The Wonders of Compost

Break it down!

Good soil is underrated. Everyone reading this has probably tasted the difference between good and bad soil in their life - you just may not have known it. 

Plants require certain inputs in order to grow healthily. Many large-scale farming operations load the dirt up with ‘fertilizer,’ which is either natural or synthetically produced, and provides nutrients in a form that can be quickly taken up by plants. Using loads of fertilizer can be a cop out - even if you have ‘bad’ soil that isn’t good for growing, fertilizers can give the impression that everything is okay under the surface because they can allow plants to grow big without having a stable, long-term growing environment. They essentially act like a bandaid that can hide injury underneath. When we grow plants, the plants use nutrients from the soil to grow, depleting the soil of these nutrients. Fertilizers sit on top of the soil and can feed the plants, but they don’t really replenish the soil. That means, if you don’t use fertilizer, your plants will have a lack of nutrients from the soil.

Fertilizers also run off easily into water bodies when there is rain, because they are just sitting on top and not getting incorporated into the soil itself. Have you ever seen a pond that has turned green from algae growing on top in the hot weather? That is likely due to runoff from nearby fertilizers (whether a farm or a lawn) - the fertilizer does what it is meant to…fertilizing…no matter where it is. In this case, it fertilizes algae to grow and cover the water. This cuts off oxygen below the surface - like having plastic wrap on top of a bowl of water - which kills fish and other types of life living below.

Ok, so what does this have to do with compost? Well, if we want plants to grow but too much fertilizer isn’t a good idea, that’s where compost comes in. Compost doesn’t just give plants quick food, but it actually builds up the health of the soil itself.

Compost is decomposing organic material. That could be food scraps, like the tops of carrots and the peels of potatoes, or yard scraps like grass clippings and branches. You can compost at home, but there are also massive composting operations around the globe to service large municipalities.

When cooking, you can imagine that instead of putting your food scraps in the garbage can, you set it aside for composting. This is similar to how you might separate recyclable cans and bottles rather than throwing them in the trash. Some large compost operations even accept eggs, meat, and paper (usually not suitable for home or small composting operations, due to the heat needed to break these down).

But, let’s say your town or city doesn’t pick up your compost at the curbside. What do you do?

Well, there are many options!

First, you can find a community partner organization that may accept your compost. This could be at a farmer’s market, or a local community garden, even a local farm. They will typically accept vegetables, fruits, and yard waste. In fact, composting works best when you have a balance of dry materials (like leaves and sticks) to wet materials (like food scraps).

Second, you can do it yourself! There are many types of composting systems - you can keep a tiny worm bin inside your kitchen, you can put a compost tumbler on a terrace or patio (fun for children to help with turning the compost). You can also make piles in your garden or yard that will slowly decompose. 

That’s what we do - I put my food scraps in a separate container while I’m cooking (in this case an old oatmeal container that has a lining to keep moisture from seeping out). You can even buy pretty-looking compost buckets that have lids with charcoal filters to prevent smells from emanating out. 

Pro Tip: My easy solution is to simply stick your compost container in the freezer until you are ready to put it out. It is very effective at preventing odors and insects. This will also hold off the formation of mold, if you are turned off by mold.

Before I even knew what composting was, my grandfather used to take out his food scraps and put them in the garden - he would chop them up and turn them in the soil with a shovel periodically, until they broke down over a matter of weeks. Composting may have a fancy name, but it is a very simple, time-tested concept. It makes sense! You don’t want to lose all the nutrients that are still in the banana peels and onion skins to the trash - compost them and you’ll get a lot of fuel from them. I used to wonder how my grandfather’s tomatoes tasted so delicious and flavorful - he could grow pretty much anything and it tasted amazing. It was in no small part because he had rich, nutritious soil from constantly replenishing the nutrients and health of his soil. 

If you can’t compost at home, you may say to yourself: ‘I’m setting aside my food scraps, but I’m not seeing any of the benefits because I’m sending my compost to a municipal facility. What gives?’ Well, most municipalities will do compost giveaways a few times a year - when they produce the compost after collecting scraps for some time, they distribute bags of finished compost (which looks like a bag of soil you get from the store) and you can bring some home. You can even use this in your indoor potted plants to keep them healthy!

How to compost at home. Composting is very easy, and there are many guides to help do it at home and get familiar with the types of composting ‘systems’ (like buckets versus piles) that might fit your lifestyle best. Here’s an example of a helpful guide from the Queens Botanical Garden: https://queensbotanical.org/compost/

We got certified as Master Composters through a free program offered in NYC that is run by a consortium of nonprofits, such as the New York Botanical Garden Bronx Green Up, Lower East Side Ecology Center, and Snug Harbor. Your sanitation department may even provide information or training. 

The key to composting is AIR. Surprising, I know. No matter how you compost, one of the main principles is to have enough air circulating to break down the food material. If you, say, dug a deep hole, put your food scraps in, and then covered it tightly, what would happen instead of composting is anaerobic digestion. This means breaking down the material in the absence of oxygen. When you do this, you don’t compost, you instead get methane gas and digested material. If you allow air to flow, you compost without producing methane gas and create a nutritious soil material. 

We hope you’ll give it a try. 

Have questions about composting or gardening? Reach out to us! We’d love to help with your questions!