Composting Made Easy

Compost is natural mulch and a soil amendment. Commercial fertilizers were created to replace the use of compost. Unlike commercial fertilizer you don’t have to pay for compost. Compost can be made without spending a cent. Compost improves soil structure and texture, adds aeration and increases the soil’s water-holding capacity. Compost will loosen clay soils and help sandy soils retain water. Compost maintains soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants, just the way nature does. Compost provides organic matter which is food for microorganisms, which in turn keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. The feeding of microorganisms produces natural nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.

One of the surest, easiest ways to become a better gardener is to build and maintain a compost pile. Not only will you be producing the best possible food for your garden, but by watching leaves, eggshells, orange rinds, and grass clippings become transformed into rich compost filled with earthworms and other soil creatures, you’ll be learning what healthy soil is all about.

More and more gardeners are starting to understood the value of this rich, dark, earthy material in improving the soil and creating a healthful environment for plants. It is in the public interest to begin to understanding how to make and use compost.. The problem of waste disposal is climbing toward a crisis level. Landfills are brimming, and new sites are increasingly hard to find. For this reason there is an interest in conserving existing landfill space and in developing alternative methods of dealing with waste. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Don’t throw away materials when you can use them to improve your lawn and garden! Start composting instead.

Many communities are encouraging their citizens to deal creatively with their own yard waste, as one by one, cities are refusing to haul off our leaves and grass clippings. About one third of the space in landfills is taken up with organic waste from our yards and kitchens, just the type of material that can be used in compost. With a small investment in time, you can contribute to the solution to a community problem, while at the same time enriching the soil and improving the health of the plants on your property.

Compost improves soil structure. Most gardeners don’t start with great soil. Whether yours is hard and compacted, sandy, stony, heavy, or wet, adding compost will improve its texture, water-holding capacity, and fertility. Your soil will gradually become fluffy and brown—the ideal home for healthy plants.