What is composting and why compost?
What is composting?
Composting is a natural process. Organic waste breaks down into a rich soil that is directly usable in the garden.
The organic waste breaks down in several ways:
- Natural bacteria, tiny insects and other micro-organisms in the soil literally eat the waste or break it down.
- Larvae, wood lice, beetles, worms and other such creatures also help the composting process by breaking bigger particles into smaller ones.
- Some waste literally rots down into component parts.
- Moisture and oxygen is needed to sustain the tiny plants and animals that change the waste to compost so these must be present too.
- A by-product of this process is heat. On a cold morning you may see steam rising from your compost. This is proof that the rotting down and conversion is taking place. The warmth also helps the speed up the process.
The new soil formed from the composting process contains a wealth of natural chemicals and nutrients that nourish and sustain your garden plants.
Why compost?
- Recycles nutrients back into the soil
- Helps the soil retain moisture
- Reduces water consumption
- Raises the fibre in the soil helping it bind together
- Improves plant health & growth, increasing yields
- Increases nutritional quality of home grown foods
- Reduces reliance on toxic chemicals & pesticides
- Reduces the waste that the dustmen take away
- Converts waste into a valuable resource
- Disposing of organic waste (such as kitchen/garden waste) in landfill is expensive for everyone and produces gases that contribute to global warming. Home composting can help slow climate change.
