Compost can easily be made in a just in a Heap out in the open. This is the traditional Compost heap used by farmers since time immemorial. A huge pile of organic waste and animal manures layered together and heaped up high then left for months or even years to break down. If you have the space an open compost heap like this built in about a five foot cube will take six months to a year to decompose fully into usable, hummus rich garden compost.

Most gardeners though, need to conserve space so rely on enclosed areas to contain their compost heaps. How long your compost takes to make will depend, in part on the weather. Heat helps get all those micro-organisms working to break down your compost. Cold temperatures slow them down, and in severe cases could kill them altogether.

Moisture levels need to be favorable too. A too dry heap, and the bacteria will not be able to work to their full potential. A very wet heap and the bacteria basically drown and the whole heap may turn to fermenting sludge. This is only usually a problem with compost heaps made with huge volumes of compacted sappy green matter such as lawn clippings. Make sure this kind of content is layered thinly throughout the heap.

So long as the contents of the heap are varied in size and texture you should get lots of air pockets which will help the compost pile remain free-draining. Then, if you do have torrential rainfall, the water will drain through the heap rather than being trapped there.

There are ways to help your garden compost reach its full potential quickly though. If you build, or buy a garden composter which is keeps out the worst of the weather, but still lets air in you will speed up the composting process significantly. Plastic garden composters are great at keeping their contents moist. In fact, with these you should need to add no extra water at all. Likewise fitting a plastic sheet or tarpaulin over a wooden compost bin will achieve the same job. As the compost warms up and breaks down, it gives off moisture. The plastic traps the moisture, which will condense and drop back down onto the compost. So your garden compost should never dry out.

A well constructed garden composter should be giving you fine rich garden compost within three to six months.

By: Lec Watkins

For more information regarding garden recycling and whether to use a compost accelerator visit Garden Composter.