Composting for HUGE Green Chiles

Green Chiles LOVE compost! Compost is nature's FREE fertilizer!  Adding this rich organic material to your soil will help your vegetable plants grow larger and more bountiful. In fact, many organic gardeners use only compost to fertilize their vegetables.

Rather than buying the bags of compost in the store – save plastic and money, plus recycle your household and landscaping waste by making your own compost.

Composting is easier than you think, here are our tips:

• Find an area in your yard to either build a compost bin or to place a purchased bin – you can even simply pile up debris without installing a thing! Want compost bin building ideas? Check out these 18 DIY Compost Bin Designs » 

• Add brown and green materials such as leaves, twigs, plant trimmings, and grass clippings, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded.

• Make sure to add water and keep your compost moist, but not soggy. Dry compost bins simply don't break down, and soggy ones rot and have more odors. 

• When adding vegetable or fruit peels and waste, bury them about 10 inches under compost material to deter scavengers like raccoons. 
  
  
• Add eggshells! They are a great source of calcium for plants as they break down. 
  
  
• Seeing worms is a good sign! Worm poop is the best thing ever for plants and they make compost piles GREAT. If you see ants in your compost, that means it's too dry. 
  
  
• You can also add used paper and cardboard, tear or shred it up – it makes for great worm food!

• Covering your compost with a tarp or lid will help keep it moist, but is optional. When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use. This usually takes anywhere between two months to two years.

• Turn the compost often, using the richest dark brown compost at the bottom of the pile to add to your garden beds, and then turning the rest so it's well mixed and will decompose more quickly.
  
  
• It is recommended that you layer different types of debris for the most effective composting. Start by spreading a layer that is several inches thick of coarse, dry brown stuff, like stalks or leaves. Then, top that with several inches of green stuff like grass clippings. Then add a thin layer of soil. Finally, add a layer of brown stuff.  Moisten the three layers, and repeat throughout the seasons! 

Adding compost to your soil will create a lush and productive garden! When growing peppers and tomatoes, the soil should be deep, rich, and loamy. Adding compost every year will help build your soil with lots of nutrients and your green chiles will thrive! 

Happy Growing!