Use Compost - Get Off the Chemical Merry-go-Round!

OK, by now you all probably know that compost is organic matter that has been broken down through the action of aerobic microbes and the heat they produce then subsequently built up into humus. The art and science of making compost for use as fertilizer has been around for centuries. Engel & Gray Regional Compost Facility has combined this art with today’s science, equipment, and proven methods to produce compost that can help solve many agricultural and waste management problems.

More of a bad thing
In the 20th century, composting seemed to disappear as the use of chemical fertilizers increased. Growers thought the “New and Improved” chemical technology was the answer to increasing crop production. The use of chemical fertilizers has increased yields in many crops but their intense use creates crops that aren’t able to defend themselves against insects, microbial pathogens, and invasive weeds. To combat these problems, agriculture has increasingly developed and used insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. In the beginning, the chemicals protected the crops. Soon the crops became resistant, needing stronger, more toxic chemicals to do the same job as before. Only now, communities are in danger from more and more harmful chemicals entering the environment.

Compost – making a comeback!
Compost is an alternative to the agricultural chemicals and fertilizers currently in use. Composting began a comeback toward the end of the last century with interest growing in recent years. Economic and environmental factors have started to change the way the world looks at crop production, the environmental concerns chemical agriculture raises, and the waste society produces. Utilizing compost means fewer chemicals are being put into the soil, while binding and degrading harmful chemicals already in the soil.

Landfills – are they land-full?
Another huge concern: our overused and overcrowded landfills. Many cities ban yard waste from entering landfills and insist on recycling glass, metal, plastic, and paper items. In the US yard waste is increasingly ground and composted either by the municipality itself or by a composting facility that takes the yard waste and composts it. Composting is an effective way to reduce the amount of organic material entering our landfills.

So, what’s the problem?
Compost sounds like the perfect way to get off the “Chemical Merry-Go-Round”, doesn’t it? Most folks will say they believe in composting and all the environmental good it does, but is compost use a part of their normal gardening/landscaping routine? Is the general public aware of the many benefits of compost use? Does your gardener know where to get 3 yards of Harvest Blend Compost to amend compacted soil or top dress a lawn? This lack of knowledge is keeping nutrient rich compost from being put back into the ground to “Complete the Cycle”. All the recycling efforts go out the window if the final product has nowhere to go.

Be part of the solution!
We can all make a difference. Instead of yard waste and food scraps going to waste in the landfill, we can put our valuable resources back to work – as lawn top dressing, soil amendments, in flower beds and also as an environmentally responsible solution to erosion control.

Visit http://www.gotcompost.com to locate a Harvest Blend dealer. Healthy Soil Begins With Harvest Blend Compost!