How Does a Compost Pile Work?
We know and understand that compost is "Backyard Magic" because compost helps restructure the soil, it reconditions the soil, it helps the soil hold onto its water protecting it from drought and erosion, and most importantly it puts nutrients back into the soil thus putting nutrients back into our food to help us stay healthy. There is just nothing comparable to the taste and value of food grown in organically healthy soil. By now you may be asking yourself this question: "So how does a compost pile work?"
To help you understand, I will give you a general explanation of how a compost pile works.
When leaves drop from a tree, they decay into soft black humus over time, without any help from people. When an animal dies, its remains slowly return to the earth. Anything that once lived will eventually decompose.
Composting is based on this natural process and begins with the thousands of micro-organisms which live naturally in soil. They feed on a moist heap of organic waste materials (food), generating considerable heat in the process. Other groups of decomposer organisms go to work as the temperature rises, an ever-changing workforce of bacteria, fungi, and insects.
When the temperature drops, turning or stirring the pile gives the decomposers more oxygen and the heat builds again, helping to kill harmful bacteria. When all the easily decomposed material has been consumed, the temperature drops for the last time and earthworms and ants may move in, signalling that the compost is ready to feed new plants with its recycled nutrients.
Finished compost has the distinctive fresh smell of newly-turned soil or a forest floor in spring, and it wont heat up again no matter how often you turn air into the pile. The ideal result of the composting process is crumbly, dark, soil-like humus where none of the original material can be identified. The nutrients stored in compost depend on the richness and variety of its ingredients and on its exposure to harsh weather. However, experienced gardeners know there is no such thing as bad compost!
Bio: A gardener for years, Marcelle has learned the value of composting and using it to put nutrients back into the soil. You can download her FREE 12-page Composting MiniHandbook at her blog: http://www.OrganicGardeningClub.com
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