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What is Compost?

Environment | 5-12 yrs | Interactive, Learning Pod

The most obvious way to help a plant grow is to make sure it receives adequate water. But just watering your plants everyday is not enough to make sure that it grows tall and strong and produces good fruit. The soil in which it grows plays the most important role in the life of a plant because the various minerals and organic nutrients in the soil make sure that it is healthy. Water only keeps it hydrated and helps the plant absorb this nourishment from the earth.

What is Compost used for?

Compost is added in order to improve the quality, structure and texture of the soil, increasing the amount of nutrients can provide to plants. Soil with added compost can hold moisture, air and water better, helping it to grow healthier plants.

There are ways in which we can enhance the nutrients and minerals in the soil to ensure we have healthy plants and be responsible recyclers at the same time.

Definition

Compost! It is basically decomposed organic matter that we can add to the soil to introduce some essential nutrients that may have already been used up by the plant or tree.

What is Composting?

Composting is an areobic method used to decompose organic waste into a humus (dark organic matter) like material known as ‘compost’. Composting is easy and it makes use of a lot of garbage that you produce in your day to day life. A compost pile is a heap of wet organic matter that can comprise of a mixture of multiple things.

What is Compost made of?

They could be paper materials as long as there is no plastic coating, dried out egg-shells, leaves and garden trimmings, fruits and vegetables (and scraps), coffee and tea leaves.

We cannot all compost or have the means and necessity to do so. But by creating awareness about compost, which uses the organic matter that you produce in your kitchen or around the house you could make a huge impact on your community.

If you have a garden, you probably have the space to make your own compost pit, but if you don’t you can figure out a way to get your neighbours to join you in creating a community pit by working with the garbage collectors. For one, it would help the environment and for two, it would make the job of your garbage collectors a lot easier.

  • Find out the various types of bacteria found in a compost pit.
  • There are other larger organisms that make your compost better- what are they? Hint: you use them for fishing.

 For more environment related articles and videos, visit: Environment for Kids category.