Compost makes your soil healthier, your plants stronger, and your garden easier to care for — one small change that pays off every season by giving roots strength at planting, fueling growth in spring, and restoring soil in fall for a thriving garden year-round.
1. Improves Soil Structure
Compost loosens heavy clay and gives sandy soils more body. That means roots can spread more easily, air can circulate, and water can soak in instead of running off.
2. Boosts Nutrients
It’s full of slow-release nutrients that plants need—nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and lots of micronutrients. Unlike chemical fertilizers, compost feeds steadily and doesn’t burn plant roots.
3. Increases Water Retention
The organic matter in compost acts like a sponge, holding onto moisture. In Zone 8 Georgia, where summers can be hot and dry, this helps keep plants hydrated between rains.
4. Supports Soil Life
Compost is alive with beneficial microbes, fungi, and earthworms. They break down organic matter, release nutrients, and help build a healthy underground ecosystem.
5. Balances pH and Reduces Problems
It gently buffers soil pH, making nutrients more available to plants. A healthy, balanced soil with compost is also less prone to erosion, compaction, and even some plant diseases.
Compost soil mix
1 cu yard is equivalent to 14 bags if using 2-cubic-foot bags
For most gardens, plan on a 2–3 inch layer spread over your beds once or twice a year. That’s usually about 1 cubic yard for every 100 square feet of garden space.
Garden Size Compost Needed 50 sq. ft. ½ cubic yard 100 sq. ft. 1 cubic yard 200 sq. ft. 2 cubic yards 500 sq. ft. 5 cubic yards 💡 Tip: When in doubt, a little more organic matter only makes your soil better — and you can’t really overdo it.
