The Way and The How of A Compost Heap.

Just how does good compost get made? If you know the answer to this one then you will be a hundred per cent successful in you garden.

The compost heap is like a great factory ran on the most efficient lines. It is full of millions of tiny living entities all working away 24/7.

As well as or more to the point because of the vast amount of active that goes on in the heap; heat is made which is also a very important part of the compost heap.

This heat comes from the quick breaking down of all the living tissues, of materials such as leaves, stems and flowers; This gives an intense heat for a few days; then, with the release of the plant juices, it tempers to a moist pleasant warmth, ideal for the life and action of countless millions of microscopic soil workers.

All these little bugs are transforming the vegetable matter into the rich humus that soil craves. When this is put into or onto the soil, worms will then get to work on it. Each worm is targeted with the task of tuning the compost into rich plant life and creating small pathways within the soil for air to aerate the soil making it able to grown new life.

To make good compost all you must do is spply the means and material. The means is a simple wooded bin. This need be no more then a box with four sides and no bottom. The bin must stand on soil because that is where all the bugs will come from.

The best material to make the box from is wood and the reason for that is because wood is warm, alive, generally obtainable, and easily erected. However, there are substitutes.

Brick walls, with spaces for aeration, say five a side

Turf placed grass downward

3. Bales of straw built round the heap.

Do not use iron sheets as these tend to be cold and the outside of the heap will not compost very well. Mind you, you can always use the unused composted part of your heap for the start of a new heap.

You must provide some protection against heavy rain, because it will douse the heat much as it will put out a fire.

A sodden and confined heap cannot breathe. It is the aerobic (i.e., air-breathing) microbes that produce compost; the anaerobic microbes exist without air, and the result of their activities is putrefaction. Therefore, it is important to have adequate shelter to ensure both heat and air. Place a sheet of corrugated iron at a slant, so that air can pass under and rain run off it: or, as an alternative, make a shelter of stretched canvas, strong sacking or old carpet. It is not advisable to use rubber or plastic sheeting because such material is an insulator and does not allow air to pass through it, therefore staving the heap of oxygen.

It is essential that you provide good drainage. 

If your soil is light, place the bin directly on it. If it is heavy, dig down about six inches and fill the space with rubble and a cover of soil on top. Why? Because the heap produces a lot of moisture, especially when plants are succulent. This must be able to disperse, or it would saturate the compost and exclude the air.

A good idea is to lay down a thin layer of charcoal on the floor of the bin. The reason for this is that it will absorbs unpleasant gases, much like a filter. The charcoal need not be anything special just make a small bonfire, with wood and when it is red hot, pour some water on it – and there you have your charcoal!