Compost Central
The Home of Composting on the Web
What is Compost?
There is a continual cycle of life going on all around us. In that cycle for the purposes of explanation we are interested in the elements, organic matter, and humus. The simple elements of the world are taken up by plants and turned into complex organic compounds. These are eaten by various animals and changed into other organic compounds. These organic compounds we call organic matter. Only plants can start the process, not animals. Regardless of where humus has started, whether the body or feces of animal or plant, by the time it is humus it is dark, earthy smelling and rich. Kicking the forest floor one finds humus and it greeted with the smell of life and growth. This mysterious substance will hold water like a sponge and holds plant nutrients close to its surface. In effect it serves as a powerful plant waterer and feeder. Composting is the process of speeding up the slow process by which nature creates humus and compost is the arbitrary stopping point whereat we way something has rotted "enough." It too will be rich, dark and earthy smelling, able to hold huge amounts of water and to attract plant nutrients. Not yet being humus it will continue to rot and deliver food supplies to the plants. Why stop so soon when humus is so good?
Volume. Humus is much less in volume than the compost that we make.
That compost will serve as a soil conditioner and a home to
beneficial organisms. It will attract earthworms and make the soil
healthy. Healthy soil makes healthy plants that resist disease and
insects. It will serve us as it has through the ages as soil
conditioner, fertilizer, plant doctor, and insecticide.
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Eventually plants and animals die and
start to rot. This rotting is the process where bacteria, fungi and
other small plants and animals eat, digest and expel the organic
matter. There comes a point where the remaining material is difficult
for the soil fauna to digest further. The rich, dark material is
called humus. Eventually, even humus is broken down to the elements
from which it started, but the process slows dramatically here.
home about compost cold composting hot composting compost tea compost and watering worm compost compost sieve compost raised bed Organic Gardener's Composting by Steve Solomon Compost News from Around the World interesting links gardening(mostly organic) links
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