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 Why go through all the bother of
constructing and using a compost bin in your backyard? Well,
there are a number of good reasons that include benefits to the
environment, to your plants and to your pocket book.
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Compost for the Garden |
 Of course, the number one reason
for having a backyard compost pile is the compost itself.
As a gardener,
compost is a wonderful soil conditioner. It can help to
make clay soils more workable and to have better
drainage. For
sand, it can help to hold water and
nutrients better. Also, organic matter can encourage all
sorts of beneficial critters such as earthworms.
An ideal soil for our
gardens would be 45% mineral, 25% air, 25% water and 5%
organic matter. Since the organic matter is constantly
breaking down in the soil, it is great to have a handy
compost pile to use to replenish this vital part of the
soil.
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Reducing
the Waste Stream |
 There was a time when people collecting their grass clippings
and other plant byproducts and put them in their garbage can.
These were then picked up and taken to a landfill somewhere. In
the 1980s and 90s, many communities finally figured out that
this was a massive waste of resources. All it did was add to the
need for more and bigger landfills and wasted a valuable
resource.
Several states now have laws
against dumping yard waste into landfills. Instead, individuals
and some communities have begun composting yard waste to turn it
into a very useful resource.
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Reusing Resources |
 There is one of those "Laws of Nature" that I learned long ago
that said something to the effect that elements are neither
created nor destroyed. In other words, the molecules of oxygen
that were here whenever the earth was created are the same ones
floating around in the air or tied up in water today.
So, the
nitrogen,
phosphorus,
potassium
and other elements that went into making plant leaves,
stems, fruit and other tissue are still there only in another
form. Composting breaks down the complex tissue into its
constituent parts, many of which are nutrients that may be used
by plants or other living organisms.
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Recycling
Resources |
In the past, it was common for the gardener to go to the store
and buy a bag of fertilizer for his or her plants. At the end of
the growing season, they would pay someone to haul away the
clippings or debris from the plants. Then, the following spring,
they would go back to the store to buy more nutrients.
Composting allows you to recycle
those nutrients for use by plants in succeeding years. This
should, at the least, cut down on the need to purchase
supplementary nutrients.
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Grass Clippings |
At one time, it was routine for gardeners to collect all the
grass clippings when they mowed the lawn. I guess in suburban or
urban neighborhoods, this was considered to be "neater" somehow
although as a kid from a rural community, we never worried about
the clippings.
Usually, the clippings were
hauled off to a landfill to be buried for eternity while some
people added their clippings to a compost pile or just put them
in garbage bags to rot over the winter.
 With the closing of landfills to
yard wastes, research was begun at several universities for
alternatives. It was found that the best thing to do with grass
clippings is to LEAVE THEM ON THE LAWN.
If you don't let the grass get
too long in between cuttings, you can use a composting mower
which will grind the blades into small particles. These will
nestle down into the grass and DO NOT cause thatch. People who
do this may eliminate one of their normal fertilizations since
the nutrients are returned to the soil.
So, generally, you should not be
collecting your grass clippings. However, if you insist on doing
so, put them into the compost bin. They are a good source of
nitrogen but they need to be
balanced off by some
carbon material.
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Tree Leaves |
For those who live in or near wooded areas, autumn can be both a
beautiful and busy time. Depending on the number of trees in
your landscape or upwind from it, you may need to deal with
several layers of leaves.
As with grass clippings, in the
past people would bag up the leaves and stick them in with the
garbage. Or, if local laws allowed, they would burn them.
 Some communities now have
composting programs that take people's leaves and burning is
generally a no-no in most places. So, a great alternative is to
compost the tree leaves.
You can do that in the
traditional manner by grinding them into small pieces and
putting them in your compost bins. However, research at Michigan
State University tells us that you can just mow them into small
pieces and leave them on the lawn. The pieces have to be small
enough so that they nestle down in the grass and do not smother
it. If this is done, the composting leaf fragments will add to
the organic matter in your soil and will provide a small amount
of nutrients.
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 Methods
of Backyard Composting |
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