The benefits of compost gardening go beyond saving the environment from further ruin caused by the build-up of chemical fertilizers in the soil. As humans, we can also benefit from compost gardening in terms of looking after the health of our pockets and the health of our bodies. Keep in mind that in these recessionary times, our financial status affects our mental health and, consequently, our physical well-being.

Physical Health

Gardening is an exercise in itself. Just imagine the weeding and rowing, digging and shoveling, transferring and transplanting, among other activities, that goes into each hour spent gardening. While you are at it, you enjoy it, too, which cannot be said of other forms of exercises-cum-physical torture.

And that's just for gardening as a whole! The benefits of compost gardening may be greater because you have to make your own fertilizer instead of buying it ready-made from the store. Doing so means new activities like transporting buckets of compost material to the pile, aerating the pile with a fork, turning the compost tumbler, shoveling compost from one bin to the next, and then placing the compost in the soil. You can just imagine the number of calories burned doing all these activities.

Speaking of calories, you burn the following number of calories with each activity:

• Watering or weeding the plants - 60 calories for every 30 minutes
• Mowing with the manual mower - 230 calories per 30 minutes
• Planting seeds - 170 calories per 30 minutes
• Turning the compost - 150 calories per 30 minutes

Now, if you add up all these burned calories, you can truly see the physical benefits of compost gardening in the form of a toned body. Better yet, you can have better health where obesity, high cholesterol and blood pressure levels and other cardiovascular diseases are concerned.

Your mental health also improves with compost gardening. There is something almost meditative about turning the compost, weeding the beds and even digging into the soil. Also, gardening is a way to escape the hustle and bustle of the maddening crowd.

Pocket Health

Did you know that for every hundred dollars you spend on vegetable gardening, you can harvest at least a $1,000 worth of fresh produce? Yes, you can save your money from the cashier's box at your neighborhood supermarket when you harvest from your own garden. And you need not even engage in large scale gardening to reap its financial benefits.

Consider these: If you grow your own tomatoes by buying a packet of 30 seeds of tomatoes at $3.45 each and plant just 6 seeds, you can harvest tomatoes valued at $450! This is also true of crops like polo beans, herbs, squash and other fruits and vegetables. Also, you can save on gifts these holiday season when you can harvest from your garden, make them into gift baskets or cook pies and meals from them. Your recipients will even appreciate your gifts because of the personalized touch.

Indeed, the benefits of compost gardening are many such that it would be shame not to take advantage of them. So, starting today, do look into your backyard and trashcans and see what you can with both things.