Composting

Compost is the decomposed remnants of organic materials (those with plant and animal origins). Compost is used in gardening and agriculture, mixed in with the soil. It improves soil structure, increases the amount of organic matter, and provides nutrients. more...

Decomposition of organic matter is nature's renewal process for recycling simple molecules.

Compost is a common name for humus, which is the result of the decomposition of organic matter. Decomposition is performed primarily by microbes, although larger creatures such as worms and ants contribute to the process. Decomposition occurs naturally in all but the most hostile environments, such as buried in landfills or in extremely arid deserts, which prevent the microbes and other decomposers from thriving.

Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic matter. Rather than allowing nature to take its slow course, a composter provides an optimal environment in which decomposers can thrive. To encourage the most active microbes, the compost pile needs the proper mix of the following ingredients:

• Carbon
• Nitrogen
• Oxygen (air)
• Water

Decomposition happens even in the absence of some of these ingredients, but not nearly as quickly and not nearly as pleasantly (for example, the plastic bag of vegetables in your refrigerator is decomposed by microbes, but the absence of air encourages the growth of anaerobic microbes that produce disagreeable odors).

Decomposers

All guidelines for building compost piles have the goal of creating the proper environment for a decomposing ecosystem. The ecosystem in a compost pile is a microcosm of larger ecosystems. The correct environment must be maintained for a healthy and vigorous community of decomposers. In addition to the decomposers that work directly on the organic content of the pile, compost piles provide habitat for those that prey upon direct decomposers. Their waste also becomes part of the compost material.

The most effective decomposers are bacteria and other microorganisms. Also important are fungi, protozoa, and actinobacteria (or actinomycetes, bacteria that are often seen as white filaments in decomposing organic matter). At a macroscopic level, earthworms, ants, snails, slugs, millipedes, sow bugs, springtails, and others work on consuming and breaking down the organic matter. Centipedes and other predators feed upon these decomposers.

Compost ingredients

The goal in a compost pile is to provide a healthy environment--and nutrition--for the rapid decomposers, the bacteria.

The most rapid composting occurs with the ideal ratio--by dry chemical weight--of carbon to nitrogen, from 25-to-1 to 30-to-1. In other words, the ingredients placed in the pile should contain 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen. For example, grass clippings average about 19-to-1 and dry autumn leaves average about 55-to-1. Mixing equal parts by volume approximates the ideal range. Commercial-grade composting operations pay strict attention to this ratio. For backyard composters, however, the charts of carbon and nitrogen ratios in various ingredients and the calculations required to get the ideal mixture can be intimidating, so many rules of thumb exist to guide composters in approximating this mixture.

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