Happy Compost Awareness Week!

International Compost Awareness Week is the second week in May, the 4th - 10th this year.

According to an article in Mother Earth News:

• Active composters compost 70 percent of their food waste and all of their yard waste.
• 9 out of 10 people who start composting don't stop
  

Try making your own compost, but if you have to buy it, try to support local compost producers.

Compost: How to make better dirt than you can buy

Adding organic matter to the soil is an important way to ensure long-term health for your trees and shrubs. You can buy compost each year, but it is easier than you think to make your own compost. You will save money, have a supply of slow release nutrients for your plants, and it will also cut down on the amount of trash you send to the landfill. Compost also helps retain moisture and keeps weeds down, which means less watering and weeding!

Living things, like fungi and bacteria, are present in compost and are good for plants. These organisms form beneficial partnerships with plant roots, and aid in absorbing water and nutrients. The good stuff in the compost also gives plants increased pest and disease resistance and general increased health.

Composting basically takes a natural process and speeds it up. Organic matter will naturally decompose over time. By mixing, aerating, and maintaining moisture, we hasten the natural process. The end result is organic slow release nutrition for your trees and shrubs with some added bonuses.

More on How to Make Your Own Compost: Including Picking a Location, Collecting the Ingredients, Piling, Checking Progress, and Troubleshooting

Don't forget Vermicomposting! I have a plastic bin of red worms at work and at home that turn paper and food scraps into the best fertilizer I have ever found!