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For the gardener, composting provides a frugal way to feed their soil. But the importance of composting and recycling extends beyond the garden. By composting, a gardener reduces the amount of material in the landfill, and a gardener who uses compost does not need to use potentially damaging chemicals to feed the soil.

Driving through an American neighborhood in the fall, one often sees bags of leaves stacked neatly on the curbside in front of every house. These homeowners are being good neighbors by keeping their yard neat, and may be helping their grass keep from being smothered.* Is there anything wrong with this picture? Nothing, as long as the community is composting these leaves and not dumping them in the landfill.

Compost is partially decomposed plant matter which, when added to the soil, can improve the soil structure and add nutrients to the soil. Heavy clay soils become lighter with the addition of compost. Sandy soils retain water better after compost is added. Poor soils gain nutrients and plants begin to thrive when compost is added to them. The importance of composting becomes clear when its benefits are explained. By recycling organic material, we give back to the soils that created the organic material in the first place.

Not all organic material is suitable to compost. Animal products and wastes should not be put in a compost pile. Composting can seem difficult, but it can be simple. If someone likes complicated processes, they can certainly make composting a complicated process. There are numerous products, structures, and how-to books that cover the composting process. For the rest of us, dumping in kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and other yard waste (including those leaves!) starts the process just fine. Turning the pile speeds up the process, but is not absolutely necessary.

Composting is important not only because it reuses what is already on hand, but also because it keeps us from using what we do not need. Chemical high-nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are damaging the environment. It works like this: these fertilizers run off into the waterways, and over-fertilize the algae living there. The algae growth explodes, and chokes out the streams and rivers, out-competing, smothering, and killing everything else in the stream, including vertebrates such as amphibians and fish. By composting instead of using chemical fertilizers, a gardener ensures that entire eco-systems stay healthy.

Composting and recycling waste in the garden is important because it creates healthy soils, reduces the stress on landfills, and reduces pollution in our waterways. Composting is easy and rewards the gardener with thriving plants for no monetary investment. The importance of composting and recycling in the garden extends beyond the single garden and encompasses the entire local and neighboring eco-systems.

*(The effectiveness of raking leaves in order to promote a healthy lawn depends entirely on the type of grass, and the type and amount of leaves. Some leaves, when run over with a mulching lawn mower and left on the lawn, actually feed the lawn and make it healthier than raking.)

Learn more about this author, Vicky Harper.
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