do compost items really work for the lawn and what do you put in the bins?  How long does it take to make compost?  I read somewhere that paper and leftovers are compost items.  What about the roaches and such?  And how do you apply this compost on the lawn?  Do you have to water it down or what?  Are they better than chemical fertilizers? What is your opinion of Milorganite?

ANSWER: The Big Bang you get from this stuff comes from the high concentration of microorganisms that nutrient-rich Compost generates.

Putting those microorganisms anywhere in the Soil is like building tiny food factories underground.  When you apply Compost to the rhizosphere of a Grass plant, you're serving it a 10-course gourmet meal in a 5-star Michelin French Restaurant.  The microorganisms sometimes generate growth hormones, or rev up metabolism, or build natural chelators ('siderophores') that to fine tune the power-packed Humic Substances.

California's Integrated Waste Management Board posts instructions for making Compost on its website:

www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/HomeCompost/

Compost bins attract the usual crowd of bugs.  But they heat up internally, canceling Weed Seed viability and pathogens among other things.  This is what happens when microbes decompose materials.  Compost happens.

Compost is ready by Spring.  You can top dress your Lawn or anything else you are growing.  If you play your cards right, Earthworms will take over the work, incorporating the finished Compost right into your Soil.  Earthworms love doing this.  Be nice to them.

Didn't someone once say that Roaches have been around since before the last Ice Age?  These are one of the most resilient creatures that was ever made, but they are still one of the creepiest in my book.  I don't like them one bit.  There may be a place for them in a Compost Pile, but not in my backyard.  See what those California Composters say about it in the section called 'Compost Pile Critters'.

Grass clippings, dead leaves, vegetables and fruits, even leftover juice make terrific Compost.  They're also teeming with microbes that fight Fungus attacks and help your plants resist parasites.  And these bioflora are so effective, in fact, that any vegetables you do grow in them not only taste better, but they have more vitamins.  See this essay on Organic Gardening 101:

www.helium.com/items/1027355-how-to-go-green-on-the-farm-top-10-tips

This is relatively new science and it's not something most people are very familiar with.  But pound for pound, Compost is the only way to garden in the 21st century.  George Jetson would definitely approve.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I bought a push lawn mower that is like the ones  in the olden days.  What is your opinion on these?  And can I leave the grass clippings or rake them?

Answer
Push Mowers are SUPERB ways to mow your Lawn.  For a lot of reasons.

First, they make NO Carbon footprint.  Not too many things today can boast about that.  Your sweat is the only source of energy.

Next, they mow BETTER than electrics or gas mowers because they slice the Grass as they go through it.  I'm not kidding here.  The slice is superior to the cut.

Finally, they're so quiet you can mow in the dark, late at night, while no one is watching.

Oh... there's one more pro, and that's the mowing height options.  Automatic mowers don't have the same range as the push mowers.  Don't ask me why, they just don't come close to the range of options that are at your fingertips behind a push mower.  Since they mow so often and so beautifully, you can leave the clippings with no visible buildup.  Push mowers are terrific.

L.I.G.