It’s time to spring forward, Casper. The snow piles in your yard are slowly becoming less massive, revealing your lawns and gardens that are begging to turn green. Compost is a natural, environmentally and bottom-line friendly way to improve your landscape. Whether you want to turn over a new leaf this year or are ready to keep growing last year’s projects, here are seven reasons you should consider composting in 2023:
1. Generally speaking, Casper has low-quality soil.
Casper’s growing conditions are notoriously harsh, and we’re not even talking about Wyoming weather. Depending on which neighborhood you live in, your soil might be sandy, salty or have high clay content, all of which impede healthy plant growth for different reasons. In other words, your soil at home probably needs some help.
2. Compost improves soil health.
Adding compost to your soil is the plant equivalent of five daily servings of vegetables AND eight hours of sleep. Full of important macro- and micronutrients that synthetic fertilizers usually lack, compost actually alters soil structure, making it less likely to erode and minimizing disease spread. Additionally, compost buffers soil, neutralizes both acid and alkaline soils, and optimizes pH levels for nutrients. We could go on, but it almost feels like we’re bragging at this point.
3. Composting helps protect our environment.
Large-scale compost use can have a large-scale impact on Casper’s precious natural resources. The decomposing processes lower greenhouse gas emissions, lessen our landfill and make our North Platte River safer and healthier. Compost reduces the amount of synthetic fertilizer that goes down our gutter into our stormwater system and eventually into our beloved river. Composting also conserves water, which is good for Mother Earth and your wallet.
4. Composting can save you money.
Composting can reduce outdoor water by an estimated 25%, which can go a long way on those hefty summer water bills. Compost naturally improves aeration, acting as a sponge in the soil to hold water and disperse nutrients. Mix compost into your garden or top-dress your lawn to save money this summer.
5. Get all your compost questions answered at the Home & Garden Show March 17–19.
If you’re new to composting, the process might feel nebulous or overwhelming. How much compost do you need? How often should you compost? Do you need to water right away? Robby, Bob, Angela and Mike, the city’s resident compost pros, will be at the Ford Wyoming Center to answer all of your burning compost questions.
6. You can buy City of Casper compost at wholesale prices during the Earth Day Yard Sale April
22 through May 6 at the Landfill.
For just $20, you can buy a full yard of compost, which is about half of a pickup load. That same $20 would only buy about four bags at most stores. This is your chance to buy all the compost you need for 2023.
7. The City of Casper produces real-deal, high-quality, soil-changing compost.
Robby, our resident compost expert, was trained and certified by the Solid Waste Association of North America to harvest and nurture exceptional compost. Each year, Robby and his team oxygenize thousands of pounds of decomposed wood chips, grass, leaves and manure with water and manual turning. This process creates heat, but they keep windrows between 130 and 160 degrees for at least three months to kill weed seeds. Finally, they sift through all this material with a fine screen to remove any undecomposed elements. The result? An earthy, crumbly consistency that your garden soils will eat up — and keep Casper growing. But don’t take our word for it: Midwest Laboratories in Omaha, Nebraska, examines and certifies our product as weed seed free.
Dig in deeper here to learn more about the Home & Garden Show and Earth Day Yard Sale, and enter to win a rototiller or a composter.
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