compost pile@Everything2.com
Fragrant? Have you ever smelled a woodland waking up after a night's sleep? The smell of damp earth after rain; the smell of bluebells growing and butterflies feeding? That's what good compost smells like.
I think it is awesome, seeing a cold compost heap converting all kinds of blackened vegetables, slimy cucumbers and cold tea leaves into this rich, nutrient-filled fibre. It takes a few months, but set the heap up right and you can leave it alone, quietly performing one of nature's greatest miracles in a dark corner of your yard. A season or two later, the heap is crumbly, moist compost, filled with worms and centipedes; bacteria and fibre. Just right to feed a new generation of plants, helping them grow strong in the new year's sunshine.
You don't need a huge heap, nor do you need to keep it topped up with barrow-loads of vegetable matter. That's a hot compost heap, and those are only for the professionals, or near-professionals. A hot compost heap needs looking after; it needs feeding, changing and checking every few days. Hot heaps are wonderful because they do the job quickly, in weeks rather than months, and the heat kills seeds and disease-causing bacteria, making it safer to use on the garden.
A cold compost just sits quietly in the corner, minding its own business, feeding its host of industrious residents and slowly converting rotting cabbage and broken roses into a gardener's black gold. It generates a bit of warmth, but not much. Just enough to give the worms a peaceful home, slightly warmer than the cold winter air."


