How Long Does It Take To Produce Finished Compost?
Under typical Calgary conditions, with a moderate amount of care and attention, it will take a growing season to produce a stable, humus like “finished” compost. This also assumes that large amounts of high carbon materials that are slow to break down (such as sawdust or wood bark) are not being composted. There is a danger of compost containing the latter materials causing a nitrogen immobilization or deficiency in the soil as it is incorporated into it. Bacteria are more efficient at using nitrogen than plants. They will therefore “rob” plant life of the soil nitrogen in order to further break down the high carbon materials. Following the University of California Method, compost that is semi-stabilized can be produced in between two to four weeks during an Calgary summer. Partial sterilization of pathogens and weed seeds will have occurred and the readily decomposable materials will have been broken down. The origin ofmanv wastes will still be discernible however. They may still be d
