In this lesson, Farmer Nick and Plant show you how to compost your own food scraps!

If you joined us last season, you already know that plants make their own food using sunlight (a process called photosynthesis). But did you know that plants also get some food from the soil?

It’s true. While a plant’s roots are sucking up water, they’re also sucking up nutrients!

Maybe you’ve seen that food scraps like banana peels decompose over time; in other words, they rot. This can look icky, and we don’t want it to happen indoors, but it’s nothing to be afraid of! Decomposition is Nature’s way of breaking food down so the nutrients can be returned to the soil and then eaten (or sucked up) by new plants.

By composting our food scraps, we’re taking leftovers plants CAN’T eat, like banana peels and potato skins, and turning them into nutrients plants CAN eat, like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Once it’s all broken down, this kind of compost gives our plants extra food so they can grow up even bigger and stronger!

So, in today’s hands-on activity, we’ll be showing you how to make your own compost in a jar. Once the activity is complete, you’ll need to come back after a week or two to see how well your compost has broken down. (Bet you’ll be envious of Farmer Nick’s Thyme Machine!)