Vermicomposting in the cold-climate apartment- Composting.

Introduction

Toronto Ontario is beginning a forceful crackdown on garbage. Gone are the days when recycling bins could be left out each week. Gone are the days when grass-clippings and other yard waste could be left out in clear plastic bags. Today you have to use bio-degradable bags, available at a cost from hardware chains, and I noticed that this week again some of these bags weren’t collected. More householders muttering under their breath when they return home to find that the city council has branded their waste and their identity as undesirable. (“I see that number fifty-eight got skipped again; I wonder what they have in their bags?”)

Composting differs from, and is complementary to Vermicomposting.

Reading about it

Read all the articles and pamphlets that you can; retain the common information; question the differing information.

For example, one article will say “Use a plastic bin”, another will say “Wooden frame” while a third will say “Build a heap”. Each has its merits. You need to ask “Why would a plastic bin be good for me?”. Don’t let the differing opinions delay your start.

Start.

It’s the best way to learn.

What it is

Composting is the business of getting Nature to do the work of producing good soil. Composting is a way of letting Nature do its job. Composting is a way of reducing the waste of your resources. Why pay cash for bags that get carted away so that you have to pay cash for good soil to be carted in? Make your own, and save money.

Compost is a mixture of biological matter being converted to healthy soil.

When to start

Now. No really, when is the best time to start? Early spring when the ground is frozen (but see also Vermicomposting in the cold-climate apartment).

Building a composter from wood

Here’s a rough sketch of a system that has worked for me. Won’t fall apart.

Quick start

Find a clear patch of ground, lay down alternate layers of earth, green and brown.

Earth

Almost any type of earth will do. I favor obtaining dried-out unhealthy soil from around the yard. Sometimes a garden bed sheltered from the rain by an overhanging roof has had all vegetable matter sucked out of it by repeated plantings, and is dry and gritty. The composter will rejuvenate this soil, as you will see. I also dump out the soil from old/dead planter pots. Once through the composter its as good as new!

Green

Live vegetation – well obviously cut off so it is going to be dead soon – grass clippings, kitchen waste.

Brown

Dead vegetation, leaves, twigs, shredded paper from the home office. I collect bags of leaves in the autumn and make use of them during the next composting season.

Kitchen Scraps

Everything biological excepting that which would attract rodents. Rodents love dairy and flesh (meat and fish) products. It’s a valuable source of protein for them, and they’ll keep you awake at night while they destroy your compost heap looking for food, and you’ll grow tired of rebuilding your compost heap or bin.

That said, I have had success in rotting down scraps of chicken fat and so on, but only by having it well-buried in the heap and covered with soil. If the worms get to it before the rodents, I’ve won. Now that I think of it, the rodents were probably raiding a bag of mixed waste that wasn’t collected by the council.

So, peelings, coffee grounds, egg shells and tea bags. I keep a two-liter plastic tub in one of the kitchen sinks. Drainage holes are punched in the bottom and the lid stays on top. All my waste goes in there and drains well. By the morning I have a drip-less pail of waste for the compost heap. No more smelly bags under the kitchen sink.

Aeration

If it is a tub, bottom to top; if it is a bin or a heap, end-to-end. Aeration is achieved by movement of the mixture.

A composter tub receives material through the top and allows withdrawal through a chute at the base. I tip my new vegetable matter or kitchen waste on top, then grab a few shovels of composted soil from the bottom to place on the top. In this way the mixture is aerated and mixed. I draw potting soil from the chute at the base.

A composter bin or heap is built by placing new vegetable waste at one end, and tossing composted material from the other end. Your heap will creep along the ground (until you reverse its direction).

Regular movement allows you to inspect the process and detect dryness or wetness before it causes a problem.

Mainly …

The main thing is to get started. Make a start today. It’s very little work, and despite the way some unknowledgeable people turn up their noses, it’s a lot of fun to watch nature at work.

How long will it take?

Depends on where you are and what you do. In the right weather, a good mixture of waste and soil will rot down in about four weeks. As conditions deteriorate (too wet, too dry, too cold, poor mixture) it takes longer. Twelve months maximum. A heap that I start this spring will be ready for next spring for sure. The inside will be well-rotted and ready-to-use. The outside will present a layer of poorly-rotted material which will be finished off in this year’s compost heap.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

About five years ago the City of Toronto embarked on a plan to divert so-many tons of domestic green waste from landfills.

About that time the low-cost black bin program (backyard compost bins) was quietly dropped.

I believe that this decision was made to discourage backyard composting and increase the tonnage of wet-waste hauled by the city’s diesel trucks.

Such a backward move!

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