Zia Allaway - DK - Grow Compost

Compost contains organic matter and microbes that glue soil particles together to create the perfect growing conditions.

The plants and green kitchen waste that you add to a compost heap are made up of various chemical elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are released into the mix during the composting process. When compost is then applied to the soil, these essential nutrients, which sustain growth, flowering, and fruiting, become available for plants to useand because the decomposition process continues after the compost is in the soil, nutrients are released and delivered to plants over a long period, rather than in one hit, as is the case with most synthetic fertilizers.

are responsible for breaking down the organic matter into its chemical components, while another type of fungi known as mycorrhizae, which live on and in roots, help to transfer these nutrients to the plants. The good soil structure created by compost also ensures that the chemicals are not washed away, thereby helping nature to recycle them from one generation of plants to the next.

Annual applications of compost will enrich the soil with essential nutrients to keep garden and potted plants healthy.

Natural weed

Compost is often used to help keep weeds at bay. Applying a thick layer over the soil surface, known as a mulch, excludes light and prevents weed seeds beneath it from germinating. Seeds that fall on to this mulch layer will germinate, but its loose structure makes them easy to pull out or hoe off. In addition, compost aids plant growth, and strong leafy canopies will also restrict weeds by shading the soil and using up the nutrients they need to thrive.

Weeds that germinate in a compost mulch are easy to remove by hand.

Why Compost? | WHY MAKE COMPOST?

Its easy!

Busy people may think that making compost will take up too much time and energy. This may be true if you want a fast turnaroundsome methods will produce usable compost within two or three monthsbut there are many techniques to choose from and some require very little effort ( see ). The compost may take longer to produce, but remember that all organic matter will break down eventually, with no human intervention at all.