Backyard composting: a simple effort for a healthier planet

May 9, 2008
by Veronica Mishkind

Composting is nature’s process of recycling decomposed organic materials into rich soil. Anything that was once living will decompose. Basically, backyard composting is a quicker version of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste you are returning nutrients back into the soil in order for the cycle of life to continue. Finished compost looks like soil, dark brown and crumbly.

Benefits of using compost on your plants 

There are many benefits from using compost on your plants. Compost modifies temperature extremes in the soil, keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in winter. Compost distributed around a plant helps the plant to utilize rainfall or irrigation water more efficiently by encouraging better absorption, which means less moisture is lost due to evaporation and runoff. Compost adds living activity to the soil, which contributes to more efficient nutrient uptake by plants. Because of the tremendous holding capacity of compost, nutrients are held in the soil for a longer period of time so the effects of over-fertilization are not as intense.

The recipe for compost

Compost can be made of anything that was once alive. Grass or lawn clippings, hay, kitchen waste, leaves, straw, weeds and other garden waste, wood chips and sawdust can all be added to the mix.

Microorganisms like bacteria and fungi as well as bigger organisms like bugs and worms break down the composting material through chemical reactions. As decomposition happens, heat is generated. The more heat that is generated, the faster decomposition occurs.

In order for the compost to be successful, it needs a lot of air and moisture. There also needs to be a good balance of carbon and nitrogen. Carbon-rich materials are the “brown” ingredients, like straw, hay, sticks and cardboard. Nitrogen-rich materials are the “green” ingredients, like lawn and plant clippings and kitchen wastes.

Compost is a rich fertilizer, plus you get the added benefit of recycling waste that would otherwise end up in landfills. Composting is one little step in helping to keep our planet healthy.

[Click here for details of Westchester County’s Compost Bin Sale Day—order by Friday, May 16, 2008. See photos below of Bart Carey assembling the compost bins.]

Veronica Mishkind is an eighth grader at Robert E. Bell Middle School.