Organic Compost

Organic Growing Mix

Composed of horse manure, straw sand, and decomposed yard waste.

Composting is a controlled, aerobic (oxygen-required) process that converts organic materials into a nutrient-rich, biologically-stable soil amendment or mulch through natural decomposition. The end product is compost. Microorganisms feed on the materials added to the compost pile during the composting process. They use carbon and nitrogen to grow and reproduce, water to digest materials, and oxygen to breathe.

You can compost at home using food scraps from your kitchen and dry leaves and woody material from your yard.

Benefits of Using Your Finished Compost

You can add compost to your flower and vegetable beds, window boxes, and container gardens; incorporate it into tree beds; mix it with potting soil for indoor plants; or spread it on top of the soil in your yard.

Compost can be used as a soil amendment or as a mulch. As a soil amendment, mix in two to four inches of compost to the top six to nine inches of your soil. As a mulch, loosen the top two to three inches of soil and add a three-inch layer of compost on the surface, a few inches away from plant stems and tree trunks.

Adding finished compost to your soil:

• Improves the structure and health of your soil by adding organic matter.
• Helps the soil retain moisture and nutrients.
• Attracts beneficial organisms to the soil and reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
• Reduces the potential for soil erosion.
• Sequesters carbon in the soil.
• Builds resiliency to the impacts of climate change.