Sunday, November 11, 2007

The Long-Awaited Compost Leaderboard

A funny thing has been developing in my family over the past couple of years: a good-natured pissing match over whose backyard composter is registering the highest temperatures. High temperatures in a composter normally indicate heightened microbial activity, which equates to efficient aerobic decomposition of organic matter. Organic matter in a composter is stuff that might otherwise have been sealed in a landfill site only to kick off methane that wrecks the planet (methane is 20 times more volatile as a greenhouse gas than CO2).

The Compost Temp Leaderboard:

2008-Oct-05 Jeff(PB) ambient=18C, compost=71C, diff=53C
2010-06-06 Jeff ambient=18C, compost=39C, diff=11C
 

2009-Jun-18 Bill(PB) ambient=18C, compost=69C, diff=51C
2010-May-26 Bill ambient=3C, compost=68C, diff=65C

2009-Aug-04 Rod&Laurie (PB) ambient=10C, compost=49C, diff=39C
2007-Aug-26 Rod&Laurie ambient=11C, compost=41C, diff=30C

2009-Jun-07 John (PB) ambient=16C, compost=42C, diff=26C
2010-May-24 John ambient=26C, compost=31C, diff=5C


Got an update for the board? Drop me a note and I'll post it. In this contest, everybody wins.