Organic Compost is a block from the Farmer’s Delight mod that slowly breaks down into 
Rich Soil once you place it, and it’s crafted from 
Dirt, 
Straw, 
Bone Meal and either 
Tree Bark or 
Rotten Flesh. It’s the only way to make Rich Soil yourself, so you’ll want a few of them going as soon as you’ve got a Knife for the Straw.
How long it takes depends a lot on where you put it, as sunlight, water and certain blocks around it all speed it up. A block left on its own in the dark can take a couple of hours, whereas a well placed one will be ready in around a quarter of an hour.
Crafting
Organic Compost is crafted in a 
Crafting Table from one Dirt, two Straw and some Bone Meal, plus either four Tree Bark or two Rotten Flesh. The Rotten Flesh version needs four Bone Meal instead of two, so it’s more useful if you’ve got a mob farm than if you’re cutting a lot of wood.
You’ll also find it already placed in villages, as Plains, Desert, Savanna, Snowy and Taiga villages can generate a Compost Heap next to one of their houses. These have a pile of Organic Compost and usually some finished Rich Soil underneath, so it’s worth digging them up with a Shovel, and you’ll find more on the Villages and Loot page.
If you break Organic Compost, it will always give you the block back, whatever stage it’s at, but it does start over from the beginning when you place it again. Placing your first one will get you the Advanced Composting advancement as well.
Tree Bark
Tree Bark comes from putting a Log or a block of Wood on a 
Cutting Board and using an Axe on it, which gives you the stripped version back along with one Tree Bark. Stripping a Log in the world with an Axe won’t give you any, so you’ll need the Cutting Board for it.
It will work with every kind of Log and Wood in the game, even the Crimson and 
Warped Stems from the Nether, but a 
Block of Bamboo will give you Straw instead. Apart from making compost, you’re able to craft three Tree Bark into a piece of 
Paper, or burn it in a 
Furnace to smelt one item.
How to Use It
Once it’s placed, Organic Compost goes through eight stages, and it turns into Rich Soil when it moves on from the last one. Every random tick, it has a chance to move on a stage, and that chance depends on what’s in the three by three by three area around it.
| Condition | Added Chance per Tick |
|---|---|
| Every time | 5% |
| Open to the sky (replaces the 5%) | 10% |
| Water anywhere next to it | 10% |
| Each activator block in the area, itself included | 2% |
The blocks that count as activators are Brown and 
Red Mushrooms, Mushroom Colonies, 
Podzol, 
Mycelium, Rich Soil, 
Rich Soil Farmland and any other Organic Compost. That means a pile of compost will speed itself up, as each block counts the ones that are next to it.
Only light from the sky counts, so a 
Torch or a 
Lantern next to your compost won’t speed it up at all. Make sure it’s out in the open, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s day or night, as it’s the sky above it that counts rather than the sunlight.
It doesn’t matter what the water is, as a water source, flowing water and waterlogged blocks will all count, and so will a block of planted 
Rice. The times below are rough averages at the default tick speed, and they show how much of a difference a good spot is going to make.
| Setup | Chance per Tick | Rough Time |
|---|---|---|
| On its own, indoors, no water | 7% | Around 2 hours |
| Open sky and water next to it | 22% | Around 40 minutes |
| Surrounded by other compost, open sky | 28% | Around 30 minutes |
| Surrounded by activators, open sky, water | Up to 72% | Around 13 minutes |
You’re able to check how far along it is with a 
Redstone Comparator, as fresh compost gives a signal of 8 and it drops by one with each stage, down to 1 just before it turns into Rich Soil. That’s handy for a big compost farm, as you’ll be able to tell which blocks are ready to dig without checking each one.
Uses
Organic Compost is really only used to make Rich Soil, which you can then till into Rich Soil Farmland for your crops or use under Saplings and mushrooms. You’ll find what it does on the Rich Soil page, along with why it’s worth making a lot of it.
A good setup is a row of compost with water on one side, out in the open, with finished Rich Soil or a few Mushroom Colonies placed around it. Each block of Rich Soil you make helps the next batch along, so the whole thing gets faster as you go.
Mushrooms can be planted on Organic Compost in any light, the same as on Mycelium, and it counts as an activator for the blocks next to it. It’s also mined fastest with a Shovel, so you’ll want one with you when you go to dig up a finished batch.
FAQ
It depends on where it is, as a block on its own indoors can take around two hours, whereas one out in the open with water next to it takes around 40 minutes. Surrounding it with mushrooms, Rich Soil or more compost can bring that down to about a quarter of an hour.
You’ll need to craft one Dirt, two Straw and two Bone Meal with four Tree Bark, or you can use four Bone Meal and two Rotten Flesh in place of the bark. You’ll need a Knife for the Straw, and a Cutting Board with an Axe for the bark.
Put a Log or a block of Wood on a Cutting Board and use an Axe on it, which strips it and gives you one Tree Bark. Stripping Logs in the world won’t drop any, so you’ll need the Cutting Board.
Being out in the open under the sky will speed it up, and so will having water next to it and having activator blocks around it, like mushrooms, Mycelium, Podzol, Rich Soil or more Organic Compost. Torches won’t help though, as it’s only the light from the sky that counts.
