Princeton NJ House and Garden Articles

All About Composting, Part 1: What is Compost?

All About Composting is a two-part series where you learn all about composting. In Part 1, you will learn what composting is and why it’s important for the environment.

Compost is a pile of organic waste that over time breaks down or “decomposes” into a nutrient rich soil. The compost pile is usually made of a mixture of “green” organic materials like food scraps, garden trimmings or fresh manure and “brown” organic materials like dead or dry leaves, cardboard and wood chips. The “green” materials contain a chemical called nitrogen and the “brown” materials contain a chemical called carbon. These chemicals, plus air and water, make the perfect living conditions for bacteria and creatures like worms and insects; they feed on the organic matter and help to break it down. The resulting compost can be mixed into normal soil to help plants, flowers and crops grow faster and stronger.

Composting is a great practice for a number of reasons. Here are just a few of them:

• It saves water by helping the soil hold moisture and reduce water runoff.
• It benefits the environment by recycling organic resources while conserving landfill space.
• It reduces the use of petrochemical fertilizers.
• It helps control silt erosion.
• It moderates soil temperature and reduces weeds when used as mulch.

Want to learn more about composting? Check out this informative presentation by Margaret Pickoff, Mercer County Horticulturist; and Meredith Melendez, Mercer County Agricultural Agent: Soil and Compost 101: What Every Vegetable Gardener Needs to Know. Use the Access Passcode: Garden*2021. 

Be sure to check out next month's Mercer County Sustainability Newsletter for All About Composting, Part 2: Yes, You Can Learn to Compost.