Disclaimer : This post is NOT to teach composting, though I cover some aspects of the same, the goal of this post is to show how I have implemented aerobic composting at my place.
My small contribution to saving the environment is composting the kitchen waste generated in my household. Before getting into the details of the what/why/where/how/when of composting, would request you to see this 2 part video. Video 1 and Video 2.
Why compost ?
- Giving back to Mother Earth what we are taking from her, directly or indirectly.
- Reduce the load on the local municipalities.
- The BEST organic fertilizer for your garden.
- Can be 100% sure of the ingredients as compared to store bought compost.
Refer my other post on some introduction and options for composting. This post is dedicated for DIY composting using the famous "blue bin". Though this post is specific to the blue bins, one can use a similar setup using the 50L water cans or large paint buckets or regular water buckets. The idea and implementation would pretty much be the same.
At the end of this blog post, there are quite a number of links by fellow gardeners related to composting.
Materials required :
- 2 blue bins (BB)
- Equipment to make holes for aeration.
- A stand or a setup to keep the BBs elevated.
- Cups or bowls to collect leachate.
Buying the BB.
BB is mainly a large water drum with the main purpose of storing water. These come in varied sizes 50-200 liters, costing from approx Rs. 200/- to Rs. 500/-, based on the shop location and you bargaining skills. Easily available in hardware stores or plastic shops. I have 2 BBs, one is 80 L and the other is 100L, bought for approx Rs. 280/- each. The most important consideration before buying one is the weight of these bins once they are filled with kitchen waste. If you have back problems or don't have anyone to help you move them around, then I would strongly suggest you to go for a smaller one (50L maybe). Buy one, see how it works for you and then accordingly buy a second one. You will need 2 BBs, so that when one is filling up, the 2nd one can be kept aside for composting. And this way you can rotate using them. Make sure you buy the BB along with a lid.
Making holes for aeration
- Use a drilling machine to make holes.
- Ask the seller if he can arrange for making some holes.
- With a hot screwdriver/knife make holes.
I used a drilling machine and made about 10-15 holes all around the BB as seen in the above image. Make a hole at the bottom. As shown in the image below.
Most of the vegetables have a significantly large percentage of water. For example, cucumber and lettuce has 96 percent water. Zucchini, radish and celery has 95 percent water. 94 % of tomato's weight is water and green cabbage is 93 percent water. Hence it is quite important to manage the moisture levels in a BB.
Sometimes the moisture levels in the BB raises and this will generate a brown liquid referred to as leachate. This is a very nutritious supplement for your plants and soil. As you can see in the image below, I have placed the BB on a wooden plank, so that I can easily collect the leachate that will leak from the hole at the bottom of the BB. I have placed a dahi cup right below the hole, to collect the leaking leachate. This leachate can be used in the ratio of 1:10 with water and sprayed on the leaves or for direct soil application.
Close up images of of the plank setup. By placing a pot tray filled with water below the wooden blocks, I reduce the chances of an ant attack.
Now that we have the basic setup up done, its time to start dumping the kitchen waste into the bins. I have placed a small tray near the kitchen sinks in my house and the kitchen waste is collected throughout the day into these trays. Every morning, I take these trays and dump the contents into the BB. Since mine is a aerobic setup, I am only adding vegetable and fruit peels.
What goes into these bins
The 2 main items that go into aerobic composting are the greens and the browns.
For the greens, I primarily add vegetable / fruit peels, rotten fruits, flowers etc.
For the browns, I am currently adding leaf compost, which I buy from a composting unit in Koramangala (http://kora3bcompost.strikingly.com). Earlier I added natural leaf compost from a nearby park. In my particular case, the browns keep changing based on their availability.
Other things that cover the browns are
Dry leaves : folks collect these from parks, road side, apartment complexes, etc. Folks usually collect dried leaves and store them for a longer period of time.
Cardboard : I remember reading that this is not a very good option, since they use industrial glue for manufacturing cardboard.
Shredded paper : I tried this once, but in my case they did not decompose, so stopped using them. Its not advisable to use shredded newspaper since the ink contains dyes and toxins.
As for additives, I add goat/cow dung once a week, to give an extra punch of nutrition. During the weekdays, I moisten the cow/goat dung.
On Saturday, when this has moistened enough during the week, I crush them easily. Place it in a tray to dry and on Sunday I spread it as layer in the BB.
At times, when the moisture levels increase in the BB, I add some fine sawdust to soak up the extra moisture. As an alternative in such cases, one can also add shredded cardboard or newspaper, cocopeat, soil (but can make the setup heavier), coconut husk.
There are quite a few products available which increase the microbial activity to accelerate the decomposing process. A natural accelerator is diluted butter milk. Add 10 spoons of curd to 1 L of water and add it to the bin. Do not add too much and make the contents too soggy.
Mixing and Turning
In aerobic composting, its important that there is good aeration for the contents of the BB. So every 4 days, one has to mix the contents of the BB.
I use a cultivator (the 3 pronged fork in the above image). Its also called a hand fork or a hand rake. As long as your BB is about half full, its quite easy and comfortable to mix the contents. However, once your bin is nearly full or quite heavy to handle and lift the same. So usually on weekends, I "roll" the BB. Place the lid tightly, place the BB in horizontal position, with one hand hold the lid tight and with the other "roll" the BB on the floor. This helps in a good mixing and turning as well. On reaching the other end of the terrace, place the BB vertically and give a good mix. Add any additives that you may have.
I usually add these additives or accelerators, at the other end of the terrace. Then I "roll" the BB back to its place, so that these additives get mixed thoroughly into the compost.
Precautions
Since my setup is on the terrace, I am not very concerned about the smell (though I never had these problems, but still) and maggots. However, in case your setup is around the main portion of your house/apartment, pls do take extra precautions. Example ... soiling of the floor, fruit flies, ants, house flies, maggots.
In my terrace, I do not have a provision to keep the BB in complete shade. Either in the morning, noon, evening, they will receive direct sunlight. Composting ideally requires a dark dry location.
Harvesting
Place a tarpaulin sheet on the terrace floor.
Spread the contents of the BB onto one half of the sheet.
Cover with the other half of the sheet. Border with Lakshman Rekha to prevent an ant attack. After it dries over a couple of days, you can start harvesting. Do not sun dry it for a prolonged period as this may kill the beneficial microbes present in the compost.
My royal composting seat (the inverted paint bucket) and various bins to sieve and place the final compost and left overs to be re-composted for the 2nd round.
More posts and blogs
Posts by THE guru of composting, Vani Murthy :
My gardening and office colleague, Uma, has posted quite a bit about composting, the Hows and the Whys. Refer the following for some Dos and Don'ts of composting ...
You can join the FB group,
Home Compost, where the discussions are more related to composting.
And remember, there is NO one right method of composting. One will have to improvise on the ideas mentioned here based on their requirements and conditions. Do google for something like "Compost DIY" for more ideas and tips and tricks.
All the best !
Happy Composting !!
Happy Gardening !!!
