The Joys of Mulch and Compost

When I was a kid in England the compost heap lurked in a corner of the garden like a giant Christmas pudding. Every now and then someone would fork it around. It was made from chicken shit and vegetable scraps. The local farms had dung heaps which were like composts only made up from animal excrement and straw. Dung heaps leaked 'tea' when it was wet enough, which was often.
I just pulled something in my back while I attempted to remove the compost from the 50 gallon plastic bag that I had made it in. I wanted to reuse the bag, which is very stout, but it wasn't worth the pain. It seems to me that there are different types of compost. I did not aerate mine. I wanted it to be facultatively anaerobic. It was made from powdered pecan leaves and household scraps which were mostly coffee grounds and chopped banana peels. I added wine, water and CocaCola from time to time.
My mulch is mostly made from bamboo leaves and pecan and other leaves, or whatever looks dead and vegetable and not more than three inches long. I live in a very hot, dry climate so the mulch is pretty much necessary to protect germinating and young plants from sun, and to retain moisture a little.
This may look alright on paper, but the truth of the matter is that mulch and compost create the optimum environment for thousands no millions of Little Creatures. Need I point out that the lower layer of my compost was probably anaerobic and relatively insect free, but the upper layer seethed! Of course little creatures are necessary in the breakdown of dead organic material, but these small beings are versatile, and they transfer gladly to living organic. matter! My glorious rhubarb plant was felled overnight by some sort of bug that chewed the stalks through just below the ground.
My friend had horse poop spread out in the desert in full sun for an entire summer. When she used it in her compost the next year all the weeds that had survived the baking sprang up everywhere. I use dog shit for nitrogen. It is said that a few hours in the sun sterilizes it. I don't actually believe this. Still, it doesn't have many seeds in it! I also plant beans and lentils in every blank space. They fix nitrogen in the soil and they grow really well here.
I love compost, it smells so good. Actinomycetes I think.

Oh yes. My garden isn't up to much for all my uninformed labor!