What is Composting?

Many people who are gardeners or care about the environment at putting in kitchen and garden waste into composts and turning them into a valuable resource for your garden or houseplants.  What happens is that the process of composting is basically speeding up the natural process of decomposition.  If you are a keen gardener then composting is somthing that you should understand.

Don't confuse compost with soil.  It is a common misconception that the end-result of composting is the dirt that you find in the ground.  If you want lush and healthy plants then giving them compost will really help because you are also giving them the nutrients they need.

Before you begin composting there are choices to be made – not all containers will be suitable for your needs, what type of waste you will be composting, and the location of your bin.  But regardless of these decisions, the process of composting happens in the same manner.  It is a breakdown of waste materials as they are digested by microbes (bacteria and fungi).

The microbes are the workers of the composting equation.  In order for the microbes to do the job needed, they require certain things such as food, air and water all in the correct quantities.  For great compost you should consider using a wormery.

It might be that if you are not familiar with owning a compost that you think that composts are all smelly horrible things 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 composting bin.

Composting is good for the environment and your garden – it prevents waste from enetrying landfill and also adds much needed nutrients to your soil.