Composting & Mulching

Turn kitchen scraps and yard "waste" into rich soil amendments -- have healthier plants and save water too!

Composting & Mulching

Composting and Mulching

Compost is an excellent soil amendment for humus*-hungry New Mexico soils. Composting transforms ordinary garden materials and kitchen scraps into rich dark fertilizer.

Compost and Mulch work well together. Mulching is often essential for gardening success in New Mexico, protecting soils from drying wind and sun in the South and temperature swings in the North. Mulching can also make a big difference in your water bill, reducing garden water usage by up to two-thirds.

There are many different methods of composting, from the classic simple pile to commercial bins -- see the "Composting Methods" page for an overview. "Bokashi Composting", a Japanese method that works quickly and uses no water, is gaining followers in the Southwest -- see that page for details.

* Humus (hyoo-mus) is what gardeners call plant material in the soil.  

City of Albuquerque resources

City of Albuquerque Resources

A word from your guide

New Mexico soils are always hungry for plant material, and compost is the best soil amendment there is.
Composting can be done in a corner of the yard, in the soil itself, or even indoors. Get that biomass out of the trash and into your soil! And enjoy wonderful food and flowers as a result.