RRFB Resources - Guide To Composting

What Are The Benefits Of Composting?

Composting has many benefits and we can reap them right at home!

Making Your Garden Grow

Adding compost to your garden helps your flowers and vegetables in two major ways: by supplying needed nutrients and by conditioning the soil.

Compost contains some important nutrients. It also contains substances that convert minerals into new forms that plants can readily absorb. Compost also helps make all types of nutrients more effective by binding them to the soil so that they do not "leach" out of the soil in the rainwater that passes through.

Conditioning the soil means improving it's structure. Poor soil structure means poor plant growth. Compost improves all types of soil with it's water-holding and "loosening" properties.

A well-conditioned soil is also much easier to work, saving your back and making your gardening a much more pleasant experience. But your greatest pleasure will be seeing your flowers and vegetables grow up healthy and happy in their fertile, well-conditioned beds.

Don't have a garden?

Compost will make your grass healthier. Spread it on your lawn and watch it create the same wonderful benefits for you that it does for your gardening friends. You can also use it indoors on your potted plants. In every case, the addition of compost will nourish your plants and protect them from disease.

Don't have a lawn? Don't have any plants?

Give your compost to someone you know who has a garden. Your gift will be very well received, as every good gardener knows the value of compost.

Waste Reduction

Did you know that as much as 30% of the garbage produced in your home could be composted in your backyard? By not putting this material at the curb, you can reduce the need for landfill disposal and cut down on garbage collection, decreasing your municipality's waste management costs.

Environmental Responsibility

Using compost in your garden means that you will be able to rely much less on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Some of these products have many points of environmental impact, from mining through chemical processing to their build-up in the natural environment. Their reduced use on lawns and in gardens is good news for our precious land and water resources.

COMPOST KEEPS SOIL MOIST

Compost is able to retain nine times it's weight in water (900%). Compare this to 2% for sand and 20% for clay!