37 Tips for Keeping Food Fresh Longer. The average household tosses out 14% of the food they buy, according to Money magazine. For the typical family, thatâs over $1,300 a year! I donât know about you, but Iâd MUCH rather spend that kind of money on a getaway with my familyâ¦not throwing it in the trash!
For example, if your compost heats up to 40 or 50C, you can deduce that the ingredients contained adequate nitrogen and moisture for rapid microbial growth. To take your temperature readings, make sure to use a probe that reaches deep into the compost.
The optimum moisture content for a compost pile should range from 40 to 60 percent. If there is less than 40 percent moisture, bacteria slow down and may become dormant. If there is more than 60 percent, water will force air out of pile pore spaces, suffocating the aerobic bacteria.acteria utilize carbon as a source of energy (to keep on eating) and nitrogen to build protein in their bodies (so they can grow and reproduce). They obtain energy by oxidizing organic material, especially the carbon fraction. This oxidation process heats up the compost pile from ambient air temperature.