Compost is nature's mulch or a natural soil additive. This is something you can make your self, and say good-bye forever to commercial fertilizers. The best part of this compost is even inexpensive to make. All you need is a supply of organic materials like grass clippings, weeds or even kitchen scraps. You can make compost from any plant material that you have laying about. A side benefit is you will get plenty of worms with your compost. In the end you will wind up with a fine black soil that you can spread throughout your property.

Some people take advantage of this aspect of composting, and go into the worm raising business to use for fishing bait. Worms can also be sold to other people to improve their own soil. Aside from attracting worms compost will also contain healthy colonies of bacteria, fungi, and bugs. All of which all of which are necessary to produce vital plant nutrients.

To make compost it is best to shred the raw material, but you don't have too; it just takes longer. You make a heap of our wastes, and turn the heap over once a week. In a short time the contents of the heap will break down into a fine black soil. That can be used on your property or garden. Compost mixed with some vermiculite is a fine potting soil. With an active composting heap you will never have to pay a high price for potting soil again.

So far we have only explained the easiest way of making compost. There are many devices on the market that purport to be helpful in the composting process. For small amounts you can make it in a plastic garbage can, or even a wastebasket. One way to deal with a small amount of organic waste is to put the waste products in a black plastic garbage bag. You place the bag in a sunny spot; turning it over every day. At the end of two weeks you should have a finished batch of compost available.

On a commercial scale the waste organic products are lined up in windrows, and turned over once or twice a week with a specially designed tractor. This method is not for the average household, but produces compost in commercial quantities.

I have a friend who operates a unique business. He makes planting pots out of cow plops. His business was even the subject of a segment on the Discovery Channel's show, "Dirty Jobs." There is little difference between his raw material, and compost. It is entirely possible that with some ingenuity that someone could produce a similar line of pots made from compost.

Learn more about this author, John Carter.
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