Convenient composting

COMING UP WITH A WORKABLE COMPOSTING SYSTEM THAT FITS YOUR LIFESTYLE WILL GREATLY REDUCE FOOD WASTE AND BUILD BETTER SOIL.

Keeping organic waste out of landfills is one of the best things we can do for our environment. And once you get the basics of how composting works, turning kitchen waste into healthy soil is one the most fascinating and engaging aspects of gardening.

The trick is to devise a system that works for your household, minimising the time and energy. The range of options includes hot composting, cold composting, fermentation (Bokashi) and worm farming. Many gardeners combine more than one system.

Hot composting requires the building, all in one go, of a large heap (at least a square metre) using a balance of ‘green’ (high in nitrogen) and ‘brown’ (high in carbon) ingredients. This results in microbial activity that releases heat. When the middle of the heap reaches peak heat it is turned to ‘stoke the fire’ with oxygen and feed the microbes. This takes work but the results are fast and effective.

Cold composting also uses a balance of ‘green’ and ‘brown’ ingredients but the heap is built up more gradually as kitchen waste is added. Turning is optional. This is a more convenient system requiring less work, but it takes longer. The smaller the pieces of raw material, the greater the surface area for microbes to work on, so the faster the raw material will be converted into compost.

‘Bokashi' fermentation composting relies on a special kind of anaerobic bacteria, which are added to the mix. This is composting without air in a closed bucket with a lid. The raw material doesn’t change much in appearance, but is effectively ‘pickled’. However when buried in the garden or compost heap it will decompose very quickly. An advantage of the Bokashi system is that all food scraps can be managed, even meat, and it can be kept indoors. If there is no backyard for burying, the finished product can be dropped off at a community garden or other grateful recipient.

Worm farming is fun, and a tidy way to get rid of kitchen scraps. A simple worm bin doesn’t need much space and can be set up in the garage. Once you build up an active breeding population of worms a worm farm can be a surprisingly effective recycling machine with the bonus of ‘worm wee’ fertiliser on tap. There is a limit to the amount of waste the average worm farm can handle so you may want more than one. It is important not to overload the worms with more than they can eat. To speed things up chop your worms’ food up into smaller particles. Worms are fussier eaters than compost microbes. For example, they don’t like citrus or onion, but they do love coffee grounds and will thank you for pumpkin or avocado with a spate of rapid baby making.