Gardening and greenhouse enthusiasts surveying their landscape and noticing a number of dead plants and leaves should not be disheartened, it has been suggested.
According to Dailycamera.com, this decaying organic material can be ideal for boosting soil quality by holding water and nutrients in a sort of reservoir for roots to tap into.
It suggested that now is the time to collect the rotting leaves and plants and deposit them on the compost heap.
The key to good compost is to place twice as much brown material as green in a sunny spot or a compost bin.
Resinous wood should be avoided as this can slow the process, while black walnut leaves should also be shunned due to them containing the toxin juglone.
Similarly, weed seeds, diseased plants, meat, bones, grease, eggs and dairy products should not be added.
However, other kitchen scraps, such as potato skins and apple cores can be useful.
Meanwhile, WZZM13.com suggested recently that now is a good time to prepare for next year‘s vegetable garden.