India has two primary seasons. Most of the year is hot and dry while
the monsoon rains come from dune through September. During the
monsoon, so much water falls so continuously that the earth becomes
completely saturated. Even though the pits were under a roof, they
would fill with water during this period. So in the monsoon, compost
was made in low heaps atop the ground. Compared to the huge pits,
their dimensions were smaller than you would expect: 7 x 7 feet at
the top, 8 x 8 feet at the base and no more than 2 feet high. When
the rains started, any compost being completed in pits was
transferred to above-ground heaps when it was turned.
Howard was accomplishing several things by using shallow pits or low
but very broad heaps. One, thermal masses were reduced so
temperatures could not reach the ultimate extremes possible while
composting. The pits were better than heaps because air flow was
further reduced, slowing down the fermentation, while their
shallowness still permitted sufficient aeration. There were enough
covered pits to start a new heap every week.