I’ve recently added a new word to my vocabulary, and I find myself using it often in conversation and internal monologues. The word: biofilter.
I learned it when I started taking more responsibility for compost on our property. Michelle’s in charge of the garden. She has the skill, dedication, and desire to take the lead on it, while Aly and I serve as more or less unskilled labor in support. The compost piles have been a natural extension of this process, but I’ve finally figured out that this is an extremely vital aspect of the homestead that I can manage. I’ve begun educating myself beyond what Michelle has taught me over the years. That includes learning about biofilter.
Biofilter refers to a loose layer of organic material—grass clippings, leaves, forest duff, straw—piled several inches on top of a compost pile. Applied under the simple principle, “If it looks or smells bad, cover it until it does neither,” the biofilter makes the compost pile a much more pleasant feature of one’s home. A proper amount keeps flies and other pests out of the compost pile. Probably not bears, but we haven’t had to test that theory yet.
The principle is sound, but my pursuit of it may not be. I’ve become a biofilter snob. Continue reading