To everything turn, turn, turn

Composting is one of the mysteries that my soil science course is revealing. I've been making good enough compost for years without a bum batch. Still, my objective has been to eliminate kitchen scraps - and reduce garbage - as much as it's been to enrich the soil.

That spirit of waste disposal, as opposed to soil enrichment, has degraded the compost industry. The compost produced by shredded woody material carelessly mixed with various biodegradable materials might visually resemble proper compost, but only superficially.

On closer inspection, the smell (rotten) and texture (slimy with chunks...