What is Composting?

Composting is a sustainable practice that takes advantage of a natural process, decompostion, and speeds it up by creating an ideal environment for fungi, microbes, and other decomposers to turn organic waste into compost. Proper compost should resemble something very close to soil.

Why Should You Compost?

Composting provides a multitude of benefits. For one, it provides us with an opportunity to reduce the amount of waste we contribute to landfills. Lawn/garden and kitchen scraps represent more than 30% of what we throw away (United States Environmental Protection Agency n.d.). By composting on our own properties, we contribute less waste to landfills and get the benefits of using the compost in our own lawns and gardens. Compost adds organic matter to the soil which helps to retain nutrients and water in the soils while also improving pore space that allows water to move more easily through the soil profile, helps with better root penetration, and provides much needed oxygen to organizims in the soil. The addition of organic matter is the best way to imrpove heavy clay soils.

Overall, compost can help improve the health of our soils and plants in our gardens and landscapes. A healthier landscape is going to require less fertilizer and less pest management. In turn, we reduce our impact on the environement. This also encourages healthy plants which help to clean the air, hold soil in place, and beautify our landscapes.

Learn More About Composting at Home

If you want to learn more about composting and how you can get a compost pile or bin started, check out this fact sheet from Ohio State Univeristy on Composting at Home.