Composting vs fertilizer in the garden

 Considering how intensively I crop  my  garden ... Ud think my plants  would have run out of gas  by now , right ?   Honestly   I stand prepared with  the  10-10-10  fertilizer for just that emergency  lol  ...  though I  do prefer to stay organic (particularly with my food)if at all possible .    I have a few crops though ..like my raspberries  and  Jerusalem artichokes   and  most pumpkins and melons  .. that are super heavy feeders  .   It makes sense to fertilize em  (  its not like  the ones U buy even at Whole Foods   havent seen a bit of fertilizer lol...  ) 

What amazes me  is that after ten years or so of regular (  but totally CASUAL  and fuss free  )  composting  is  that  my soil  has become so good   that  I basically dont  HAVE to (  nor do I have to use  hardly any supplemental water  either ) . 

Composting ( particularly over the  long winter when worms starve ) truly  DOES make huge difference in Ur  worm  population which in turn  does  EVERYTHING for Ur soil - making it soft ,aerated and amazingly fertile .  

What I  Mean by composting is simply returning  my kitchen scraps to the garden every day ....  along with   anything uneaten that doesnt include meat or fish  .    I generally  have a hole dug somewhere in a bed  which I lightly cover with   soil to discourage the 'possum ... but  sometimes i just get lazy and put my scraps right on the bed .   By the next day usually  the worms have transported everything underground .  

I feel  very guilty when i use chemical fertilizer because the salts irritate my little helpers , the worms skins  and make them flee for their lives .  Occasionally though its ok to move em a few feet over temporarily  ... so I tell myself anyway   .   Ive even gotten my neighbors to give  me their kitchen scraps and eggshells  and  BOY  can i see the results  when i  can plunge my  hand into the black soil  up to my wrists  ...its that soft ...

Worm  castings  also really  help encourage the development of the mychorrizae  population ..which is a weblike  fungal network  in the soil.   Mychorrizhae help   plants make  the most of  the nutrients that ARE available  .. so U haveto fertilize a lot less  - and also water a lot less  .  See where this is going ?  

Its not all about recycling or  being a better person or not wasting .    U can REALLY   garden a LOT cheaper and better if U just return  what U dont eat to the garden ...    Its kind of a no brainer lol !  

Way to go Ava!

My dad does composting too, and his gardens are always amazing. There is nothing wrong with going green.

 Thanks for the inspiration. I live in a small townhouse, so not much garden. However the local trash pick up will take food scraps in the yard waste cans. I save my peels, eggshells, bad veggie stuff, etc., and put it in the can for the complex. This supposedly goes to compost at the dump site, and people can pick it up for their gardens. I think I'll visit the site and see if that really happens.

I get pleasure from reading about your garden. Your enthusiasm shines through in your postings.