Composting is the process in which organic materials decompose and are transformed into organic matter used for enriching soils with nutrients, thus improving soil fertility in a natural, chemical-free and very efficient way.
The process takes place in nature whenever dead organic material, such as leaves, fruits or other plant components accumulate in piles that are exposed to air, rain and the activity of insects, but it can also be induced in a controlled way in any garden. If you want to add compost to your soil, you can choose to buy it – bagged compost is available in any garden store – or you can choose to make your own. All you need for making your own, super-efficient, natural fertilizer is a hole in the ground or a container in which you gather organic waste, such as fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells and coffee grounds. The material accumulated in the hole or bin will start decomposing almost instantly, but the process will take up to a year for the oldest layer of waste to decompose completely and to transform into the compost that you can use in your garden. If you want to accelerate the process, you will need to water the pile of waste regularly and you can also add redworms to it – they will eat the waste and then release in the form of nitrogen-rich castings. Before digging a hole in the ground make sure that you contact call before you dig Fort Collins utility location experts to make sure you do not disturb buried cables, wires, or water pipes.
