AGRICULTURE REPORT - October 15, 2002: Composting
By Gary Garriott
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Many farmers around the world are composting to improve their soil so they can produce better crops.
Composting is mixing plant or animal wastes so they break down and produce simpler substances.
Farmers add compost to their soils instead of burning plant and animal wastes or throwing them away. Compost
is an example of a natural organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers help make soils rich so that they produce more
crops for a longer time.
During the growing season, plants take gases from the air such as carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They combine
these gases with minerals from the soil.
After the growing season ends, many parts of the plant die. Farmers gather a large amount of dead plant materials
into small hills called compost piles. They may add animal wastes.
They must add water so the materials will break down or decay. Soon the plants are attacked by insects and
organisms, including worms and bacteria. Oxygen helps the organisms change the plant materials more quickly.
The plants decay into a mixture that can be spread on farmland where crops are growing. The compost returns
needed nutrients to the soil.
Some rules need to be followed to produce the best quality compost. Good compost piles need water to speed the
process of decay. Yet the piles should not be too wet or the plant material will be ruined. The temperature of the
compost pile should not be too high or too low. The best temperature for a compost pile is between 30 degrees
and 37 degrees Celsius. You can turn the pile over and over to help cool the material. Turning the compost pile
over adds more oxygen to the mixture. This helps it decay.
Sometimes small animals such as rats and mice like to eat the composting materials. You can prevent this by
adding a thin amount of soil to the top of the compost pile.
Farmers who use compost can increase the amount and quality of their crops. Computer users can find more
information about composting from Volunteers in Technical Assistance or VITA.
VITA is an organization based in the United States that helps people around the world use science and
technology to solve problems. VITA’s Internet address is w-w-w dot v-i-t-a dot o-r-g.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Gary Garriott.
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