their leaves to make protein for photosynthesis. A small amount goes
into making bark. Wood itself is virtually pure cellulose, derived
from air and water. If, when we farmed trees, we removed only the
wood and left the leaves and bark on the site, we would be removing
next to nothing from the soil. If the sawdust comes from a lumber
mill, as opposed to a cabinet shop, it may also contain some bark
and consequently small amounts of other essential nutrients.

Thoroughly moistened and heaped up, a sawdust pile would not heat
up, only a few primary decomposers would take up residence. A person
could wait five years for compost to form from pure moist sawdust
and still not much would happen. Perhaps that's why the words
"compost" and "compot" as the British mean it, are connected. In
England, a compot is a slightly fermented mixture of many things
like fruits. If we mixed the sawdust with other materials having a
very low C/N, then it would decompose, along with the other items.






CHAPTER THREE

Practical Compost Making