"Ottawa" wrote in message

I'm totally new so what exactly does everyone mean by organic
matter?
Anything??? or specifics?

The very simple rule of thumb is that "organic matter" is anything
that has once lived or been through a herbivore's digestive system.
It can be grass clippings or dead bodies or manure or old leaves or
newspapers or pine mulch. BUT not all organic matter is equal. For
example pine needles are acidic and do well as a mulch on strawberries
but not on some other plants. Manure from horse, cow and sheep and
others is great in almost all situations (and I don't worry about
whether it is well rotted or not), I use it fresh but would never use
fresh hen poo. Old autumn leaves are best left to rot either on top
of a bed you'll use next spring or in a "leaf mulch" bay. I've even
buried old hen bodies and they work too.