5 top tips for the perfect compost – according to science |
As a young boy, I had to contend with my grandfather’s compost heap. It was a veritable Vesuvius of foul-smelling, putrescible plant waste, a metre high and hidden behind a privet hedge.
We had placed all the weedy waste in it a year before. As we started the annual spring gardening day, the first area we had to clear was the now weed-covered and unsightly compost heap.
By the time we had cleared the weeds sprouting from it, half the day and most of our energy was gone.
We were doing everything wrong. But it’s not too late for you. You can learn from our mistakes.
Making compost is a cornerstone of sustainable gardening, yet few of us understand the great science behind it.
It all comes down to understanding the requirements of the bacteria and fungi that do most of the decomposing and the processes of cellular respiration. Here’s how to work with them, not against them.
Your compost’s little helpers
For the most part, plant material is broken down by bacteria and fungi, aided by worms, other soil organisms and microbiota.
However, there are different types of bacteria and fungi, and the rates they break down organic matter vary enormously.
Some will completely break down plant material into clean, high-grade compost........