Compost Activator

Composting is a great way to enhance crop growth or the ornamental plants in your garden. It will result in healthier plants, and some other benefits. It may be confusing at first, especially when defining what compost really is. In your quest to know what composting is, you will encounter some references to a compost activator. But what is it and how will it improve the quality of your compost?

In the literal sense, a compost activator, or sometimes called compost inoculator, is the collective term for micro organisms like fungi or bacteria, and some nutrients to keep them alive. A compost activator will greatly enhance the decomposition of the organic materials in your compost. The faster they decompose, the earlier you can use your mixture. Without a compost activator, you risk generating strong odors that can attract pests and insects and destroy the quality of your compost. Regular compost takes very long to ferment on its own and a compost activator will speed things up.

Compost activators work by creating the right condition for a compost to begin with its deterioration. It adds nitrogen-producing bacteria to provide nitrogen into the mixture. Nitrogen is greatly needed to produce rich compost. Sometimes special compost activators even provide heat when the weather falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some compost activators are made from all natural products. There are even herbal compost activators available in the market today. They can make the compost a lot more bearable to stir every now and then, as the herbs infuse sweet aromas to the mix and eliminate the unpleasant odours. Most of the time, natural compost activators contain powdered flowers, fragrant wood, and occasionally some honey for the bacteria but all these natural products tend to make composting take longer.

A lot of natural compost activators are readily available in specialty shops, as well as online stores. The special leaves like that of the comfrey plant, chicken manure, and sometimes fish and ground up bone can also be used. Nutrients like potassium can also be added on top of the mixture. Simply top your compost mixture with these natural compost activators.  

Deciding when to mix in the compost activator is really up to you. You can add it in the beginning to speed up the process or only