Not if you’re doing it right! You heard me correctly! The misconception that most everyone has (including me at one point in time) is exactly that, a misconception. Most people think of compost as a stinking pile of rotting trash just steaming away in a tub in some far off corner of the garden. However when done correctly compost gives off an almost…pleasant, earthy aroma.

So why should you compost? Wouldn’t it be much easier to just buy a bag of dirt or manure? Can’t I just use that little green can of Miracle Grow to help my plants bloom?

Sure, you can absolutely do that and it would not take nearly as much time or effort. However, much like many other things in life, you get what you put in; and in this case I mean that in the most literal sense of the meaning.

Using premade potting soil, manure, and miracle grow will be fine for potted flowers and other items that you don’t plan on eating. However growing an edible garden is a very contained cycle. Anything that you put into the garden will end up inside you. So if you are okay with putting chemically-altered potting soils down on your salad greens and spraying your tomatoes with a mist of chemicals that are hard if not impossible to pronounce… by all means eat up! Personally, I like to have a little more control over what goes into my garden and subsequently, what goes into me.