Every windrow turner has enough moisture content especially when it is on a commercial level. However, the amount of water needed will depend on the size of the operation at hand and how much it produces. It is important to know exactly how much water your composting activities will use to help manage resources. Why then is water important when it comes to composting when we talk bout home composter water usage may not necessarily be a concern unlike on a very large scale which is in a commercial operation where a compost windrow turner is employed for composting. It is said that the approximated industry standard is to make compost windrows that contain 60% moisture and we must note that for the actual amount of water needed to reach that point there are a lot of things it will depend on, such as the amount of compost that is being made, the ingredients in the mixture, the size of each compost pile, the type of composting that is implementing, your current region, as well as the current state of the weather in that region.
Once new material is added to a pile or you start a new pile, it is expected that the feedstock have a moisture content of about 50% – 60% as anything below 35% moisture content and above 65% moisture content will make the decomposition process to become slow or even stop. Reasons we must add or reduce the moisture content regularly for the effectiveness of the decomposition with the usage of compost windrow turner. Also, the current weather condition will after the amount of water that is needed to ensure the appropriate gauge of water, as the stockpile losses a lot of water faster when the weather is dry compared to when the weather is wet or cold.
In composting process and with the usage of a compost windrow turner, one should ensure that whatever irrigation systems are put in place give adequate water to the piles regularly. The systems put in place must ensure the addition of water to the surface of each pile, as that will help minimize the effect of odors and other volatile organic compounds. Water is so significant in the process of composition, especially on a large scale, however, it must be applied with measures and standards for proper delivery of what is required.
