Miscellaneous
THE GOOD EARTH Hot Compost How many of you out there still do not have a composting system of some kind? There’s no excuse, even if you only have a small balcony, everyone should be composting their kitchen scraps instead of it going to landfill. You just need some space for your compost. you could have compost bays, compost bins, or any structure that can hold up to 1 cubic metre of compost. Compost bins at Margaret's House: Photo by Margaret Mossakowska There’s so many systems out there to accommodate all kinds of limitations that you might have. You can even make a compost heap without building or buying anything. I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska from www.mosshouse.com.au Let’s find what to do . Vermin: put Rapid mesh under you bins if you have rodents invading your compost. Alternatively, put food scraps into a worm farm, and use you compost bins just for green waste. Worm farm that is smelly: Too many food scraps will make the worm farm smelly and anaerobic. Mainly nitrogen rich. The way to fix it is to add more carbon rich material such as shredded newspaper, coffee chaff or straw. note: coffee chaff is free by-product of coffee roasting, that is husks of coffee beans. You just need to ask. Compost Bins/Bays To make a hot compost you need to assemble at least 1 cubic metre of material in one go. Wait for it to heat up to 55-60 C, usually after 2-3 days, then you can turn it. Use a compost thermometer so the compost doesn't get over 60 C. This temperature is enough to kill weed seeds and insect eggs. Commercial compost is biologically dead because it is heated to more than 70 C. Ratios are important: 4 buckets of carbon rich material to 1 bucket of green clippings/food scraps. Molasses can be added to compost to innoculate it, or use comfrey, nettles, nasturtium soaked in a bucket of water. Margaret now runs workshops that you can attend without leaving your home because they’re via Zoom, that’s on your computer. If you have any questions, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.