Benefits of Composting

Get started with your own composting process and see your garden blossom.

One of the most efficient ways to help your garden grow organically without much dependence of chemical fertilizers is through composting. Compost is decayed organic material used a fertilizer for growing plants. Usually, it is a mixture of vegetable matter and manure, which is applied to the soil for improved results.

Let’s take a look at some of the major benefits of composting:

1. Improved Soil Quality

Compost not only helps to improve the nutrient content of the soil, but the structure as well. It releases the nutrients slowly, over a period of months or years so that soil efficiency is year-round. It also loosens the tightly packed areas of the soil, to let the pores open up to air and moisture, allowing the soil to retain water and nutrients.

2. Controls Plant Diseases

Composting has been shown to absorb odours and treat volatile organic compounds in the soil. It also prevents heavy metals from reaching the plant by preventing them from reaching the water resources which the plant absorbs. Compost provides the plant with a natural soil food web, which allows these microorganisms to thrive without affecting the water supply of the plant. It gives a natural ‘vaccine’ to the soil system, which a more sterile soil lacks.

3. Avoids Surface Runoff

With synthetic fertilizers, the soil is overloaded with nutrients and minerals, and most of this is leaked out as runoff along with harmful chemical substances. If chemicals get deposited in local water bodies, it boosts the growth of algae over the water surface. This reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the lower levels of water-body, causing loss of the rich aquatic life-form present in it. This type of water-pollution is known as Eutrophication.

As compost is a slow releasing organic fertiliser, this problem does not exist if using compost. Compost can also prevent erosion of top-soil and silting along roadsides, lakes, and rivers, which in turn prevents turf loss and soil decomposition.

4. Conserves Resources

With the use of compost, water consumption, fertilizer and pesticide use, and energy/fuel consumption is reduced drastically. When compost is applied to the soil, less water is required as the soil gets loosened and has more moisture-retaining capacity. As mentioned before, since the nutrient quality which compost provides is far superior to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, their use and the runoff and harmful effects which come with them are also reduced.

As composting is also a form of waste management and recycling, the burden on landfills and the fuel required to transfer the waste reduces substantially. The economical benefits of simply using domestic waste for your garden, as compared to buying garden products is also an added bonus to the gardening enthusiast. Clearly, the benefits of composting are plentiful. It provides an easy to use, eco-friendly, and economical way to care for your plants. Get started with your own composting process and see your garden blossom.