COMPOSTING : A Beginners guide

New year is the time for all new and positive beginnings. New year is the time to make resolutions. Why not we take a resolution to do composting, which will help our plants and also good for environment. “Composting” in simple words means turning all biodegradable waste like vegitable waste, fruit waste, spoilt food, hair, flowers and leaves into fertilizer. Every household can convert it’s waste into fertilizer following very few simple procedures. The fertilizer that we will generate out of our own composting is more than sufficient for plants in houses. Though the idea of making my own compost was there in my mind since long, I seriously got into it only two years back. Like any beginner, the fear of worms, foul smell etc. deterred me venturing into composting for many years. But when I actually got into it, I realised that with little extra care we can overcome such issues. In these two years of my experience with composting, I got a hang of perfect compost making. I would like to share my experiences so that a beginner can confidently get into home composting without any apprehensions.What all you need as a beginner?1. COMPOSTING KITThere are many types of composter kits available in the market. I’m mentioning here only few types. Get yourself a kitchen waste composter depending upon the open space you have.i. Stack/ Kambha Ideal for houses with limited space in apartments. In this type we get only earthen pots.(I’m using Stack Kambha. ) ii Row ( Leave – It – Pots) Ideal for houses with large open spaces. This is ideal for community composting where huge biodegradable waste is generated. iii Food grade plastic bins. Though I have been using mud Kambha I recommend beginners to go for food grade plastic bins. These are highly recommended as they are very easy to handle less expensive compared to clay pots. Better to buy two bins so that alternately the bins can be used. 2. BIO-BRICK Bio brick contains very good micro organisms. They help in process of composting and make composting process faster. Follow the instructions to make it a semi wet powder and keep aside in an air tight container. We can avoid bio brick if we are not in a hurry & don’t want to speed up the composting process.3. COCOPEAT / CRUSHED DRY LEAVES Buy and keep few kilos of dry cocopeat powder. You can alternatively use crushed dry leaves. ( Leaves of a Mango tree can be avoided as they take too much time to decompose).I use both cocopeat and dry crushed leaves depending upon their availability.4. DUST BIN You need a dustbin exclusively for collecting bio degradable waste.Expenditure : Investment for composter is one time. It may cost maximum of 2000/- depending upon the type you choose. The cost of the cocopeat powder and bio brick will roughly come up to Rs.100/- per month.Once you are ready with the above, now start segregation of dry and wet waste.1. Collect everyday biodegradable waste, kitchen wet waste together in a seperate a dust bin.2. Once the day’s wet waste has been collected, add to this two fist full of cocopeat and one fist full of bio brick powder. Mix well. You can use a stick for this purpose.3. Put this mixture into your Khambha. Close the lid. Follow the above procedure every day. Once the the composter container is full leave it aside. Start using next container. It takes around 25 days for your kitchen waste to turn into compost. or “black gold” as I would love to call it. It is ready to use as fertilizer for your plants.

If you find any big particles that are yet to decompose, you can remove and add them again to composter. IRRITANTS that you may face during composting.1. After few days/weeks into composting, you may see lots of white/black maggots crawling out of your composter. They look creepy but don’t panic. They are harmless. They actually help us in process of composting. Sweep them and throw them under a tree so that birds can feast on them. When there is too much of moisture in the container, maggots start coming out. So to avoid that, all you need to do is to increase the amount of dry cocopeat. At times, adding too much of dry cocopeat may hinder the process of de composing. So it is important to come up with right ratio of dry and wet waste. This ratio needs to be adjusted according to the wetness of our kitchen waste. It also depends on the moisture present in the atmosphere. For example, more dry cocopeat needed to be added during monsoons and less during summer. After few months into composting I am sure, you will get a fair idea of managing dry and wet waste ratio.2. Some times you may find lizards sitting inside the Khambha. If you are irritated by their presence the way I do, make it a point to tap the composter every time with a stick keeping the lid half open. They usually scamper away.3. At times compost bins attract red or black ants. I draw lines around the Kambha with Lakshman Rekha to avoid them. I found it effective method.4. Miscellaneous things you need to remember. a. Keep your composter always in a dry place. b. Have a discpline to follow composting procedure every day religiously. c. Keep your composter bin ( if it is a Kambha) in a corner of two walls so that it is safe from pets & naughty kids. With all the necessary information I have given, you are better equipped than me as a beginner. If some one like me is able to use a composter successfully, I’m sure you can as well get into composting.Trust me, composting is a simple procedure.All we need is a discipline to segregate the waste and follow the procedure. Above all you will be recognised by Government for your efforts in contributing for Swattch Bharat. [I’m receiving a Swachch Appreciation certificate during an event that was organised on occasion of World Environment Day by GHMC from GHMC Commissioner Dr.B.Janardhan Reddy for Home composting.] So why delay. Get into composting right away. Enjoy a great way of connecting with the earth and keeping the city clean.