Adding this nutrient-rich mixture is the first step toward a healthier soil environment.
While you might think adding compost to your garden or lawn is just a slow-release way of fertilizing, it’s really so much more.
In the short-term some nutrients are released from fresh compost, but the real benefits are realized only after years of successive applications — and it’s a wild ride.
Soils in Texas are naturally low in organic material. The organic matter present in any soil is a balance between how fast organic material is produced, organic waste from dead plants and animals, and the decomposers that break that waste down — mostly bacteria and fungi. Our long warm season favors decomposition, and the urban environment decreases natural regeneration further, which is why organic matter tends to decrease in our local soils over time.
After long hot summers like we’ve had the past few years, organic material in your soil is probably low. Adding compost to lawns in the spring and flower beds in the fall can help reverse this depletion. And you won’t need much: just a quarter- to half-inch layer of compost every year is enough.
Compost is mostly broken-down material from living organisms and can be made at home or purchased. A healthy compost should contain microorganisms that eat bacteria. There is evidence that adding compost to your garden will suppress plant pathogens present in your soil. It can also serve as a food source for the beneficial organisms present in your garden’s soil.
Any material that can’t be completely broken down will have a slight negative charge, helping your soil hold on to nutrients, which are mostly positively charged. Leftover organic material adds structure to soil by breaking up particles that can stick together, opening pores that increase water infiltration. These factors build together to make happier plants, which produce more roots that grow and die naturally throughout the year and increase the organic material in the soil in a positive feedback loop.
Increasing your soil’s organic material is challenging and a multi-year process. Adding compost once isn’t a cure-all, but rather a first step toward a healthier soil environment.
Once you establish a healthy living soil, your plants will thank you and return the favor by looking better and being more resistant to drought.
