Composting is the natural recycling solution for soil improvement. Nature has been making compost for as long as there have been plants and animals on this Earth. When you walk through a forest, you are walking on a layer of compost created naturally over time from fallen leaves and other organic materials.
Why is it beneficial to add compost to soil?
The quality of the soil a plant grows in is critical. A quick internet search on ‘soil depletion’ will pull up a great deal of information about how modern intensive agricultural practices strip nutrients from the soil. Plants receive nutrients from the soil as they grow. If the nutrients are not in the soil, obviously the plants do not contain them. Generally, the fruits and vegetables that our grandparents ate were healthier than those same foods available on supermarket shelves today. Worldwide, depleted soils are a root cause of many nutritional deficiencies and health problems. Compost improves the quality of the soil and the plants grown in that soil.
When people are landscaping their homes and having difficulties in achieving that lush, healthy plant growth they desire, the quality of the soil is often one of the problems. The builder may have used only a thin layer of good topsoil (or none at all). While soil tends to naturally improve over time (unless farmed so intensively that it cannot), the quickest way to build up the soil is to add compost.
What is organic gardening?
The strictest definition of organic gardening simply means to garden without man-made fertilizers and pesticides. Compost is an integral part of organic gardening, whether the compost is used as a mulch or worked into the soil. While many people use compost as their only fertilizer, others use other fertilizers in addition to the compost. Regular additions of compost gradually improve the soil to the point that other fertilizers may no longer be needed. There is a great deal of satisfaction to be found in growing healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables, vibrant flowers and a rich, green lawn.
Dunning Sand & Gravel has been producing Compost in Hartford CT since 2011. Leaves received from local people and municipalities are naturally transformed into rich compost on a five acre pad with a special drainage system built for this purpose. Of course, in addition to supplying Compost in Hartford CT, the firm also supplies high quality sand and gravel products.