Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed in a process called composting. Composting recycles organic materials which is considered as waste and produces compost i.e. soil conditioner. Compost is rich in nutrients and can used in gardens,horticultural farming, organic farming, kitchen gardens etc.

In the easy language, the composting process requires making a heap of wet organic matter such as food waste, green leaves of trees/plants, grass etc and allow this to break down into humus (soil conditioner). Composting requires mainly three components besides input organic material; human management, aerobic conditions, and development of internal biological heat during composting process.

In addition, composting organisms require carbon (for energy), Nitrogen ( Helps to grow and reproduce more organisms to oxidize the carbon), Oxygen (for decomposition process) and water (for maintaining organism activity). It is reported that the most efficient composting occurs with an optimal carbon:nitrogen ratio of about 25:1. High carbon materials are of brown colours and dried, whereas High nitrogen materials are green and wet (or colouful such as fruits and vegetables).

With the mixture of carbon, oxygen, water and nitrogen in suitable proportion, micro-organisms can able to break down the organic matter to produce compost. Pit about 1 m deep are dug for making compost; the breadth and length of the trench may fixed according to the available land and the type of material to be composted.

Under ideal conditions, composting happens through three major phases; mesophilic phase, thermophilic phase and maturation phase. During mesophilic phase, organic matter is decomposed under moderate temperatures by mesophilic microorganisms. In thermophilic phase, as temperature within heap rises, decomposition is carried out by different thermophilic bacteria. During maturation phase, when temperature within heap starts to decrease, mesophiles once again predominate.

Composting may be divided into two categories by the nature of the decomposition process. Anaerobic composting, in which decomposition occurs where oxygen is absent or in limited supply. Aerobic composting takes place in the presence of ample oxygen. Some factors affecting aerobic composting are Aeration, moisture, Nutrients, Temperature of heap, pH of heap material etc.

For effective aerobic composting, some techniques such as improved aeration, pile size and porosity of the material, turning the organic matter may be followed.

Share your love

Newsletter Updates

Enter your email address below and subscribe to our newsletter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *