The 5 Types Of Compost You Should Know About

30 September 2019
 Categories: , Blog

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Folks who care about gardening, want to be less wasteful, or just enjoy working with decaying plant material often are interested in compost. There are plenty of reasons to buy compost, but newcomers are often surprised to see there's a lot more to it than just encouraging a lump of dead plants to break down. When you visit a compost supply place the next time, keep an eye out for these four varieties.

Aerobic

The idea here is pretty straightforward. Materials are placed into a tumbler, and then they are churned in order to get air to circulate into the pile. Moisture is also regularly added because even bacteria and fungi need to hydrate. The net effect is that composting usually can be done much more quickly this way, and that makes aerobic processes popular for industrial-scale production.

Large operations, like schools and hospitals, often use electrically driven versions of this process. Don't be afraid to ask a compost supply company about the source. Just remember that almost anything that keeps the material from being put in a truck and taken to a landfill is likely good for the planet.

Anaerobic

Nothing quite says compost like a pile of stuff just sitting and breaking down. If you've ever been near a landfill, you know what this entails in terms of smell. Anaerobic processes require close attention to what going into the pile because there is a thin line between making poisonous garbage and composting. Most eco-friendly folks are shy about this approach because it produces methane, a greenhouse gas. On the other hand, it is the simplest and least labor-intensive way to generate compost.

Vermicomposting

Every company has someone doing the work, but those that use vermicomposting have employees who are total worms. The idea here is that real worms get in among the waste and do what they do best. Vermicomposting is ideal when it comes to dealing with things that don't decay well using other methods, especially food scraps. It produces less smell, and by extension, that means it's generating less in the way of greenhouse gases. Vermicomposting is also one of the best ways to dispose of difficult waste.

While worms are the most popular employees at vermicomposting operations, other critters can get in on the action, too. Specially chosen bacteria species are sometimes used, but soldier flies and cockroaches are also efficient at this sort of work.