Advantages of a Compost Pile

Why Compost? The are a lot of good reasons to start composting.

As any gardener knows, you end up with a lot of garden waste over the course of the year that you have to get rid of in some way. For gardeners, harvest time means a lot of refuse.

Burn your waste: Not really a sustainable mode, and as a pragmatic matter it’s simple against the law in many places. Besides, it’s not that pleasant a way to deal with you yard waste.

It’s often just simpler to locate a compost bin near the garden and load it up. You don’t have to take it very far, and when it’s done you don’t have to take it very far then, either. A lot less work than hauling fertilizer and mulch from the nursery.

Putting compost on your garden improves it in a variety of ways. Not only is it a fertilizer, but it works to improve the soil condition of your garden. It will loosen clay while binding sandy soils. As a pH buffer in the soil as well, it corrects both acidic and alkaline soil conditions.

In your house you will have kitchen waste to dispose of. Almost everyone has egg shells, dying houseplants, tea bags, coffee grounds, and old produce to deal with. While throwing it in the trash is quick and easy, it is really just avoiding the problem. When you compost you really “dispose” of your waste.

So when it comes time to get rid of your leaves in the fall, become a leaf thief and a net “comsumer” of yard waste, and put not only your leaves in the compost pile, but your neighbors leaves as well. Do the same with yard clippings (assuming you don’t already use a mulching mower) but be careful if your neighbor uses lawn treatments that you don’t want in the garden.

You’ll have more mulch and ground cover than you know what to do with, and the landfills will have to do without your contributions.

Build a simple compost pile or even try a compost bin or compost tumbler. You’ll be glad you did. It will save you money and help save the planet.