Home composting means eliminating the organic fraction of household waste (which in more and more municipalities is collected door-to-door) by doing what nature has always done, that is, recycling the organic substance that is no longer useful and returning it in the form of humus. By composting organic waste you can: better manage household waste by producing less of it. Pollute less. Do good for your garden and flowers. Reduce waste disposal costs.
Composting at home means managing a biological factory where the workers are insects, bacteria and fungi that convert organic matter into the simplest and most stable chemical compounds: mineral salts, water and carbon dioxide . The functioning of the factory will depend on the care of the workers, who like all living beings have needs and conditions in which they express themselves better or worse. Good composting, which is a fairly simple thing, therefore has rules.
Home Composting: What You Need
First of all, some green space. Home composting is not possible in an apartment (unless it has a terrace or a balcony and you want to dedicate part of it to composting vegetable waste ) but if you only have a vegetable garden, a small garden or a piece of lawn you can become a compost producer with which you can feed plants and flowers. The second thing you need is a composter (like the ones in the photo): this is the most practical solution for doing small home composting well in the garden (the alternative is a hole in the ground but you need a large space for a composter ).
Where and how to place the composter
The composter should be placed in a spot in the vegetable garden or garden that is accessible all year round (without stagnation and mud even in autumn and winter). These containers, if of good quality, work in any climate, but the best place to place the composter is in the shade of an evergreen tree that with its branches will protect it from excessive heat and showers. The only preliminary operation is to prepare the soil underneath with hoeing and a bed of chopped prunings: this will facilitate drainage and the exchange of microorganisms with the soil.
What to compost
The raw materials for compost are food scraps, garden waste and other materials. Kitchen scraps (vegetable cleaning residues, peels, skins, tea and coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, leftovers) can certainly be composted; garden and vegetable garden waste (prunings, dry leaves, withered flowers, stems, grass); uncoated paper; cardboard and untreated wood shavings. Be careful with pruning waste because there are plants that are resistant to degradation (magnolia, cherry laurel, walnut, chestnut, conifer needles) that must be mixed well in the composter with the more easily degradable materials. Coated paper, painted wood and all waste not listed above are unsuitable for composting.
How to operate the composter
The most important thing is to ensure the correct and constant presence of oxygen in the composter (necessary for insects, bacteria and fungi present in the soil and waste) with some precautions: promote the porosity of the compostable mass (with shredded pruning wood, straw, dry leaves, shredded cardboard alternating with kitchen scraps) to facilitate air exchange; do not compress the mass of waste; turn the material from time to time, especially if it is not very porous (for this reason it is advisable to use a composter with an upper opening designed to facilitate the turning operation).
How to load the composter
The correct mixing of the compostable mass, in addition to ensuring porosity and oxygen supply, serves to provide a balanced supply of carbon and nitrogen and to provide optimal humidity. The carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) is the chemical parameter that regulates microbial activity. In the initial mix, the correct ratio is 20-30 grams of carbon for every gram of nitrogen. If there is too much carbon, microorganisms reproduce less and decomposition slows down; if there is too much nitrogen, the excess is dispersed in ammonia form and this causes bad odors (urine smell). The correct balance is obtained by mixing the more humid and nitrogenous waste (kitchen scraps, grass cuttings) with the low-humidity and more carbon-rich waste (dry leaves, straw, cardboard, shavings). It is useful to mix the groups of materials before introducing them and integrate the first load with fresh compost obtained from a previous cycle or with garden soil.
How to adjust the humidity and temperature of your composter
The humidity of the mass, which tends to change with rain and evaporation, can be checked with the fist test. This consists of taking a sample of the mixed mass and squeezing it in your fist: if only a few droplets of water flow out, the humidity is right; if the humidity is low, watering is needed; if the humidity is high, dry scraps should be added and the mass turned over on a sunny day. If the mixing, humidity and oxygenation of the mass are correct, the temperature soon reaches 60-70°C and triggers the so-called sanitization phase in which the strong heat eliminates the microorganisms harmful to the process and the pathogenic ones.
Composter: models and prices
There are different models of composters and our advice is not to spend less than 60-70 Euros to avoid purchasing a low-quality product that would disappoint your expectations.
On Amazon, the composter that is enjoying the most success is the one produced by Mattiussi Ecologia, offered on this page at the price of 88.13 Euros including VAT.
This is a 310-liter composter that can guarantee a concrete reduction in organic waste disposal costs. It is ideal for medium-sized gardens while it is not suitable for terraces as it must be in contact with the ground.
It is capable of producing excellent fertilizer by transforming your organic waste into a resource for your garden.
Amazon users have rated this product very highly with over 300 positive reviews and an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
What are the symptoms of a composter malfunction?
If the composting process is not working, the compostable mass, like a sick person, signals it with some symptoms. If the mass is cold it is because there is a lack of oxygen due to excess humidity; in this case oxygenation must be encouraged by turning and mixing dry waste. If there is a rotten smell it is because excessive humidity and lack of oxygen have started putrefaction processes; the mixing must be corrected by adding dry waste and mixing. If there is a smell of urine it is because there is too much nitrogen: add carbon waste and mix. If there are midges it is because there is too much wet waste on the head of the mass: always cover the top layer with leaves, grass or dry straw.
When the compost is ready
Compost is ready about 4-6 months after the process has been activated and can be used to fertilize the soil before sowing or transplanting. If it is very fresh, it should be used like manure, that is, not in contact with the roots. After 8-10 months, the compost is considered mature and appears as a nice soft, black soil. The best composters have a door or the entire front wall that can be opened to allow the compost to be extracted. The extracted material should be sifted roughly to separate the soil from the larger fragments, which are excellent for reactivating the process in the composter together with the upper and less mature part.
How to use compost
To fertilize the bottom, ready compost is recommended in the amount of 10-15 kh/m2. For lawns, mature and well-refined compost is better, possibly mixed with sand and soil. When planting shrubs and trees, compost also helps prevent compaction at the bottom of the hole. To avoid burning the roots, ready compost should be used if the plant has a clod, mature compost if the roots are bare. In horticulture, ready compost is used in spring before sowing, fresh compost if the soil is integrated in autumn-winter with winter fertilization . In potted or flowerbed floriculture, mature compost is used, integrated with peat or peaty soil.
