Crop wastes were protected from moisture, stored dry under cover
near the compost factory. Green materials were first withered in the
sun for a few days before storage. Refractory materials were spread
on the farm's roads and crushed by foot traffic and cart wheels
before stacking. All these forms of vegetation were thinly layered
as they were received so that the dry storage stacks became
thoroughly mixed. Care was taken to preserve the mixing by cutting
vertical slices out of the stacks when vegetation was taken to the
compost pits. Howard said the average C/N of this mixed vegetation
was about 33:1. Every compost heap made year-round was built with
this complex assortment of vegetation having the same properties and
the same C/N.
Special preliminary treatment was given to hard, woody materials
like sugarcane, millet stumps, wood shavings and waste paper. These
were first dumped into an empty compost pit, mixed with a little
soil, and kept moist until they softened. Or they might be soaked in
water for a few days and then added to the bedding under the work
cattle. Great care was taken when handling the cattle's bedding to
insure that no flies would breed in it.