Learn to make hot and cold compost

Learn to make hot and cold compost
By Willi Evans

http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-21-895,00.html?trafficsource=OGNews_2005_11_01

The Compost Equation

Nature creates compost all the time without human
intervention. But gardeners can step in and speed up
the composting process by creating the optimal
conditions for decomposition:
Air + Water + Carbon + Nitrogen = Compost

Air. Like most living things, the bacteria that
decompose organic matter, and the other creatures that
make up the compost ecosystem, need air. Compost
scientists say compost piles need porosity—the ability
for air to move into the pile. I like to think of
porosity in terms of fluffiness. A fluffy pile has
plenty of spaces—or pores—for air to move about. A
flat, matted pile of, say, grass clippings does not.
Even fluffy piles compress during the composting
process. Occasionally turning your pile refluffs the
material, moves new material into the center, and
helps improve air flow into the pile, says Craig
Cogger, PhD., extension soil scientist at Washington
State University.

Water. Compost microbes also need the right amount of
water. Too much moisture reduces airflow, causes
temperatures to fall, and can make the pile smell; too
little water slows decomposition and prevents the pile
from heating. Conventional wisdom says that compost
should feel like a wrung-out sponge, says Abigail
Maynard, Ph.D., agricultural scientist at the
Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station.

To read the full article:
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-21-895,00.html?trafficsource=OGNews_2005_11_01