What is Composting?

Many people who are gardeners or care about the environment at putting in kitchen and garden waste into composts therefore creating a product which can then be used in the garden.  This is done by speeding up the process that the materials you use to compost go through on their own – decomposition.  If you are a keen gardener then composting is somthing that you should learn more about.

Compost is not soil.  It is a common misconception that the end-result of composting is the dirt that you find in the ground.  Compost allows plants to grow healthier by providing lots of wonderful nutrients.

Before you begin composting there are choices to be made – what type of container and style suits your project, what type of waste you will be composting, and the location of your bin.  No matter what choices you have to make, how you convert your waste into compost happens the same way.  It is a breakdown of waste materials as they are digested by microbes (bacteria and fungi).

This might not sound very nice but without the microbes, you'll not be able to achieve compost.  They need air, water, and food to do their job and it is up to you to supply it to them in the correct amounts.  For great compost you should consider using worms.

People who have never owned a compost before in their lives are under the misconception that composts are automatically smelly it is most likely the result of not enough air circulating throughout the waste material.  Without air, the material will still breakdown but it will be done by anaerobic microbes (organisms that do not need oxygen) as opposed to aerobic (ones that need oxygen).  If you discover that your compost is emmitting a foul smell then you should add in some cardboads and also turn the compost with a fork to allow more air into it.  Wood chips or hay are good for the composter.

Composting is something that everyone should get involved in, even if you only have a very small garden – it prevents waste from enetrying landfill and also adds much needed nutrients to your soil.