Effect of Turning and Vessel Type on Compost Temperature and Composition In Backyard (Amateur) Composting

The vast majority of compost research has focused on commercial-scale composting and attempts have been made previously to adapt that knowledge to amateur composting. However, amateur composting is potentially more variable and thus more difficult to generalize. This experiment used three types of amateur compost vessels and examined the effects of vessel type and turning on the resultant temperature, nutrient concentrations and physical characteristics. The effect of vessel type produced statistically significant differences in temperature as did the effect of turning the vessels. However, for all vessel types, the recorded temperatures remained in the mesophylic range and the temperatures necessary to kill pathogens or weed seeds were not reached. Observations were also made on the influence of vessel type on the physical characteristics of the resultant compost and the management of the vessels. The choice of vessel is important but it is probably more a factor of volume than design; volume appears critical. Turning compost heaps would also appear to be worth considering as there is clearly an increase in temperature, albeit small.