Make Compost to Dig In Around Your Pond For a Lush Garden

Did you know that an estimated 40% of the content of our weekly waste is made-up of organic matter that can be turned into compost rather than sent to landfill? This could be used to make compost, which can then be used to feed your garden by digging nutrients in the soil to encourage lush growth around your garden pond.more

Digging rich, crumbly organic matter into the soil around your newly dug pond will help to encourage turf regrowth or the establishment of plants. Once you have added the edging around your pond to secure the pond liner, the next step will be to link the design of your pond with that of the surrounding landscape. Nutrient rich soil will be of huge value in the end results.

Making compost is easy and does not require huge expense – just commitment. Here are simple steps to follow:

• Invest in a composter and position in a semi-shaded area of the garden.
• You can compost any material that was once living (dairy, cooked foods and meat should not be composted as they will attract vermin).
• Add an equal mix of green and brown – weeds, mowed grass, plant cuttings, fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, ground coffee, cardboard, shredded paper, shredded wooded matter, horse or cattle manure and sawdust.
• Continue to fill the composter as and when you have the ingredients and leave to compost over at least a twelve-month period or, if needed quickly then fill the composter completely. Mix using a garden fork. Add water intermittently as you add ingredients to the composter.
• By mixing the ingredients, you allow air into the composter to encourage aerobic microbes to continue breaking down the organic matter.
• Six to eight weeks later and you could have the sweet smelling mater that will enhance growth around your garden pond. Remember it is nutrient rich so not advisable to add to planting baskets for adding to your pond.

Planting in and around your garden pond needs careful planning with plenty of room for imagination. The key, however is to create a harmonious combination of colour and variety both in the pond and out. The type of edging used to secure the pond liners in place is also important in blending the two environments together.