For the life of me, I can't fathom why achieving a top-quality peat-free compost would be that difficult.
Properly processed …
I think that is what is lacking at the moment.
Lots of twigs and lumps of clay in the stuff I’ve bought recently.
The twigs, lumps of clay and other lumpy bits are actually helpful to the next round of compost processed. Facilities use a rotary trommel to separate the good fluffy stuff and send the lumps back through the process again. Those coarse bits help maintain air channels in the compost, which allows the microbes to do their work more efficiently, and maintain a higher composting temperature. Also, the lumps carry beneficial microbes from one batch of compost to the next.
It may not be every gardener's cup of tea, but if you ever get the chance, take a tour of a big composting facility. A good state-of-the-art facility will have all sorts of sensors to monitor temperature, oxygen, moisture content, etc. using sensors and computers. All to make the highest quality and safest compost. I find that sort of thing fascinating (but maybe that's just my own brand of weirdness
). I've toured wastewater treatment plants, recycling facilities, composting plants, chicken processing plants. Maybe that makes me a waste nerd?
Or a process nerd?
