"Oranges are gone in a year, easy. Citrus doesn’t take that long to decompose. By the time that I toss this pile, do the lasagna layering of straw, compost, and straw, then give it a little toss and six months later, you can’t find a peel. Seriously. And in the middle of winter, when it’s below zero, in the compost pile, it's about 75 degrees. There is thermal mass even in that cold, but really 130 is ideal for municipal composters. I try to spread things out. Composting isn’t rocket science but what it takes is persistence and a place that is more or less protected, that’s why the farm is so nice. We get nice nutritious compost for our beds and all of this food from the Co-op doesn’t go to the landfill."