Gardening Organic Compost Recipe

The organic compost recipe is quite simple: In order to end up with a crumbly, dark, soil-like humus, regardless which process you choose to use (and there are many processes you can choose from), you must supply your compost pile with this basic compost recipe: the right combination of food, air, and water.

The first ingredient of the organic compost recipe is the right combination of food. To begin, composting is a very basic process. For food, you can simply toss grass clippings and leaves in a heap and let nature do the rest in its own good time…Or you can help it along by providing a balanced diet of the organic compost recipe for the micro-organisms who will do most of the work and a home that meets their needs. (I will address this part later)

Aerobic vs Anaerobic Decomposition

The organic compost recipe’s second ingredient is air which provides oxygen and enables bacteria to carry out “aerobic” decomposition. Without oxygen, “anaerobic” decomposition of the waste may take place instead. This is something you normally want to avoid since anaerobic bacteria produce the rotten-egg smell often associated with decay.

There are two methods of aerobic composting, depending on whether or not the pile heats up. A “cold” compost pile will decompose as surely as a “hot” one, but it’ll take much longer.

Cold composting is slow but it’s easy. Someone with more space for compost than physical energy and time to devote to it may opt for the “cold” approach. This could also be the method to choose if your primary concern is reducing waste rather than making quantities of compost.

In contrast, hot composting is a fairly fast method of creating compost and makes efficient use of smaller spaces. It does take more physical effort than cold composting, but gardeners who want as much compost as possible will usually choose this method.

Water is the third ingredient which makes up the organic compost recipe. You cannot add too much water to the point that the compost pile is soggy, nor can you let the compost pile become too dry.

So to end up with a pile of finished Organic Compost (often referred to as Backyard Magic), follow this easy basic organic compost recipe. Using the right combination of food, air (oxygen), and proper moisture will allow you to benefit from this unique sweet forest-floor-smelling compost which is like magic to a gardener’s senses.

Happy composting!

Marcie

Recommended: The Gardener’s Handbook

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 8:47 pm and is filed under Basic Organic Compost Recipe, Hot Composting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.