Okuzeka
Agriculture vocabulary · Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers

Compost

Meaning in agriculture, with examples

nounCommon term

In agriculture, compost means: A dark, crumbly material made by letting plant waste, manure and other organic matter break down under controlled conditions, used to improve soil.

In Turkish: kompost, kompost gübre

How it is used

Farmers make, turn and spread compost; compost heaps or windrows must stay moist and warm to break down well. It is also a verb ('compost the manure'). Compost is common in organic farming and greenhouse growing media.

Example sentences

  1. We turn the compost every two weeks to keep it aerobic.

  2. The vineyard uses compost made from grape pomace and sheep manure.

Common collocations

  • make compost
  • spread compost
  • compost heap
  • mature compost
  • green waste compost
  • manureAnimal dung, often mixed with straw or bedding, that is spread on land as an organic fertilizer to add nutrients and organic matter.
  • organic matterThe part of the soil formed from decaying plant and animal material; it holds water and nutrients and improves soil structure.
  • organic farmingA certified way of farming that avoids synthetic pesticides and mineral fertilizers and relies on rotations, compost, manure and natural pest control.
  • fertilizerA natural or manufactured substance added to soil or plants to supply nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and increase growth.
  • growing mediumThe material in which plants grow instead of or in addition to soil, such as peat, perlite, coco peat or rockwool, used in pots, trays and greenhouse beds.

More terms: Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: