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picture1_Farming Pdf 92581 | Traditional Composting Factsheet


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File: Farming Pdf 92581 | Traditional Composting Factsheet
fact sheet 1 your guide to homes traditional composting what is traditional composting why traditional composting is simply the method of breaking down organic materials kitchen and garden waste in ...

icon picture PDF Filetype PDF | Posted on 16 Sep 2022 | 3 years ago
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                                                                      Fact Sheet #1
                                                                   –  YOUR GUIDE TO  –
                   HOMES                                   TRADITIONAL 
                                                           COMPOSTING
          What is Traditional 
          Composting?                                                                                 Why
          Traditional composting is simply the method of breaking down 
          organic materials (kitchen and garden waste) in a large container  
          or heap. 
          The	decomposition	occurs	because	of	the	action	of	naturally	
          occurring	bacteria	and	fungi.	Small	invertebrates,	such	as	                      Composting has many benefits for 
          earthworms	and	millipedes,	help	to	complete	the	process.	                        the environment:
          Composting	can	convert	kitchen	and	garden	waste	into	dark	
          coloured	soil	in	a	matter	of	a	few	weeks	or	months.	Traditional	                 •	 it	saves	valuable	landfill	space	
          composting	is	only	suitable	for	composting	kitchen	scraps	if	you	                •	 it	can	be	used	as	fertiliser	
          have	a	good	amount	of	garden	pruning’s	(including	grass	clippings,	              •	 it	improves	the	condition	of	
          twigs,	dry	leaves,	mulch	etc.).	If	you	don’t	have	much	in	the	way	of	               soils.
          garden	pruning’s,	a	worm	farm	would	be	a	much	better	option	(see 
          Fact Sheet 2: Worm Farming).
               How Composting Works
               There is nothing mysterious or        In	composting,	provided	the	          a	wide	variety	of	invertebrates	
               complicated about composting.         right	conditions	are	present,	the	    present.	In	fact,	there	is	a	mini	
               Natural composting, or                natural	process	of	decay	is	sped		    food	web	in	action.	Some	
               decomposition, occurs all the         up.	In	these	conditions,	bacteria	    creatures,	such	as	springtails,	
               time in the natural world.            and	fungi	feed	and	multiply,	         millipedes,	mites,	slugs	and	
               Organic	material,	the	remains	        giving	off	a	great	deal	of	heat.	     earthworms,	feed	on	the	partially	
               of	dead	animals	and	plants,	is	       In	well	managed	heaps,	this	          broken	down	materials.	Other	
               broken	down	and	consumed	by	          temperature	can	reach	as	high	as	     creatures,	such	as	spiders,	
               decomposers	(mainly	bacteria	         60°C	in	the	central	core.	            centipedes	and	cockroaches,	prey	
               and	fungi)	and	eaten	by	small	        While	the	temperature	remains	        on	the	plant	feeders.
               invertebrates.	                       high,	invertebrates	are	not	
               The	nutrients,	that	were	once	        present	in	compost	heaps,	but	
               present	in	these	remains,	are	        when	the	temperature	drops,	the	
               returned	to	the	soil	or	water,	       invertebrates	enter	the	heap	from	
               where	they	are	able	to	support	       the	surrounding	soil	and	complete	
               the	growth	of	new	plants.	This	is	    the	process	of	decomposition.	
               natural	recycling.	                   In	a	pile	of	mature	
                                                     compost,	there	may	be	
                      How to                                                                    ALIVENESS -	Compost	needs	living	organisms	to	break	
                      Compost                                                       A           down	the	waste	and	release	the	minerals	and	nutrients	
                                                                                                needed	to	make	rich	soil-like	compost.	Each	living	organism	
                      Follow the ADAM principle for                                             in	the	compost	has	a	different	but	important	role	to	play	in	
                                                                                                creating	the	right	conditions	for	good	compost.	Some	of	the	
                      good compost.                                                             living	organisms,	such	as	bacteria,	are	too	small	for	you	to	
                      Good	compost	comes	from	                                                  see.	But	they	are	still	very	important.
                      ALIVENESS,	which	is	created	                                              DIVERSITY	–	Compost	needs	lots	of	different	ingredients	
                      by	having	DIVERSITY,	a	                                       D           to	keep	it	healthy.	Different	ingredients	make	sure	the	
                      variety	of	materials,	e.g.	leaves,	                                       compost	has	all	the	right	minerals	and	nutrients.	Anything	
                      small	sticks,	twigs	and	food	                                             that	has	lived	once	can	live	again	in	your	compost.	
                      scraps,	hair,	dust,	teabags,	
                      with	AERATION	to	aid	the	                                     A           AERATION –	Compost	needs	air	or	it	will	become	smelly.	
                      process.	Not	enough	air	and	                                              Turning	the	compost	adds	the	air	needed	to	ensure	no	
                      the	compost	will	become	                                                  bad	smells.
                      smelly,	the	right	amount	of	
                      MOISTURE,	not	too	wet	not	                                   M MOISTURE	–	Compost	needs	water	to	live.	It	should	be	
                      too	dry,	is	necessary	for	the	                                            moist	but	not	dripping	with	water.
                      compost	to	live.	
                                                                      t Recipe:
                                             ompos
                  Easy C
                                                                        Method:                                                                                         	 
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                                                                                                                                                      when
                                                                                                                                                     	
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                   Ingredients:                                                                          the	
                                                                                                        	
                                                                                                     or
                                                                                                    f
                                                                                                    	
                                                                                          position
                                                                                        a	
                                                                        1.	   Choose	
                                        	                                       position:
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                    •	 C                                       	                                      	
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                                                 (
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                                                                              7.	                                                                  	
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                                                                                                                                   	                                         earth
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                                                                                            is	                                        	
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                                                                                       	                                                                                will
                                                                                                                                                                       	
                                                                                  hen                                                                                 )
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                                                                                                                      ar                                       	
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                                                                                                             scr                                           	
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                                                                                                                  S
                                                                                                                 	
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                                                                                                         w
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                                                                                                e
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                                                                                       will	
                                                                                      	
                                                                                  this
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                                                                                                                                                    Y
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                                                                                                                                     	                                        the
                                                                                                                                  on                                          	
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                                                                                                                          or
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                                                                                                      c
                                                                                                     	                                         ha
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                                                                                                                                         y
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                                                                                         w
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                                                                                 t                                         c
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                                                                                                             c
                                                                                                            	
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                                                                                 c                                   	
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                                                                                                      its
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                                                                                           ma
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                                                                                  ther
                                                                                 o
                                                                                                           TRADITIONAL 
                                                                                                           COMPOSTING
             What you CAN add                                            What NOT to add  
                    to a compost heap:                                            to a compost heap:
                    •	 Vegetable	and	fruit	scraps	                                •	 Meat	and	dairy	products	
                    •	 Fallen	leaves	(in	layers)	                                 •	 Diseased	plants
                    •	 Tea	leaves	and	tea	bags	(paper	bags	only)                  •	 Metals,	plastic,	glass	
                    •	 Coffee	grounds	                                            •	 Animal	manures	(especially	the	
                    •	 Vacuum	cleaner	dust	                                          droppings	of	cats	and	dogs)	
                    •	 Soft	stems	                                                •	 Fat	
                    •	 Dead	flowers	                                              •	 Magazines	
                    •	 Egg	shells	                                                •	 Large	branches	
                    •	 Old	Newspapers	                                            •	 Weeds	that	have	seeds	or	
                    •	 Grass	cuttings	in	layers	                                     underground	stems	
                    •	 Sawdust	(not	from	treated	timber	                          •	 Bread	or	cake	(may	attract	rodents)	
                        e.g.	treated	pine)	                                       •	 Bones	
                    •	 Wood	ash                                                   •	 Sawdust	from	treated	timber	 
                                                                                     (e.g.	treated	pine)
               Compost Containers 
               and Heaps 
               There	are	many	types	of	containers	that	you	can	use	to	compost	
               at	home.	Some	of	these	are:	
                   •	 Plastic	bins	with	ventilation	holes	or	slits	
                   •	 Plastic	bins	without	ventilation	
                   •	 Metal	drums	with	holes	punched	in	the	side	and	with	the	
                      base	removed	
                   •	 Rotating	drum	units	(tumblers)	
                   •	 Enclosures	made	from	timber	(planks	or	sleepers),	bricks	or	
                      chicken	wire.	                                                           Using 
               If	you	prefer,	you	can	make	compost	in	open	heaps,	but	they	                    Compost 
               should	be	covered	with	either	a	plastic	sheet	or	some	hessian	to	               •	 Compost	is	ready	to	
               prevent	the	heap	from	drying	out	in	hot	weather.	You	could	even	                    use	when	it	is	dark	and	
               bury	kitchen	scraps	in	holes	in	garden	beds.                                        smells	earthy	(no	sharp	
                                                                                                   ammonia	smell).
                  In Ground System                                                             •	 Place	compost	around	
                  An	alternative	option	is	to	obtain	a	pipe	or	cut	the	bottom	                     the	DRIP-LINE	of	plants	
                  out	of	a	bucket	and	place	it	two-thirds	into	the	ground.		                       (where	the	water	falls	
                  Simply	place	your	fruit	and	vegetable	scraps	in	the	pipe	and	                    off	the	plants	leaves).	
                  worms	will	come	from	afar	to	consume	your	waste.	This	                       •	 Keep	compost	away	
                  method	has	the	benefit	of	enriching	the	soil	around	it	and	                      from	the	stems	of	
                  is	ideal	for	vegetable	gardens	or	nutrient	loving	plants.	The	                   plants.
                  pipe	or	bucket	can	be	moved	around	as	required.		You	will	
                  need	a	lid	on	top	to	keep	the	moisture	and	heat	in	and	the	
                  light	out.
                                                                                                                     TRADITIONAL 
                                                                                                                     COMPOSTING
          Composting 
                          Troubleshooting 
            1      Smelly compost                                              3     Too dry
                   Three things could cause smelly compost:                          Compost should always be spongy, and 
                      •	 too	wet	                                                    squeezable. 
                      •	 not	enough	air	                                             Fix it by:
                      •	 too	much	food                                                   •	 Adding	water
                      •	 ‘other’	materials	(meat	or	dairy	etc.)	
                   Fix it by:                                                  4 Composting too slow
                      •	 Stirring	in	dry	leaves,	mulch	or	soil.                      Usually happens if compost is too wet or too 
                      •	 Turning	the	compost	to	get	more	air	in.	                    dry or not enough heat. 
                      •	 Adding	two	or	three	handfuls	of	garden	                     Fix it by: 
                          lime	or	dolomite.
                      •	 Mixing	food	with	shredded	newspaper	                            •	 Adding	newspaper	and	turning	(if	too	
                          before	adding	to	the	bin.                                          wet).
                                                                                         •	 Adding	water	and	turning	(if	too	dry).
            2      Unwelcome visitors                                                    •	 Stirring	in	some	dynamic	lifter,	old	
                                                                                             compost	or	grass	clippings.
                   Ants, cockroaches, flies, mice or rats 
                   Fix it by:                                                  5 Not heating up
                      •	 Ensuring	food	is	covered	by	vegetation	/                    Fix it by:
                          mulch	                                                         •	 Add	more	NITROGEN	material	–	e.g.	
                      •	 Adding	lime	and	turning	the	compost	to	                             young	grass	clippings,	blood	&	bone,	
                          discourage	ants	and	cockroaches	                                   etc.	
                      •	 Keeping	meat	out	of	the	compost	                                •	 Check	MOISTURE	level	-	(dry	heaps	
                      •	 Turning	the	compost	regularly                                       don’t	heat	up!)	add	more	water	when	
                                                                                             mixing
                                                                                         •	 Mix	the	heap	more	regularly	with	spiral	
                                                                                             mixing	tool	
                                                                                         •	 Add	a	handful	of	lime	or	dolomite
                                                    Compost can kill weed seeds if hot enough, but it takes at least 60 degrees 
                                                    for 3 days. 
                                                    An	easier	and	safer	way	to	dispose	of	weeds	is	to	make	a	compost	tea	–	put	
                                                    weeds	in	a	bucket	with	water	for	2-4	weeks.	This	increases	the	nitrogen	and	
                Weeds?                              works	as	an	activator	to	build	up	the	heat	then	add	to	compost	heap.	
                                 For	more	information,	contact	Council’s	Sustainability	and	Waste	Team
                                 (07) 577 7000     sustainability.waste@tauranga.govt.nz
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