Tending to your Compost

A well-constructed pile can produce compost in 3-6 months. If the decomposition is slow or you would like to accelerate the process, you can do so by turing and remoistening the pile and added more of the needed ingredients. Only a few days after you created the pile, it should shrink considerably. This happens because decomposers are using up the oxygen in the pile, collapsing the airspaces between the material. Even though this is occurring the decomposers need oxygen to do their job. To add more oxygen you need to add more organic matter to the pile. It is also important to aerate your compost. This is another easy way to add oxygen to your compost pile. The best way to aerate your pile is to turn  the entire pile. As you aerate your pile you should moisten it. Your pile should be moist like a wrung-out sponge.