Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
If you don't need as much compost or if you don't want to do all of this turning, a slow
compost pile has big advantages. Not only does it retain many more nutrients, but re-
search shows it's more able to suppress disease, probably because more beneficial mi-
crobes survive the composting process, especially the fungi ones.
We can also allow the pile to go through a maturation phase, where it's already looking
like finished compost, but sits for another perhaps six weeks at a cooler temperature al-
lowing many microbes to multiply. This curing time is vital to make the best compost.
Many adherents and some research projects have concluded that the extra work involved
in the very intensive management, such as turning several times a week, is not worth the
effort. There are strong opinions on both sides.
