Hi, I'm Iraflato, and you're listening to Science Friday. My yard is finally coming back to life.

There are plants budding and blooming, and it's got me eager to get out into the garden.

And if you're a gardener like I am, you really can't think about getting your soil in shape without thinking about adding

compost. Composting is a sometimes mysterious process for a lot of us, but it can help get your

garden or your yard on its way, both dealing with waste and giving your soil a boost. So here to

help break it all down. Bad composting

joke, sorry about that. As Cassandra Marquato say, Composting Aficionado, an author of the new book,

Compost after reading a practical manifesto for purposeful decomposition. Welcome to Science Friday. Hi, thank you. Tell me what purposeful

decomposition means. I think purposeful decomposition is kind of how I chose to define the composting

process. Everything in the world breaks down of its own and chord without our interference

for the most part.

The idea of becoming a composter means that we're getting involved with that process.

So that's where that little subhead comes from.

How is it different from just a pile of rotting stuff?

Well, it depends on what type of compost you want to be.

I definitely know at least a few composters who just keep a pile of

rotting stuff and call it a day. And it's not on me to judge them. But the idea of compost is that

we as people are providing an ideal environment for decomposition for all the little microbes

and fungi that are responsible for breaking things down in this world and helping them turn into new life forms.

So the idea of a compost pile is that you're providing the correct ratio of nitrogen to carbon

for microbes and fungi to feed and reproduce, which is the basis of all decomposition.

Let's go to the ABCs of composting, shall we? I mean, they say you need some brown stuff,

...