“The new compost makers are trying to understand and manage the existing process: digestion of microbes. True, they make food for insects, ”the Times article explains and provides details:
“Composting is simple in its essence, but intricate in detail. Mainly, that is how the soil makes the remains of raw organic matter into materials that are useful to plants. Soil microbes — one billion of them in one gram of fertile soil — have an extraordinary appetite for organic compounds, mainly made up of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. Bacteria and fungi burn coal for energy and use nitrogen and some coal to build their body cells. Most work with oxygen, but some are better without oxygen. When the raw compounds are depleted, they eat each other. From all these eateries and sources comes heat, water, carbon dioxide and a substance called humus, a complex organic molecule that pulls and inhibits the food, water and air that plants need to grow. ”
With proper compost mix, microbes can consume diesel oil, TNT hydrocarbons, and uranium. Sure, these are small powerful microorganisms, but as you make compost in your yard, it will not face such challenges.
