Compost: What is it?

Compost: What is it?

Compost is a great substance for soil, trees, lawns, and landscape plants.  We’ve had a number of posts about it on our TrueTreeTalk blog (Compost Topdressing, A Compost Blog Post from Sienna Mulch, Compost or Black Gold?, and The Secret Magic of Worm Composting That No One Talks About).  Are you curious to know what exactly compost is?  In today’s post, find out.

What is Compost?

Simply put, compost is decomposed organic (carbon-based) matter.  It has a dark color with an earthy smell and no discernable pieces of the original material.  It contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other elements.  Although people can speed up the process, compost is something that occurs naturally as microbes and other organisms decompose organic material.  There can be billions of microorganisms decomposing organic matter and they include things such as bacteria and fungi.  Larger organisms such as earthworms and ants also aid in decomposition.

For the microorganisms to decompose organic matter, they need water, air, carbon, and nitrogen.  Although the optimal ratio varies, generally more carbon is needed relative to nitrogen.  A relatively greater proportion of nitrogen can be found in green organic matter (such as grass clippings) and a relatively greater proportion of carbon can be found in brown organic matter (such as dead leaves).  The microbes get energy from the carbon and they use nitrogen to grow.  Through the decomposition process, organic materials along with oxygen and moisture, are decomposed into compost, water, heat, and carbon dioxide.  Because this process requires oxygen, it is aerobic rather than anaerobic.  Aerobic decomposition can peak when temperatures are between one hundred and thirty and one hundred and forty degrees.

Compost is a wonderful substance and something that can benefit almost any landscape space.  We offer compost topdressing as a service, and if you are interested, you can give us a call at 832-980-8733 to arrange an appointment.

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ArborTrue is a science-based tree service company in the greater Houston area. We also serve Austin and other parts of Central Texas. We provide a range of services including tree trimming, tree pruning, tree removal, tree planting, arborist consultations, and more. Call us today at 832-980-8733 (Houston) or at 512-546-3833 (Austin) or reach out to us online to schedule an appointment.