What is Compost?
Compost is organic material that can be used as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow plants. It has a content called humus that is dark brown or black and has a soil-like, earthy smell. It is created by combining organic wastes (e.g., yard trimmings, food wastes, manures) in proper ratios into piles, rows, or vessels; adding bulking agents (e.g., wood chips) as necessary to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials; and allowing the finished material to fully stabilize and mature through a curing process. Natural composting, or biological decomposition, began with the first plants on earth and has been going on ever since. As vegetation falls to the ground, it slowly decays, providing minerals and nutrients needed for plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Why Compost?
- Compost improves soil structure. Because of its loose, fluffy, cake-flourlike texture, compost improves the structure of garden soils, both increasing the drainage of clay soils and binding together sandy soils, enhancing their moisture retention.
- Compost stimulates beneficial organisms. Not only does compost contain all of the major plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), it also contains a wealth of minor and trace elements as well as billions of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and other soil creatures that will continue to break down organic and inorganic matter in the compost and in your soil, providing a long-term, steady feeding of nutrients to plants. The microorganisms in the compost will also help your plants absorb nutrients from fertilizers more efficiently.
- Compost provides a balanced source of plant nutrients. No commercial fertilizer, even one that is totally organic, provides the full spectrum of nutrients that you get with compost. Even if you are lucky enough to have great soil, you can’t expect that soil to remain rich and productive without replenishing the nutrients that are consumed each growing season.
- Compost stimulates beneficial organisms. Compost is teeming with all kinds of microorganisms and soil fauna that help convert soil nutrients into a form that can be readily absorbed by your plants. The microorganisms, enzymes, vitamins and natural antibiotics that are present in compost actually help prevent many soil pathogens from harming your plants. Earthworms, millipedes, and other macro-organisms tunnel through your soil, opening up passageways for air and water to reach your plants’ roots.
- Compost is a garden insurance. Not only is compost teeming with all kinds of microorganisms and soil fauna that help convert soil nutrients into a form that can be readily absorbed by your plants, the microorganisms, enzymes, vitamins and natural antibiotics that are present in compost actually help prevent many soil pathogens from harming your plants. Earthworms, millipedes, and other macro-organisms tunnel through your soil, opening up passageways for air and water to reach your plants’ roots.