Compost: Decayed organic matter used as a fertilizer.

We view compost as something we make, but Mother Nature has been making it since creation. It stems from the natural revolving of the seasons. In the winter the ground is absorbing moisture from the rain and snow that falls. In the spring when the sun warms things up seeds sprout, and they grow all summer until the autumn, when the plant wants to sleep or die and regenerate itself.

The process of regenerating shows up most readily in the making of seeds and the drying up of the green plant. In the autumn when leaves fall we see this process most vividly. If we let the leaves lie on the ground when they fall, the winter rains and snow will begin to break them down, causing them to rot. The soil under the leaves contains micro-organisms (tiny creatures) that also eat the leaves and help to break them down to the elements they are made up.

It is like taking apart the castle you built with tinker toys as a child. In order to put them away to use again later, you must first break the castle down into the individual elements to store them and have them ready for the next time you want to build something with them. This is what nature is doing with the leaves and all the other plant matter that first turns brown, dries up and crumbles easily, then the dirt and the moisture work on them to break them down further, leaving behind what we call humus, or decayed organic matter. The decayed matter is now at a stage where the elements are available for plant roots to absorb them and use to grow big and strong and put out fruit or flowers for us to enjoy.

Compost in progress