Composting Q&A
Today is World Soil Day, which is all about the hugely important task of highlighting the need for healthy soil and advocating for the sustainable management of soil resources to ensure we are protecting soil biodiversity and keeping the earth that grows out food safe and thriving.
One big way you can work on soil health at home is through composting and to help you get started or improve your home composting we invited Peter from Subpod over here to answer some of your questions from Instagram.
Peter, a co founder of Subpod, is passionate about soil, and this passion can be seen through his thirst for knowledge about compost and soil biology. He aims to share the incredible world of microbes beneath our feet through everyday conversation. Peter believes that understanding the soil is the key to improving nutrient density in foods, organic waste management, and carbon sequestration. You can be sure that Peter is always looking to deepen his knowledge through research and experimentation.
Here are your questions answered:
How do I get started composting if I live in an apartment and am incredibly sensitive to smells?
Composting in an apartment can be tricky. Some small worm farms work on balconies, but these can be limited in terms of the types of food you can compost (no citrus, onions or dairy), and they’re not always smell-free.
My advice would be to check out your local community gardens. Some gardens have composting programs and encourage people to bring their food scraps.
If there aren’t gardens near you, try becoming a Share Waste member. Share waste is an online community that helps people connect with active composters who are offering to take waste. Who knows, you might make a few friends!
What are good compost building blocks? What should I be putting in my compost first to ensure a usable compost?
The number one rule to remember is that you should always add enough brown materials into your compost. ‘Brown’ materials are your dry carbon sources like paper, cardboard, sawdust and dry leaves.
You’ll want to add equal amounts of brown materials to the food scraps you put in your compost system. It’ll help balance out your compost system so it doesn’t become a stinky sludgy mess, and it will actually break down your waste faster!
The only thing I’ve been putting my compost is food scraps, is there more I can be putting in?
Absolutely. There are lots of compostable everyday items people aren’t aware of! Hair, old cotton t-shirts, paper and ash are just a few of the things that can be thrown into your compost.
Just like us, worms and microbes love a balanced diet, so the more diversity you offer them, the better quality your compost will be.
If you’re curious to know more, here’s a short video listing more items: Top 10 things I bet you didn’t know you could compost – and you can also do a few quick google searches on your commonly used products.
How do you set up a composting site that will not attract animals?
Dealing with pests can always be a little challenging. If you’re dealing with anything from rats to bears, it’s essential to choose a compost system that’s sturdy, sealed and has a locking feature (for those pesky racoons).
Once you’ve picked a system that ticks those boxes, you’ll also want to make sure your compost is kept healthy, so it doesn’t smell. The most significant reason why animals are attracted to compost is because it smells.
Why does my compost smell?
There are usually three reasons why compost gets smelly:
1) It’s not getting enough air
2) Too much food waste is being added
3) There aren’t enough brown materials being added
If you can find the right balance with these three maintenance areas, you’ll have a healthy smell free compost system.
I’ve found underground compost systems (embedded in soil) like Subpod are the easiest to maintain for healthy, smell free compost. Because the soil acts as an insulator, it creates a barrier against strong odours and keeps the worms inside the system happy! When your worms are happy, they breed more, eat more, and make composting easier.
How do you handle an outdoor compost pile when the winter starts? I started a compost pile a few months ago but I’m not sure how the snow will impact it.
Composting is all about worm and microbe activity, especially in run of the mill compost piles. As the temperature drops below freezing, those little guys will start to struggle – or, likely, die.
Some people add large amounts of hay to insulate their compost piles over winter, but, depending on how cold it gets in your location, it may be best to pause your composting until spring.
For an in-garden composting system like Subpod, you can have a much easier time during winter. We recommend building a cold frame over your system, which can bring the temperature up by 10°C/50°F and allow you to compost through cold weather (as long as your temperature doesn’t get below -5°C/23°F).
How do you ensure that you’re not overloading your compost so that you can actually get usable compost and not just something that always has a bunch of veggie scraps?
Letting your compost rest by giving the worms and microbes time to turn your food scraps into compost is the final step to getting finished compost.
Most people purchase two compost systems so they can allow one to rest while they fill up the other, because it can take up to a month to get finished compost in standard systems.
Subpod has two composting bays separated by a divider panel, which allows you to rotate the side you feed. When one side is nearly finished, you can switch to the opposite bay, giving the worms time to migrate across and continue composting. After about 2 weeks, you can scoop out your finished compost - worm free- and begin the process again!
If you are interested in checking out Subpod composters you can do so right here. And if it looks like it’s for you don’t forget to use the code WASTEFREEPLANET10 for 10% off your order!