In March, the lovely Rachel Kernaghan from Kimbriki EcoHouse and Garden gave an interesting and interactive talk about Composting in Small Spaces.
The attendees of the fully sold out talk at Hemingway’s Manly learnt that Kimbriki is not a tip, but rather a resource recovery center, where 80% of the waste is getting recycled. Food scraps should not end up in landfill as they create methane gas from decomposing in an anaerobic (non oxygenated) environment. Leachate, a highly acidic liquid, leaches out and can pollute ground water.
Food Scraps should always be composted. In only 6-8 weeks you can make your own soil, and it’s dirt cheap. 🙂
Your composting acronym guide is ADAM, this stands for:
A = Aliveness – worms, and healthy microbes
D = Diversity – a variety of wet and dry ingredients
A = Aeration – regular turning to aerate your compost
M = Moisture – keeping your compost moist at all times
There are many different composting options, depending on where you live, how much time you have, and space available.
– Wormfeast, gets put into the ground, and also works for dog poo. Just add a little water once a week, aerate (toss), add soil, and ensure to put lid on.
– Worm Farm, or Worm Cafe consists of different trays. The worms will move from top to bottom, which you rotate. Ensure your Worm Farm location is shady, so worms stay happy.
– Share Waste is a fantastic app that allows you to find local food scrap takers. This may even be your neighbour and could be closer than you think.
– Bokashi is fermentation, not composting, and was initially created for high rise living in Japan. During the fermentation process, ensure to empty the liquid daily. This can be easily drained when using specific Bokashi buckets. Fermented scraps then need to be dug into soil to be able to fully decompose, this will take a few weeks. Bokashi can smell if the liquid is not removed regularly.
– You can also try and contact your local Community Garden who might take food scraps for their compost. Your neighbour who has a love for gardening may have a compost you can add to, a great way to create community spirit.
Last little tips for your composting needs:
– Coffee grounds are a great composting addition
– Dolomite should be added weekly
– Have a small container in the kitchen to collect food scraps, then tip into compost
– Use a worm blanket or a hessian sack to keep the soil moist for worms in worm farm. Remember worms need to be kept moist!
– Compost Recipe: food scraps, dry material (Carbon, dry leaves etc.) in a 1:1 ratio
– New Leaf Nursery works closely with Kimbrikie and is a great place for all your composting and garden needs
Congratulations Barry Gentle who won the Lucky Door Prize: a WormFeast (donated by the manufacturer through Kimbriki).
If you are keen to get more hands-on, Kimbriki run the next in-depth workshop at Kimbriki on May 10 and 12 – tickets are $30 and each household can get a $90 voucher from council to purchase compost bins or other composting and worm farming accessories. Find out more here.
A big thank you to Isabel for meticulously organising this sold-out event.
