Composting is an environmentally friendly way of turning yard waste and plant debris into a valuable garden asset.  When dug into garden beds or spread on top of the growing area, compost improves the quality of the soil and promotes healthy plant development.  New gardeners who are just learning about the wonders of compost usually want to know two things.  How long does it take?  And how do you know when it’s finished?  Let’s try to answer these two vital questions.

The first question, how long does it take to make compost, can be answered in two words - it depends.  Some methods of composting are faster than others.  If you have the right combination of raw materials, the right composting setup, and the right climate, and you’re willing to put a lot of time into moistening and turning the pile every three days, you could have decent compost in a couple of weeks.  But for most gardeners, that’s not exactly realistic.

The typical compost pile takes anywhere from three to six months to produce a finished product.  The local climate and the amount of work you put in will affect the speed of decomposition.  A compost pile started late in the fall will naturally take longer to decompose than a pile started in the spring.

The second question, how do you know when the compost is finished, is much easier to answer.  The most obvious signs are temperature and appearance.

When decomposition is chugging along at peak efficiency, the compost pile will heat up to around 160 degrees Fahrenheit and stay at that temperature for a few days.  Then the temperature of the pile will start dropping as decomposition slows down.  By the time compost is ready to use, its temperature will be close to that of the surrounding air.  If the material is much hotter than that, it needs more time.

Well-decomposed compost is a rich, dark brown color, with a light and crumbly texture resembling a potting soil mixture.  The finished compost has little odor.  It might have a sweet and earthy scent like good soil, but it never smells rotten or unpleasant.

As you see, the time it takes to make compost will vary depending on the circumstances, but it’s quite easy to tell when compost is ready to use.  Try not to be too impatient.  If you like, you can start a second pile while the first pile is still working.  Many gardeners have several batches of compost on the go, all at different stages of decomposition.  In this way, they have a steady supply of compost whenever they want it.  Making compost is certainly not an overnight process, but the results are completely worth the wait.