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Why We Love Compost

With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning… Why do we love compost? Let us count the ways…

Gardeners love compost

1. There is no better soil additive

Simply put, there’s no single thing that you can add to your soil to make it better for gardening than compost. You can add sand to improve drainage, you can add manure to boost nutritional value, you can add lime or sulfur to change the pH, and you can add humus to build better structure in sandy soils. But, none of these changes alone will do as much for your soil as adding compost. Compost may not be the only thing you need to improve your soil; but compost will always improve any garden soil. And, your soil is the foundation of your garden.

2. Compost is Easy to Make

Why We Love Compost

While compost may seem mysterious to some, it’s a very natural product that is actually very easy to make. You’ll need some space, a container of some sort, some ingredients to get started, and some time. For a thorough and easy-to-understand explanation of making compost, read our article on composting. You may want to learn more about the Mantis ComposT-Twin composter. Or see the full line of Mantis Composters. It’s a two-bin composter that lets you “bake while you take”. Once you start making compost, you’ll quickly discover the rewards.

3. Making Compost is Environmentally Responsible

Those of us who maintain a compost pile or bin contribute less waste that would otherwise need to be transported and handled by municipal or private trash haulers. We reduce the amount of stuff that would otherwise go to landfills, and we reduce the amount of fuel used to get it there.

4. Compost is Almost Free

Once you cover the cost of buying or making a container for your compost, the ongoing process is almost free. If you have deciduous trees, a lawn, coffee grounds and kitchen scraps, and leftover vegetation from your annual garden, you have the ingredients to make compost. You may need to occasionally add a little bit of water, but you won’t have to buy any compost ingredients to get started.

5. Compost Provides Balanced Nutrition

Your vegetable and flower plants, and even your lawn, will benefit greatly from frequent applications of compost. Well made compost provides balanced nutrition for your plants, in a natural slow-release form. Admittedly, using compost on the lawn is a little tricky, as you’ll need to sift the compost and you want to be sure that you don’t spread a lot of weed or tomato seeds on your lawn. But, well aged, sifted compost can be a great additive to build significantly healthier soil for your lawn.

6. Compost Helps Prevent Plant Diseases

Because compost will build stronger plants and better soil, it also helps to prevent plant diseases. Plants fed with good, balanced compost are less stressed than those fed with commercial chemical fertilizers.

7. Compost Smells Good

Some beginners fear that their compost will smell like manure or a garbage dump, and this fear may prevent them from getting started. Anyone who has walked in the woods and experienced the good smell of the forest floor has smelled good compost. Balanced compost smells good; and keeping your compost pile balanced is not difficult at all.

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Border Edger Attachment
Border Edger Attachment cuts neat edges around areas where the walkways and beds meet the lawn. $49.95 value. FREE when you purchase a Mantis Tiller now! Ships FREE with Tiller.
(Border Edger offer not applicable to tiller models 3550, 3558, XP, 7234-12-43, 7250-00-03, SU or reconditioned models.)

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California Prop 65 Information

www.p65warnings.ca.gov

This warning pertains to the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 commonly referred to as Proposition 65 which requires warnings about chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more than thirty years this law has required businesses selling products in the State of California that may expose persons to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm to provide special warnings. The Proposition 65 regulations have recently changed and effective August 30, 2018, new requirements apply to the content and location of certain Proposition 65 warnings. In response to these changes, Schiller Grounds Care, Inc. is providing the warning you see on the product web page you viewed prior to linking to this explanation. The company has the same warning on the product associated with that product web page. The regulatory agency in the State of California responsible for Proposition 65 has made additional information about Proposition 65 available on its web page: https://oehha.ca.gov/propostion-65.

The company is also party to a 1995 consent decree entered into together with many other manufacturers of covered products (as defined in the consent decree) and for those products the company has, in addition to the warning referred to above, also included the Proposition 65 warning mandated by the consent decree in the owner’s/operator’s manual for the covered product.

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Wishing you the best this gardening season,
The Schiller Grounds Care Team

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Buy direct from Mantis and get FREE standard shipping on Mantis Tillers shipped to the US 48 states.

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Free Border Edger Attachment ($49.95 value)
Border Edger Attachment cuts neat edges around areas where the walkways and beds meet the lawn.
FREE with purchase of Mantis Tiller 7920, 7924 or 7940 models. Border Edger ships FREE with eligible tiller purchase.
(Border Edger offer not applicable to 3550, 3558 or XP models)

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