Whether one has a green thumb or is a complete gardening novice, everyone agrees that compost is a “good thing”. At the same time, very few of us are aware of the specific compost benefits to our garden soil. So the following is a list of compost benefits agreed upon by soil scientists and picky government regulators (redundant?).
Compost:
1. Improves garden soil structure and porosity – creating a better plant root environment.
(It’s better to have garden soil you can dig in with your bare hands than dirt compacted like a concrete slab.)
2. Increases moisture infiltration and permeability, and reduces bulk density of heavy soils – improving moisture infiltration rates and reducing erosion and runoff.
(Your garden soil should absorb water better than your driveway.)
3. Improves the moisture holding capacity of light soils – reducing water loss and nutrient leaching, and improving moisture retention.
(Better your garden soil is a sponge than a sieve.)
4. Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils.
(As the Buddha observed, clinging is a source of suffering.)
5. Supplies organic matter.
(Gravel as garden soil is good for plastic, pink flamingos.)
6. Supplies beneficial microbes to soils and growing media.
(Garden soil without beneficial microbes is like a factory with no workers.)
7. Aids the proliferation of soil microorganisms.
(Microbes need stuff like carbon and minerals.)
8. Encourages vigorous root growth.
(More roots good; less roots bad.)
9. Allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss by leaching.
(Healthy soil requires far less fertilizer. Be sure to reduce your rates)
10. Enables soils to retain nutrients longer.
(This is a major environmental plus. Retained nutrients get used by plants instead of leaching into the water supply.)
11. Contains humus – assisting in soil aggregation and making nutrients available for plant uptake.
(Also good with pita bread and string cheese. Oh wait, maybe that’s hummus.)
12. Buffers soil pH.
(Garden soil pH can determine the rate of nutrient uptake by the plant.)
Wow! That explains why so many people use and make garden compost even though it’s a pain. The good news is that with Great Big Plants Natural Compost Extract we can get the benefits of compost without all the trouble. Even better is the fact that Great Big Plants Natural Compost Extract doesn’t require you to dig up trees and shrubs or re-pot container plants because it’s liquid and travels with the water to the root zone. And if we do make our own compost, the addition of Great Big Plants significantly accelerates the process. It’s all good.