Compost is basically organic matter. It is garden debris that is allowed to decay with time and is then put back into the soil as it has a lot of nutrient value and helps in the growth of plants. This process may take months to a year. If you want to be an organic gardener who is successful then you must learn the benefits of compost. Compost is very useful as it helps in improving the texture and fertility of soil and planting beds and it is a very essential constituent of potting soils and greenhouse. It nutritive value is mainly dependent on the nutrient-containing materials and fertilizers that are added to the piles in the process of decomposition.

The value of compost to the average gardener is difficult to ascertain as an amateur gardener too will in some form or another, use compost. Compost helps plants grow better and keeps them healthy and green. Compost that is nutritive is generally used in the form of rotten manure and compost that is not enriched is humus.

One of the best quality soil used by gardeners contains one-third humus. Humus makes the soil light, airy and spongy, retentive of moisture. In sandy soils that do not have humus, the rainfall washes all the nutritive ingredients and clay soil in the absence of humus will become very hard and impervious to water.

Any materials that are organic and left to the elements will decompose. Grass clippings, old hay, straw, leaves, plant tops and sod are materials that could be use for making compost. A lot of gardeners add humus, that is raw organic materials like weeds to the soil around plantings without composting them.

Adding of raw organic material to the soil speeds the activities of the bacteria and this takes away nitrogen from the soil and causes the leaves of the plants to become yellow. Hence it is not advisable to add raw organic materials to the soil directly.

It is better if weeds are added to the compost pile and then put back into the soil when they have decomposed. Without composting, peat moss and leaf mold can be added directly to the soil, as they are composted already.

There are various methods that are used in the building of a compost pile. The size of your pile will depend on the area that is available to you. An ordinary leaf pile or a number of them may be located at different convenient points in your garden and may be covered with show fencing wire made into a circle. In two years? time, depending on the climatic conditions, the leaves will become compost with not much effort from your side.

This is the easiest method to compost leaves. This leaf compost is an excellent source of supplements for the soil and potting humus. But it is not very rich in nutrients. Oak and beech leaves are acid. They are very good humus that can be placed around wide leaved evergreens that love acid.