Campbell Scientific does not recommend using the CS650 or the CS655 to measure water content in compost. A compost pile is a very hostile environment for making dielectric measurements with soil water content sensors. All of the following combine to make it very difficult to determine a calibration function: high temperature, high and varying electrical conductivity, high organic matter content, heterogeneity of the material in the pile, changing particle size, and changing bulk density. The temperature and electrical conductivity values reported by the CS650 or CS655 may give some useful information about processes occurring in the compost pile, but these sensors will not be able to give useful readings for water content.