Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with Composting? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Composting.

If you’re into organic gardening you probably know by know about compost and how it works wonders to your garden patch. But for the first timers, creating a compost pile is not really on the top of their to-do-list. The question of is composting worthwhile usually comes up and not knowing enough they usually arrive at the easiest answer and course of action. And that’s a nope, I don’t have time for making my own compost. I will settle with the commercially available organic fertilizers and stuff.

First things first, composting is the process of decomposing organic wastes, which can be household wastes or plant remains or a mixture of both, and making them into a dark, earthy, and loose or crumbly substance. Because compost is rich in minerals which most plants need, compost can be made to replace your garden soil.

Most often, however, gardeners use compost to enrich their garden soil. When compost is added the soil, the overall structure of the soil improved allowing it to hold more water and letting air circulate within the soil.

Contrary to some of your perceptions, compost is quite easy to make and is especially easy to use. There are several methods that could be used when creating compost. The following guide shows how easy it is to create it on your own backyard.

I would suggest making your own compost bin to make everything confined to one place. You will avoid making a mess in your backyard if you do so. Plus, temperature and moisture can also be regulated if you construct a compost bin but allow the organic materials to be composted touch the soil. You need to allow your earthworm buddies and other organic microbes help out in the decomposing process.

So far, we’ve uncovered some interesting facts about Composting. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

Although, almost all organic materials could go into your compost pile, a good combination of ?greens? and ?browns? would be better. The ?greens? refer to nitrogen-rich organic matter like fresh grass, leaves, and your scraps in your kitchen. The ?browns?, on the other hand refer to organic matter tat contains a lot of carbon such as those dried leaves on your backyard, straw and, of course, wood chips or shavings.

A good combination of ?greens? and ?browns? can dictate how fast you will have a finished compost. Admittedly, you will have an edge in this area if you have piled up your experience in compost making. Why? Well, for starters you would probably have timed how fast the final compost is created from the different proportions of ?greens? and ?browns?.

Some, however, would suggest that the best proportion would be 25 percent of your compost pile is made of ?browns? and 1 percent is made of ?greens.? Take note that if you have a large part made up of ?browns? the compost pile will decompose rather slowly. On the other hand, having too much ?greens? on the pile could cause some serious smell.

Other elements that you should always consider when making compost are the air and the amount of water your pile will need. It is best to keep your compost pile damp. This will help in the decomposing process. Air is also needed so make sure your pile is properly aerated. If you do observe that no air is coming in, just turn over your pile. Observe and continuously aerate your pile every until you can already ?harvest? the fruits of your labor.

It takes some effort in creating compost, that part I have to agree. But the results of composting are really worthwhile.

Now that wasn’t hard at all, was it? And you’ve earned a wealth of knowledge, just from taking some time to study an expert’s word on Composting.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still letting you get Free Adsense Websites – every month!

You should be able to find several indispensable facts about Composting in the following paragraphs. If there’s at least one fact you didn’t know before, imagine the difference it might make.

Generally, there are two types of composting processes: residential or home-based and industrial composting processes. Each type of process has different techniques associated with it. Home-based composting is growing in popularity because it is easily implemented in homes; all it would take would be a willing mind and some manual labor on the part of the composting enthusiast.

A clear advantage of home-based composting is the minimal need for machineries and other equipment that industrial composting requires. However, it will not be able to be at par with the capacity of industrial composting systems. Here are some of the types of home-based composting processes that a potential composting expert can use in his quest.

Composting Toilet

The use of a composting toilet or pit is one of the most popular methods of small scale composting in both urban and rural residences. The composting toilet is convenient, easy to set up and quite simple to monitor and mix. The composting toilet is a bit tricky, however, since it will require you to orient your family members about it especially if your composting activities burgeon to larger proportions.

It may also be very difficult to distinguish the materials in cases where you need to monitor carbon to nitrogen ratio due to its simplicity. But it is is still widely used and accepted in most homes as a good method for small scale composting.

Open or Closed Bin Composting

The use of composting bins has been very useful for many people, especially those who are particularly drawn to compartmentalizing and organizing the composting activity. In some cases, a composting toilet or pit may not be easily cleaned; this is where the advantage of the compost bin comes in. the compost bin will ensure that the composting process will remain under your control.

Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about Composting? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

Especially with closed bin composting techniques, you can more directly observe the variables affecting your compost pile, as it is not exactly exposed to external elements that can actually affect the compost greatly when accumulated over time.

German Mound

Also known as a Magic mound, the German method consists of forest elements such as wastes from wood-rich gardens, clippings from hedges, prunings, bashwood and brassica stems. These objects will then be placed in a circular trench, which is about 5 inches in width and an inch deep.

Another hole is dug at a center, an additional inch deeper than the outer circle, and this is where most of the rough materials are placed. From this, layers and layers of manure, wasted leaves and compost are added. Apparently, the results of the German mound is good for the soil in the next 4 or 5 years that it is installed in the land.

Ecuador Style of Composting

When you are involved in some composting that are comprised of tree trunk or banana stalks, then you are up for some Ecuadorian treat in composting. Embedding the whole pit with tree trunk or banana stalks, then placing the organic matter in an interspersed manner for each layer, helps segregate the compost materials more efficiently.

This will take up a lot of space, because it only gets watered after the pile gets to a height of a meter and a bit beyond that. But the good thing is that the high pile need not last forever. The people of Ecuador often wait for it to settle down, remove the top layer and aerate it and repeat the process for more humus production.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still letting you get Unlimited Web Hosting from ONLY $1/month

After a couple of months taking care of your compost pile, turning over the pile every now and then, warding off insects and pests, and keeping the pile damp, it is only natural (and you should do so) to get the most out of your compost. And this means using the compost wisely and effectively.

You will know the right time to harvest the compost when you no longer recognize the original materials that you used to make the pile. The finished compost should look more soil-like or humus-like. It is dark, loose and smells earthy. When you harvest the compost from your pile, it would be best to spread it out and exposed it to the air. This will further dry the compost and will make is a easier to use.

If you find some bigger chunks still not fully decomposed, throw it back to the next compost pile you’re going to make. One way to get the not fully decomposed material, you can use a screen or wire mesh large enough to let the compost through but small enough to screen the remaining big chunks.

As you probably know by know, compost has a lot of benefits that is why it is often encouraged among gardeners. For starter, compost helps improve the overall soil structure. This means the density and porosity of the soil is improved allowing plants’ roots to grab a hold on the soil better. The soil also becomes more resistant from erosion and runoff. Likewise, adding compost to the soil allows better water retention.

Aside from the soil structure, the macro and micronutrients compost contains provide plants with the needed minerals and nutrients to grow healthy. The soils holds in the nutrients better when compost is added to the soil. Not to mention, compost improves and stabilizes the soil’s acidity levels as well. These are but a few reasons why compost should be used by gardeners.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

Let’s go back to your newly harvested compost. After removing those that did not fully decomposed and after curing the finished compost, the next steps would be using what you have been brewing these past few months.

Among the most common usage of compost is as soil amendment. What you do is add the compost to your soil and allow it to draw out the nutrients and other essential minerals for your plants to absorb. You can also spread the compost over the soil before the planting season. You can apply to selected plant surfaces if you have not enough to go around with.

You can also use your compost as mulch. Mulch is a protective layer spread over the soil to help counter the effects of the climate. You might need an ample supply of compost if you use it mulch though. To use it as mulch, you need two to six inches of compost covering the soil surfaces of plants, trees, shrubs, and exposed slopes. As mulch, the compost will help lessen weed growth, prevent erosion, attract earthworms, and help retain water.

Another usage of compost is as potting mix. Mix the compos with sand and soil and voila! You’ll have a great quality potting mix which you can use for your plants. A mix of 1 part sand, 2 parts compost, and 1 to 2 parts soil seems to be the general agreement for using compost as potting mix.

Getting the most out of your compost is only natural. You worked hard creating your compost and you should learn to reap the full benefits.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering Unlimited Reseller Hosting from $5/month

If you are still find it hard to understand the nature of composting, it can actually be simplified. It can actually be compared to recycling. Instead of throwing out all your waste and garbage, or at least what you consider as garbage, you can sort that out. In recycling, you need to pick the things that can still be transformed into other materials so that you can use them for different purposes.

The more popular things that are being utilized in recycling are the pins on soda cans. These are said to help out in making aluminum. Other containers can be used as pots or vases. Used clothes can be turned into mats or rugs. The idea here is that while there are things that can still be useful in your everyday lives, most of the recycled materials are being implemented as decorative elements.

With the products of compost, you will not pick things out of the garbage pile to be able to come up with other things that will be useful to you on your everyday life. No, the process will not come up with an exotic looking vase or a picture frame made out of shells or bottle caps. You can leave those thoughts to recycling.

Composting entails the recycling of the materials that can be found on nature. The popular samples of this would be dried leaves, grass clippings, vegetable or fruit peelings, animal manure, sawdust, among others. How would all these be useful? Unlike the practical applications of the product of recycling, this in turn will mostly be for gardening purposes.

Truthfully, the only difference between you and Composting experts is time. If you’ll invest a little more time in reading, you’ll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to Composting.

This will be especially helpful if you are into organic gardening. This method requires the use of organic materials. That means that you cannot turn to synthetic products, especially for the purpose of fertilizers and pesticides. And it is possible. Your compost can make the soil for this type of gardening healthy and happy. As a result, it will produce healthy crops and chemical-free plants.

Organic gardening may sound complicated to the novice ears. But if you put your heart into it, you will find out that all the hard work that you will spend doing this will all be worth it. But this doesn’t really mean that you have to do it especially if you can’t afford to because of the time consideration and other factors.

But even if you don’t have time to do organic gardening, you can still try your hand in making compost. This can also apply with people living on the urban zones. Even with such situation, you can still do a little gardening trick by having your plants in pots. No, you don’t need to go organic all the way. Nobody’s telling you to do so. But using the products of your compost as a fertilizer can actually engage you with the project and may start your curiosity towards the real organic gardening thing.

Besides, everything nowadays seems to be marketed as organic. Look at the grocery aisles. There are organic food, organic soap, organic tissue, cloth and everything. This seems to be trend. And nature is definitely not complaining.

By going out of your way to do composting, consider nature sending out her appreciation your way. And may this inspire you to do other things to help with the causes of Mother Earth.

If you’ve picked some pointers about Composting that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering Unlimited Reseller Hosting from $5/month

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding Composting. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about Composting.

Well, there’s no doubt about it, composting is a good practice that any self-respected gardener should learn to do. But the question really is what materials we could make into a compost and which ones we cannot. We have been told that composting can be done with any organic material. Well, in theory that may be true, however, in real life it may not be always so.

There are a several organic materials that should not be included in the compost pile unless you know how to do it properly while there are other materials that should not even be attempted even by the experts. To compost or not to compost, that is indeed the question. And let’s see if we can provide the answers.

For home composters like you and me, we have a number of materials available inside our own home and even our own backyard. The big, industrial composters have a little advantage over us. They can compost more materials than us because they have the facilities to divert, mask, or absorb the odor that may come out from composting a lot of organic stuff. We don’t have the same luxury. We don’t want our neighbors organizing a protest rally against our composting in our own backyard, now do we?

Don’t let this worry you though, there are still a lot of materials that we could include in our compost pile. Let’s begin with something our front lawn is always dying to dispose off: excess grass. Yep, grass clippings from our lawn can be put to better use like for the compost file in our backyard. In situations where you have hay instead of grass clippings, that could work as well.

Using hay for composting is often practiced by farmers. You will find that farmers are more than willing to dispose of that hay. And when it comes to using hay for composting, be sure to pick the greener ones. Green hay means it still has a lot of nitrogen in it.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

Others include kitchen wastes such as vegetable peels, fruit rinds, tea bags, eggshells and coffee grounds. These substances contain high levels of nitrogen. Make sure, however, to keep pests away from your kitchen wastes. Some would prefer to prepare a compost bin intended for their kitchen wastes. Others would prefer burying these wastes in eight inches of soil. And because they precisely attract pests, it would be best to stay avoid including scraps of meat, milk products and left over bones.

Wood chips, wood shaving, saw dusts, paper, and other wood products are generally good to included in your compost pile. However, be sure to stay away from chemically-treated wood products. Arsenic is one of the highly toxic chemicals that is sometimes used to treat wood. Using sawdust from such treated wood products is a no-no since the chemical will leak into the soil causing more harm than good.

Speaking of no-nos, there are other things that you should not include in your compost. Plants that died due to a disease should not be included. There is still a possibility that the disease the caused the death of the plants might infect your future plants.

And similarly, human, dog and cat wastes are not uses as composting materials as well precisely because they contain organisms that could cause disease. Such disease might cause people to be sick or might affect your plants.

Even though grasses can be used for composting, it would be best to avoid weeds like morning glory, ivy, sheep, and kinds of grasses that could grow in your compost pile. The weeds seeds also can survive the composting pile which can be carried to your new garden.

So going back to our earlier question: to compost or not to compost? Composting is something that is ideal for your garden. However, choosing the right materials will determine how successful your compost pile will be.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about Composting.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

Is this going to be your first time to try your hand and luck in composting? This should not be that hard. But it isn’t that easy either. The sure thing about this is that it is going to take a lot of your time. But the end result will all be wroth it, especially if the next thing that you want to try your hand on is organic gardening.

The two actually go together. You will be able to utilize to its full potential your compost on your organic garden. If you think that you have a knack and you have the talent for it, you should really try gardening. It is not all work but no play. This can actually be just a hobby that you can use to relax while flexing those muscles out for a much needed exercise.

The main reason for gardening may be for beautification. But when you go the organic route, the reason behind this will be much bigger and much in tuned with nature. By making compost, you are also being one with nature. You are doing your part in preserving its beauty by gathering the waste elements that can be recycled to act as fertilizers to your garden.

For starters, it is only natural to worry if your project will be a success or not. But why worry if you can take the necessary actions for it to actually succeed. Here are some tips that you can follow.

1. Manage the stink. You don’t want to get into trouble with your neighbors for the sake of nature. To achieve this, you must keep the pile oxygenated. You can turn the materials periodically to gain such effect. This way, the materials on your pile will decompose regularly.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you’re fully informed about Composting, keep reading.

2. Decide if you are going to do it hot or cold. If you’ve decided on cold, you just have to pile all the organic materials and let nature takes its course over them. But this will take months to even years for all the materials to be good enough for compost.

If you will choose hot, this is a more detailed process and more effort is required on your part. You have to place your materials on a compost bag. Place the leaves first then put soil into it. Add other kitchen wastes like scraps from vegetables and fruits. You must remember to moist this pile periodically for the bacteria to grow so they can aid in decomposing the materials faster.

3. Watch out for the unnecessary visitors. You must be vigilant in a sense that if you are seeing flies and other pests inhabiting on your pile, take the proper actions to get rid of them. You want the pile to rot but not in a way that it won’t be useful in the end.

4. Place the compost, whether it is being done through hot or cold way, a good distance from the household and nearby neighbors. This way, you can proceed with the steps without the probable intrusion and questioning by the people nearby who don’t get what is that all about.

Composting can really eat up a lot of your time. So do it methodically. Make sure that you’ll devote ample amount of time into the process if you really are serious about gaining positive results from this.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

Do you ever feel like you know just enough about Composting to be dangerous? Let’s see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from Composting experts.

That of course is the general idea behind this article. There’s a lot of materials out there about composting and compost and the last thing you need is another one that explains the technical aspect of the process and the scientific basis behind the importance of using composts.

Although, I’m not denying the fact that technical explanations such as those are necessary as well, but it would be nice to hear or read something more of layman’s approach on the subject. Well that’s something that this article would like to do, anyhow.

Compost is an organic substance that is added to the soil which functions more than just being a fertilizer. It is a mulch, a soil conditioner, and something that will help the soil give the best nutrients and minerals your plants need. With compost, the soil also is able to hold more water, which is also beneficial to your plants.

There are several composting methods which you can employ or use. The so called ?no-turn? composting method seems to be the easiest. Like what the title of the method indicates, you don’t need to turn the pile of compost at least once every week to quicken the process of decomposition. In this ?no-turn? technique, all you need to do is add a lot of coarse materials to your compost.

Adding a lot of straw would do just fine. What the straw does is to create air pockets and allow the pile to be aerated. You can expect your compost to be developed at the same rate as when you employ the traditional ?turn-over? composting technique. When you use this composting technique, be sure to get your compost from the bottom of the pile. Just add new organic materials on the top keeping in mind adding coarse materials as well.

It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Composting. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

If the only available composting materials in your yard are piles and piles of leaves, then don’t worry. Creating composts from leaves alone can be done. You just need a couple of things, and some very simple techniques. Select a place where you will make your compost pile. For the leaves, the place ideal would be a well shaded area which will help keep the pile damp or moist. Also keep in mind that the pile should not be packed tightly. Keep it loose to allow the air to circulate.

In four or six months, the compost from leaves should be finished and ready to be applied to the soil. Take a mental note, however, that the compost created from the leaves does not contain enough nutrients and microorganism to function as a fertilizer. The finished compost, however, is great as soil conditioner.

When composting, you will need materials rich in carbon and nitrogen namely fruits and vegetable scraps and other table scraps except left over bones because they attract a number of pests and animals. Other products include eggshells, grass or shrub clippings, pine needles, seaweed and kelp, coffee grounds, wood ash, tea leaves, cardboard and shredded paper, corn stalks, wood chips, and sawdust.

To discourage fruit flies and other pests from grouping together on your pile, it would be best to cover the pile or add lime or calcium over the top or whenever you add new materials to your compost. The lime and calcium also help neutralize the odors from your pile.

I hope you were able to have a simplified view of the composting and got some useful and simple tips from the article. Just remember that composting is difficult only if you want it to be.

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about Composting.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with Composting? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Composting.

Have you ever heard of worm composting? I know about composting. I have a small composting pile brewing in my backyard. However, the first time I’ve heard of worm composting, I have to ask (embarrassingly I might add) twice if the person was not joking. When I got home, I searched the web and found out that those wriggly friends do help make compost. The process is interestingly different from the regular composting procedure.

Work composting or vermiculture is easy, affordable, and low-maintenance way of creating compost. It has a lot of advantages. Definitely it requires less work, just let the worms eat up all your scraps and in two months you’ll have rich compost at your disposal.

The worms used in composting are the brown-nose worms or redworms. They work best in containers and on moistened bedding. Those night crawlers or large, soil-burrowing worms are not good for composting purposes. Just stick with the redworms and things will work out well. All you need to do is add food waste to the container and soon enough the worms will eat them up and convert compost together with the bedding.

Before placing your redworms inside containers, place a nice layer of paper to serve as bedding for the worms. Any kind of paper will do, but it has been observed that the worms will consume newspapers, cardboards, paper towels and other coarse papers faster. The worms will eat this layer of bedding together with the scraps of food to convert them in compost. You can also add a bit soil on top of the paper and a few pieces of leaves. If your redworm container is located outside the house, try considering adding livestock manure on it. Redworms love them.

Fruits, grain, or vegetables are great for worm composting. The redworms can even eat egg shells, coffee grounds, and even tea bags. Avoid giving them meat, fish, oil, and other animal products. Like the traditional composting, these materials only attract pests to the composting bin and also produce bad smell.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you’re fully informed about Composting, keep reading.

The proportion of worms to food scraps will be based on how much scrap you like to be composted in a week. For example, if you want 1 pound of food scrap to be composted a week, all you need is also a pound of redworms. You don’t need to add redworms into the container unless you want to increase the amount of food scraps you intend to compost in a weekly basis.

For containers, keep it well ventilated to let the air in and let the excess moisture out. You can use plastic bins, and even wooden boxes for worm composting.

The time to harvest would be when the container is full. Scoop out the undigested food scraps as well as the works which are usually on the top few inches of the material. The remaining material inside the container is your compost. To remove the remaining worms from compost, you can spread the compost under the sunlight.

Leave a few small mounds of compost. As the heat dries the compost, the worms will gather in the mounds. Just be careful not to leave the compost under the sun that long or the worms will die.

Afterwards, you can place the worms in the container again and repeat the process all over. You see, this is how our wriggly friends help make compost and for those who don not mind the feeling of worms in their hands, this might be a good and easy way to make compost.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

Imagine yourself as a chef of a fancy restaurant. To cook a delicious meal, you carefully measure the ingredients and combine them to create wonderful dishes. The same can be said when creating composts. This time, however, instead of the people in the restaurant as your customers, you will be answering the needs of your plants. And just like cooking, you are given the task of putting together in equal amounts the ?greens? and ?browns? of composting.

?Greens? and ?browns? are nicknames which are used to refer to the organic materials used in creating compost. The major differences between these two elements are not so much on the colors of the organic matter themselves but rather on their basic components. The Greens are organic materials rich in nitrogen or protein. Meanwhile, Browns are those organic matters that have high carbon or carbohydrates contents.

Because of their high nitrogen and protein contents, Greens allow micro organism in composts to grow and multiply. Also, the Green components generate heat in compost piles. The Brown elements on the other hand contain the energy that most soil organisms need. Furthermore, because of their high carbon contents, the Browns function as a big air filter, absorbing the bad odors that emanates from the compost pile. The carbons also help prevent organic nitrogen from escaping and also aids in the faster formation of humus from the compost.

In case you’re stumped whether an organic waste or material belongs to the Greens or Browns variety, one of the easiest way to test it is to wet the material. If you find the material to stink after a few days then it belongs to the Greens variety. Again, remember not to be fooled by color.

For example, although leaves come in green, brown, red, etc. colors, they are classified as Browns. Leaves are high in carbon. The evergreen leaves for example have higher carbon contents than any other leaves. However, there is always an exception. Oak tree leaves do not fall under the Greens classification. Oak leaves contain high amounts of nitrogen which makes them fall under the Greens category.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

Other examples of Greens include animal wastes, grass clippings, and those left over food from your kitchen. AS long as you don’t use harmful chemicals like inorganic fertilizers and pesticides on your grass, then the use of grass clippings I is okay. Meanwhile, papers, wood chippings, sawdusts, bark mulches and other wood products are most often than not fall under the Browns classification.

Sugar products are also classified under Browns. These include molasses, syrups, sugar and carbonated drinks. You could use these sugar products to activate or increase the activities of microbes in your compost pile.

Some other Greens include vegetable and fruit wastes, eggshells, as well as coffee grounds, filters, and teabags. For the Browns, they have hay, straw, and cornstalks. Pine needles fall also under the Browns category. However, it is suggested that using too much pine needles on the compost pile will give the Browns too much of an advantage.

Once can achieve a successful compost with the correct ratio of Brown and Green components. Ideally, a ?Browns? and ?Greens? of composting ratio of 3:1 would ensure a successful compost.

This means, you will have three parts or the pile made of components high in carbon (Browns) and one part of it made up of nitrogen-rich ingredients (Greens).

Now you can be a confident expert on Composting. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on Composting.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Composting, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Composting.

Some of us may be hesitant in making and using compost. They find the task of making one troublesome and time consuming. Or they might have false perceptions of smelly compost piles and having such a messy process right in their backyards. While others would prefer buying their fertilizers, soil amendments or conditioners, and mulch from their garden stores to avoid all the hassle of reading about compost and actually making one.

Here are my top personal reasons for composting. I only hope that you move your butt out of that chair and begin your own compost pile before you reach number ten.

The first reason I find composting highly worthwhile is the fact that the materials used are absolutely free and are readily available. Compare that with the ever rising costs of commercial fertilizers and other gardening products in the market today. All you need is a little extra effort to find the best materials for your compost pile, but otherwise, everything’s for free.

The second one is that compost provides more nutrients and minerals needed by my plants than commercial organic or synthetic fertilizers. The overall effect of compost is also longer than commercially available fertilizers. It’s free and it works better, who wouldn’t want that? Plus, if you organize your ingredients just right, you can provide a whole lot more range of nutrients.

Another good reason would be the benefits of compost to the soil structure. When applied to the soil, compost can help the soil be more resistant to erosion, improve its retention of water, and in some types of soil (like clay) it can reduce the chance the soil becomes compact. This is also important for farmers since compost can make the soil easier to till conserving time and fuel needed to operate the machines.

The information about Composting presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Composting or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

With the right composting technique, the process can kill those troublesome weeds as well as pests and disease-causing organisms present in the materials being composted. High temperature composting is the technique I am talking about. Although, this technique is not the backyard variety but rather a more laboratory or industrial type variety, I still find it a good reason why we should make composts.

There have been studies which indicate that using compost can suppress the growth of diseases in crops. Other studies also show that crops grown over compost rich soils can resist better pest or insect attacks. Likewise, some news and observations in the field also shows that crops grown using compost bear produce that can be stored longer. If that’s not reason enough, I don’t know what else you are looking for.

For the environmentalists and conservationists, compost has something for them as well. Using compost together with the soil can build soil carbon which can eventually reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It may take a lot of compost to have a positive effect on the greenhouse gases but that fact is quite useful as well.

It is also found out that compost works well as an antidote for soils that are toxic with agricultural chemicals. Compost can balance the levels of soil acidity, and helps farmers to go organic after years of using synthetic agricultural products.

These are my top reason for composting. Some of it may not directly benefit my personal needs but having those reasons to cling onto is a good thing to motivate the use of compost.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)