Your friend John is having trouble with his compost bin. The material in his compost pile doesn’t seem to be decomposing well. You take a sample of the pile and check for the presence of microorganisms under the microscope. You see that there are indeed microorganisms; however, they don’t appear to be growing very fast. John says that he regularly mixes his compost pile to expose it to oxygen but has noticed the pile feels cold. What is the most likely explanation for this problem?

The compost pile contained aerobic bacteria.
The compost pile was placed in the sunshine.
The compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns"
The compost pile was sufficiently moist.

1 answer

The most likely explanation for the problem is that the compost pile contained incorrect amounts of "greens" and "browns". The balance of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) materials is essential for the efficient breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms. If there is an imbalance, such as too many browns and not enough greens, the decomposition process can be slowed down, leading to a cold compost pile. In this case, John may need to adjust the ratio of greens to browns in his compost pile to help it decompose more effectively.