Probably More Then You Want to Know About Compost
Gardeners of all levels can benefit from composting and creating that "Gardener's Black Gold". There are many different methods of composting and although most of us know we throw in green waste such as garden clippings and kitchen scraps with brown waste like fallen leaves in a pile then we get nice compost, do we really know how composting works? There are many different methods for composting and each have their pros and cons, however the process of decomposition is the same for each method at the core.
Decomposition of organic material is a natural occurrence. When leaves and plant life fall to the ground in the forest, teams of micro organisms break down the plant material into smaller and smaller components until the end result is nutrient full material called humus aka compost. The humus returns the nutrients back to the soil for other living plants and trees until they die off and the cycle continues. This is the natural cycle we want to escalate by creating the ideal "meal plan" and environment for these micro organisms.
As soon as you start your compost pile, millions of bacteria and fungi start the process. They break down the material feeding on the carbon for energy and nitrogen to build protein in order to multiply. All this work creates heat and the pile will heat up. As the compost heap heats up, the bacteria and fungi that started the process will begin to die off. This is a good thing because each stage of decomposers work within specific temperature ranges and when they die off they become food for the next stage of decomposers and so on until the job is done.
