Getting Back to the Basics - Composting Part 1 of 2:

In getting back to the basics, I first want to discuss soil health. To grow and maintain healthy plants - healthy soil is a MUST! So how do we maintain and/or add necessary nutrients back into the soil year after year?

Are you ready?! – We compost!

Compost(ing) is defined as “a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used to fertilize or condition land.” Organic matter helps to recover soil fertility, improve water retention, and the delivery of nutrients to plants.

Benefits of Composting Include,

-Improves Crop Yields

• Composting is a great way to surpass last year’s return, when adding broken-down organic matter back into the soil - you replenish the soil's nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, all necessary for plant growth.

-Replaces/ Reduces Chemical Fertilizers

• Chemical fertilizers can cause water pollution, toxic buildup and when used long term when cause soil acidification.

-Improves Water Retention

• Compost helps strengthen the soils ability to retain water. Improves Soil Quality Composting reduces soil erosion, erosion occurs when top soil is blown or washed away. Compost can help to restore topsoil and build stable soil structure.

-Assists with plant rooting depth.

-Helps with Carbon Sequestration

• Carbon is stored in the top three feet of soil and is released into the air when soil structure is weak – applied compost helps improve soil structure to combat against this.

Now that you know the benefits of Composting, we hope you’ll join us for the second half of this post; Composting Part 2 of 2 – Setting up My Compost Pile, The Easy Way!

Scheduled for release 2/22/24.