How Composting Makes You Healthier

We all generally agree that gardening, and spending time outside in general, makes us happier humans. Gardeners actually know this for a fact, they just have a hard time convincing most of us because of things like streaming services and comfy slippers.

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But what about composting? Can composting make us happier and healthier? 

(Spoiler alert: The answer is yes.)

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The funny thing about owning a worm farm like Subpod is that you're not just composting your food waste – you're also the friendly overlord of over 2,000 little creatures. You feed and nurture your compost worms and in return they offer you rich compost that will make any plant say "Wowza!"

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We've noticed over time that the more into composting we've gotten, the greener our fridges have grown. Why? Those sneaky, lovable worms.

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When you're cooking for your family, there's a lot of wiggle room about the ingredients you can put on the table. Obviously we all try to eat as healthy as we can... But what about those times when the computer explodes and the baby cries all afternoon and your tyre falls off and that really tasty, very nasty fast food place is just around the corner? 

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On those glorious, greasy nights, you probably feel a little bloated but eh, you still ate. Your compost worms? Not so much. 

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Worms can't eat most processed foods, and they're picky about large quantities of meat and bone in their scraps. They're into fresh veggies, like all the good bits we chop off the ends of our carrots and zucchinis. 

 

The more organically you eat, the better the quality of your compost is – and that quality pays itself off in tenfold with the sheer amount of veggies you can produce in a healthy garden. 

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In a way, our worms kind of force us to clean up our diets, lest we fail in our duties to keep them happy in their little wormy home. The greener our plates are, the bigger the serve of scraps they're going to get. Sneaky worms.

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But getting back to that whole 'why are gardeners so awesome and oddly happy?' point, composting also has the added benefit of tricking you into getting outside more. If you're making a heap of good quality compost but not growing anything with it, it can feel a little silly.

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We started out with herb gardens, and moved on to tomatoes and zucchinis – and then another garden bed appeared. And another. For anyone that's been wanting to get into gardening for a while, composting is a great final push in the right direction. 

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So, why should we want to get our hands in the soil? 

• Soils contain microbes that have been scientifically proven to make us happy. Like, super happy 
   

• Doing 10 - 30 minutes of low impact activity a day (like gardening) is enough to keep us fit and healthy
   

• Not to mention all the added benefits you get from eating home grown produce

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At the end of the day, we’re ecological beings. We need sun, air, and water just as much as any plant. It makes sense that we feel good when we’re outside, because we slept under the stars not so long ago. 

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Food is a vessel to a world of taste, satisfaction, and nutrition - but when you compost, it also becomes a direct line to fresh vegetables from your garden. Those sneaky worms are a direct link to the outdoors – and a cleaner diet.