Composting Benefits for Your Lawn and Garden:

So your neighbor's garden is more fruitful, beautiful, and aggressively growing than yours: why do you think? He/she is seemingly not out and working in it anymore than you are, you haven't seen a hired gardening expert milling about, but you have noticed a sweet smell coming from next door that you don't seem to recognize. You could get the answer quickly by asking your neighbor what he or she is doing that you're not, but your pride won't let you ask. Dollars to donuts, your neighbor is using compost to help enrich the fertility of the growing beds, whether commercially produced, or produced in his back yard as well. You would do well to attempt the same, and the benefits to your garden will be overwhelming!

Compost can be a valuable resource to enriching your lawn's landscape and your garden's growth, and if you make your own compost, the cost is minimal, if anything. Your lawn clippings, your raked leaves, clipped branches, and yes, even kitchen food scraps, should be saved, cultivated, and then applied to your lawn and garden. The use of compost can enrich and improve the physical structure of the soil itself. For clay-like soiled lawns, working in compost can help reduce the density of the soil, allowing it to accept and use the water applied by your hose reel; the soil will become more porous and thus, more easily hydrated while improving its ability to hold and use the water applied. For sandy lawns, the addition of compost can deter erosion by adhering within the soil, allowing the soil to hold together in its form, reducing the risk of moving in heavy winds or rains. By adding compost to your soil, waterings can be less frequent, allowing for savings on your water bill, because compost has its own hydrating properties when it is applied to the soil in your lawn or garden.

Constructing a compost bin can be easy or difficult, depending on design and complexity. Old slats from a wooden fence can be utilized in construction, chicken wire is often used, and many counties even have plastic composting bins available for purchase, often through their park's departments. The size of your bin should be manageable without being too small (less than 27 cubic feet) to hold sufficient heat nor too large (over 125 cubic feet) for sufficient oxygenation.

Composting can add exponentially to the successful growth of your lawn and garden. With a little elbow grease and determination, your neighbor will be asking how your garden grows so well in no time!