ABOUT COMPOSTING

The basic definition of compost is: the material resulting from the consumption of organic material by bacteria, fungus, and other organisms. The main use of compost is to enrich or feed the soil to enhance the growth of plants. The science and culture of composting is the facilitation of the breakdown of organic material into a useable product under controlled conditions. The art of composting is setting up and maintaining the environmental conditions under which these microorganisms can multiply and flourish.

The composting process is actually the cultivation of an astonishing diversity of countless billions of microorganisms that exist naturally everywhere at relatively low levels. The organic matter referred to as ‘feedstock’ is prepared in a variety of formulas and conditions utilizing air, moisture and particle size to provide an ideal growing environment so that these microorganisms can consume the given feedstock. This process is very much alive. For example, a handful of compost contains literally billions of organisms occupying as much as 50% of the contents of any given compost. These microorganisms can be referred to as a type of ‘livestock’; a reference used by the founder of modern composting Sir Albert Howard, C.I.E., M.A., a British mycologist and agriculturist. 

Compost which provides plant nutrition however is fundamentally different than commercial plant fertilizers in a number of significant ways. Most importantly, the production of compost is exclusively a biological process and the production of commercial fertilizer is a manufacturing process dealing with inert materials (elements and compounds). Commercial fertilizers are a form of direct feeding of nutrients to plants in the form of simple manufactured compounds. There is no benefit to the soil, as a matter of fact it is now widely recognized that commercial fertilizers can be detrimental to the soil and the environment. Compost provides plants with a complex array of essential nutrients already bio-synthesized into complete proteins, etc. This is due solely to the fact that compost is alive with microorganisms that interact symbiotically with plants.

One of the most significant benefits of compost applied to soil is the stimulation and culture of fungal microorganisms known as mycorrhiza. These organisms form what is known as the mycorrhizal association that is the living fungus bridge between humus in the soil and the roots of plants. This living bridge acts as a transfer process exchanging complex essential nutrient compounds between plant and fungi. Recent research is pointing to the likelihood that the vast majority of plant species require this relationship for long term survival. This symbiotic relationship between plants and soil organisms is now being recognized as critical to healthy plant growth and is revolutionizing the way we view plant nutrition.