Compost

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The Benefits of Composting: An organic alternative to commercially produced inorganic soil amendments

Tim Murphy

College of Lake County HRT 114 - Introduction to Soils Fall 2014

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Soil nutrients and fresh water are essential to healthy land-based plant life. Plants and animals form a symbiotic relationship that is the core of the cycle of life on our planet.

Unfortunately, fresh water is a limited resource (Miller and Spoolman, 2010). As the world population increases, this limited resource is being stretched even further, so it is imperative that we protect every ounce of it. Water pollutants threaten the quality and therefore the quantity of fresh water that can be safely used. Inorganic fertilizers as a soil amendment are a major contributor to fresh water pollution.

Organic soil amendments are a better alternative to inorganic amendments as they do not pollute water supplies, they are more nutritious for plant life and, when produced on your own land from resources that would otherwise be thrown away, they are also cheaper. My intent is to convince the reader to change their behavior and begin producing their own compost as a way to enhance their own botanic environment as well as contribute to the protection of fresh water as a vital natural resource. I will do this by providing a background on plant nutrition, a brief history of soil amending, and the benefits of organic versus inorganic fertilization;

By way of background, it is first helpful to understand what nutrients a plant needs to grow and how exactly a plant obtains them from the soil. Plants are distinctive from animals in that they don’t consume food - they create their own, and thus can be considered to be at the bottom of the food chain. This food creation process is called photosynthesis: manufacture by light, and is the result of the plant’s chloroplast reacting with intense light, water and carbon dioxide to create glucose. This glucose is the plant’s food that it created by itself (Rickett, 1957).

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Nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and sulfur are the macronutrients (those found in the greatest quantities within plants) required for good plant health (University of Wisconsin, n.d.). A plant’s root system in the soil takes up nutrients through water-based soil solutions. Despite commercial advertising referring to soil amendments as ‘plant food’, the nutrients plants obtain from the soil are not food for the plant, but their presence within the plant is essential in its food creation process. For example, magnesium is required for the formation of chlorophyll, the green material in chloroplast, and a plant’s cell walls are held together partially because of the presence of calcium. As plants draw nutrients from the soil they become depleted and they need to be replenished for successive generations of plants to survive.

Since most nutrients within the soil are depleted as plants use them, how did plant life survive for so long before humans became an agricultural society and utilized the practice of soil amending? The answer is found in studying how nature conducts its own farming - on the forest floor, in the prairie or in the ocean. Some nutrients are replenished naturally under the right conditions. For example, plants in the Fabaceae family (legumes) are called ‘nitrogen fixers’ because they attract nitrogen gas-feeding bacteria to their root systems where an infection occurs.

The bacteria feed off the plant’s roots and in the process, create nitrogen in a non-gas form that the plant can use (Plaster, 2014). But in most situations, it’s the dead plant and animal material on the ground that decomposes thus allowing the nutrients tied up in their bodies in a form that plants cannot use, to be converted back to useful soil nutrients in a form that plants can use.

Nature’s farming methods are extremely efficient. Needed nutrients are created and reserves are

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stored without requiring any amendments. No chemical sprays are needed for pest and pathogen management.

But once the forest or prairie is cleared for man-made cultivation purposes, those vast stores of nutrients are quickly used up and the natural protection that keeps pest and pathogens in check, also disappears. Therefore in almost all ornamental and agricultural situations, nutrients must be added back into the soil in order to maintain proper plant health.

The need for adding amendments back into the soil was recognized by early agrarian civilizations. Cues were taken from nature’s faming methods. Fields were rotated between crops for a few years and then returned back to a natural state for a few years to replenish nutrients, and then back to crops again (Howard, 1943). But over time as farming increased in size, the ability to perform these sustainable methods became impractical on a larger scale. By the 1800’s, scientists had developed a good understanding of the major nutrients needed by plants and with the discovery in 1843 by Sir John Lawes of a method for making superphosphate, the commercial inorganic fertilizer industry was born. By the turn of the century, almost four million tons of inorganic fertilizer was being applied annually in the United States (U.S.) and in just 40 years that number increased to over 13 million tons (Ag Classroom, n.d.). Then World War II began and nitrogen needed to be produced on a massive scale for bomb production. Ten major facilities across the U.S. were built for this purpose. But instead of closing the plants down when the war ended, the idea was developed to use them to produce nitrogen-based commercial

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fertilizer for use on American farms. By the 1950’s, commercial inorganic fertilizer application jumped to over 22 million tons per year (Wessels Living History Farm, n.d.).

From 1924 to 1931 an English botanist named Albert Howard was assigned by the British government to be an agricultural advisor to India. He came to realize over time that the Indian farmers had more to teach him than the other way around. He conducted scientific studies that compared state-of-the-art farming methods in the West, which included the use of commercial inorganic fertilizers, to that of traditional Indian practices which heavily relied on a method of composting known as the Indore process (Howard, 1940). His findings were summarized in a book published in 1940 titled An Agricultural Testament. He was knighted in 1934 and Sir Albert Howard is today widely considered the father of composting in the Western world and one of the founders of the organic farming movement.

Composting provides a positive impact on society in many ways. It restores soil fertility the natural way using organic processes and it does not contribute to water pollution because there are no inorganic chemicals running off into our fresh waterways and leaching down into our aquifers (Miller and Spoolman, 2010). If the proper organic materials are used, compost provides a broader array of nutrients to the soil whereas inorganic fertilizers are more concentrated and specialized across one to three types of nutrients. Composting also improves the physical properties of soil by increasing aeration and water retention (Acquaah, 2005). It is also a natural slow-release fertilizer and is cheaper, at least on a smaller scale, because inorganic chemical fertilizers are an annual expense. After the first costs of setting up a composting

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system, the rest is essentially free. Finally, site restoration is one of the guiding principles of sustainable landscape design practice and soil rehabilitation through the use of composting is one of it’s primary components (Booth and Hiss, 1991).

On a commercial basis, many small farming operations have turned to a more sustainable approach including the elimination of inorganic fertilizers. For example, some rely on local communities collecting fall leaves and transporting them to the farm where they are composted and then spread on the crop fields. For the homeowner, composting can be a rewarding experience. Even for those living in communities that prohibit open compost piles, a simple enclosed bin can be used specifically designed to be visually unobtrusive to the landscape.

Another advantage of enclosed bins is that they keep unwanted animals from scavenging in the compost pile. But it is important to ensure the decomposers can get in, so the placement of chicken wire or a similar mesh at the bottom is necessary. Backyard composting bins can either be purchased or home made and can produce enough compost yearly for most home garden needs.

Composting may seem intimidating at first to the beginner, but it is a relatively simple process and after a short time, it can easily become a healthy habit. To be successful at composting, it is important to understand a few basic principles. First there are the five essential requirements for composting to take place; heat, aeration, water, decomposing organisms and organic material (both from outside and inside a home). When placing the organic matter in the compost pile, it should be done so in layers of ‘greens’ and ‘browns’. Examples of greens from

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outside the home are plant materials such as flowers, unharvested vegetables, and hedge trimmings. Inside greens include kitchen prep scraps, coffee grounds, pasta and egg shells.

Examples of browns from outside include dried leaves, twigs, sawdust and weeds (as long as they have not gone to seed). Inside browns include paper products, stale bread, hair (both human and pet) and even dryer lint. A backyard system cannot produce enough heat to kill potentially harmful parasites present in some organic materials such as bones, meat, fish and animal waste, therefore these items should never be placed in the compost pile. Oils should also not be placed in a compost pile as they require a long amount of time to break down (Enviro World, n.d.). A convenient way to collect acceptable kitchen waste is with the use of a countertop compost pail that has proper ventilation to eliminate unpleasant odors. And don’t think composting is just a summer event; it should be a year round habit. The only other required maintenance is regular agitation of the pile to produce aeration and water as needed. If properly constructed and maintained, the pile itself will produce the required heat.

Fresh water is a vital but limited resource for human life. Inorganic fertilizers pollute fresh water supplies when they run off into storm sewer systems or leach into aquifers. Organic fertilization is a better option. It does not pollute fresh water. It’s more nutritious for plants. It can be cheaper when produced in your own backyard. Producing your own compost is a rewarding experience that saves money and contributes to a healthier planet.

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References

Acquaah, George. Horticulture: Principles and Practices. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.

Ag Classroom. Growing A Nation - The Story of American Agriculture. (n.d.).

Agclssroom.org. Retrieved September 23, 2014, from https://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farm_tech.htm

Booth, Norman K., and James E. Hiss. Residential Landscape Architecture: Design Process for the Private Residence. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1991. Print.

Enviro World. Backyard Composting - With the Free Garden Earth. (n.d.). Enviroworld.ca.

Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://enviroworld.ca/earth_pdf/GuideToBackyardCompostingJan10b2011_EMAIL.pdf

Howard, Albert. An Agricultural Testament,. London: New York, 1940. Print.

Miller, G. Tyler Jr., and Scott E. Spoolman. Environmental Science. Brooks/Cole: Belmont, CA., 2010. Print.

Plaster, Edward J. Soil Science & Management,. Delhi, India: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.

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Rickett, Harold William. "The Food of Plants." Botany for Gardeners. New York: Macmillan, 1957. 73-80. Print.

University of Wisconsin. Essential Elements For Plant Growth. (n.d.). Soils.wisc.edu. Retrieved November 1, 2014 from http://soils.wisc.edu/facstaff/barak/soilscience326/macronut.htm

Wessels Living History Farm. Farming In The 1940’s - Postwar Fertilizer Explodes. (n.d.).

Livinghistoryfarm.org. Retrieved October 15, 2014 from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/crops_04.html