mixtures of vegetation without manure, the conditions tend to become very acid and bacterial fermentation is inhibited.  To correct low pH, Koepf recommends agricultural lime at 25 pounds per ton of vegetation, the weight figured on a dry matter basis.  To guestimate dry weight, remember that green vegetation is 70-80 percent water, to prevent organic material like hay from spoiling it is first dried down to below 15 percent moisture.

There is another reason to make sure that a compost pile contains an abundance of calcium.  Azobacteria, that can fix nitrate nitrogen in mellowing compost piles, depend for their activity on the availability of calcium.  Adding agricultural lime in such a situation may be very useful, greatly speed the decomposition process, and improve the quality of the compost.  Albert Howard used small amounts of lime in his compost piles specifically to aid nitrogen fixation.  He also incorporated significant quantities of fresh bovine manure at the same time.

However, adding lime to heating manure piles results in the loss of large quantities of ammonia gas.  Perhaps this is the reason some people are opposed to using lime in any composting process.  Keep in mind that a manure pile is not a compost pile.  Although both will heat up and decay, the starting C/N of a barnyard manure pile runs around 10:1 while a compost heap of yard waste and kitchen garbage runs 25:1 to 30:1.  Any time highly nitrogenous material, such as fresh manures or spring grass clippings, are permitted to decompose without adjustment of the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio with less potent stuff, ammonia tends to be released, lime or not.

Only agricultural lime or slightly better, dolomitic lime, are useful in compost piles.  Quicklime or slaked lime are made from heated limestone and undergo a violent chemical reaction when mixed with water.  They may be fine for making cement, but not for most agricultural purposes.

Linseed meal. See Cottonseed meal.

Manure. Fresh manure can be the single most useful addition to the compost pile.  What makes it special is the presence of large quantities of active digestive enzymes.  These enzymes seem to contribute to more rapid heating and result in a finer-textured, more completely decomposed compost that provokes a greater growth response in plants.  Manure from cattle and other multi-stomached ruminants also contains cellulose-decomposing bacteria.  Soil animals supply similar digestive enzymes as they work over the litter on the forest floor but before insects and other tiny animals can eat much of a compost heap, well-made piles will heat up, driving out or killing everything except microorganisms and fungi.

All of the above might be of interest to the country dweller or serious backyard food grower but probably sounds highly impractical to most of this book’s readers.  Don’t despair if fresh manure is not available or if using it is unappealing.  Compost made with fresh, unheated manure works only a little faster and produces just a slightly better product than compost activated with seed meals, slaughterhouse concentrates, ground alfalfa, grass clippings, kitchen garbage, or even dried, sacked manures.  Compost made without any manure still “makes!”