Compost is sometimes referred to as “brown manure”, but technically it is the product of (once living) organic matter after aerobic decomposition. It is a natural biological process. The list of biodegradable materials left to oxidize in this way includes, but is by no means limited to, cardboard and paper, coffee grounds, coir (cocoa shell), garden waste, manure, leaves, mushrooms, tree bark, eggshells, fruit and vegetables, and seaweed.

It is a popular recycling option – a recycling option that of course doesn’t carry any costs, and anyone can easily do it.
From a purely scientific perspective, composting is an act done by micro-organisms – such micro-organisms are mostly bacteria but yeasts and fungi do the same thing.

Composting in a low temperature environment may also recognize macro-organisms – springtails, ants, nematodes, isopods, earthworms, but also soldier flies, fruit flies and fungus gnats. Many more organisms belong to this decomposer community.

What is compost

“Compost” is common term. What it is, you may ask – well, it’s a body of collected dead cell matter, left to decompose by natural causes. Compost ingredients often taken a variety of forms, but they can be roughly divided into two types. The first is yard waste, such as dead foliage and old tree bark. The second is food waste, from food leftovers in the form of half-eaten fruit and vegetables, old tea bags, cereal and pasta meal remains etc. etc.

But compost product is by no means limited to organic material. For example, developments in material science have heralded biodegradable polythene film, a kind which is more degradable under certain conditions of sunlight, moisture and oxygen, all key factors in decomposition process.

Many will talk of compost only in relation to the domestic environment. However, there are industrial installations that go by the label “industrial composting systems”, which serve as an alternative to landfill sites.
Sources have listed a number of practical uses for that which is compost product. For example, agriculture uses it to further the growth of crops “open ground” and greenhouse products such as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and melons.

Horticulturalists note that it can be used to positive effect in the creation of landscape beds or raised-bed gardens; its appropriation in “container” mixes also reduces the need for chemical fertilizers as a result of the NPK trait (content of the three elements of sodium, phosphorus and potassium).
It also plays a role in erosion control.

What to compost

Many have heard the term “compost”, which is, of course, the product of composting. But given that composting is well-known as a means of benefiting the environment, it should not come as a genuine surprise that some people might wonder exactly what to compost if they are to feel like they are playing their part.

Research into the scientific process of composition indicates that it is a natural process, where materials decay by oxidization. However, carbon, nitrogen and water are every bit as important in the decomposition act – so what may be listed as the most common compost materials?

One such compost material family is demarcated by the trait of primarily carbon content. The list includes dry and straw type substantial like stalks, and cereal straws stalks, wood, dry leaves to prevent and avoid matting, a fine or coarse, ground wood waste, sawdust, cardboard, paper, box board, and newsprint or office paper.

Another such family is marked for raised nitrogen content: green plant substances such as hay, (particularly alfafa) crop residues, weeds and grass clippings.  One should be aware of leaving any such item that falls into any of the above categories, in a moist area, lest decomposition to it take place where it is not wanted!