Compost provides your soil with organic matter and microorganisms that produce immediate and long-term soil health. As these microorganisms grow, multiply, and move around, they create essential plant nutrients as well as space for roots to get air, water, and grow. In many ways, these microorganisms are like a personal chef and delivery vehicle for feeding your plants.

In contrast to fertilizers and other soil amendments where using too much might hurt your garden, compost is hard to use incorrectly. It says a lot that compost is preferred and used by experts yet is still easy for a new gardener to use. Compost is great for all types of plants—flowers, vegetables, lawns, trees, and shrubs—and works well in any type of soil.

The U.S. Composting Council notes that costs are up to two-thirds lower when mixing two inches of compost into existing soil versus replacing that soil with six inches of new topsoil, an old best practice. Compost also reduces your watering frequency and cost by retaining more moisture, eliminates the need for expensive chemical fertilizers, and reduces pests and plant diseases.

Compost is a leading way to help address climate change. Instead of putting food and yard waste in a landfill, where it releases methane, a gas that is 84 times worse for the environment than carbon dioxide, composting prevents this gas emission and recycles these materials' nutrients back into the earth. Once in the soil, compost also helps with carbon sequestration, taking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in the soil.