Pile the compost 6 to 10 feet high and 4 feet wide and cover with leaves. Keep moist To really get an accurate moisture content take a kilogram of wet compost, dry it and compute the percent lost which is the water. It may be difficult to get materials like dry straw wet, especially when trying to water a pile. The best method is to spread out the materials in a flat pile, add water with a sprinkler or allow the rain to wet, then stack the material in a windrow up to 6 ft. high with sides as steep as possible. In Your Field Growing nitrogen fixing trees in rows between crop plants provides many benefits, including protection against wind and shading young tender plants.
Nitrogen fixing trees provide a way of extracting minerals from the soil with a deep taproot.
Nitrogen is extracted from the air with the aid of rhizobia, a type of beneficial bacteria which forms nodules on the roots. The prunings can be composted by the above method or chopped and worked into the ground and allowed to break down prior to planting your crop.