I have always been inclined towards nature and living close to nature as much as possible despite all the adversities thrown up by a life in the city (Bangalore).
My brother Sanjeev has done a pretty good job at building a terrace garden at his home. He has been growing a variety of organic vegetables that's sufficient for 3 weeks in a month. That's a huge cut in vegetable expenditure plus you get to eat chemical free organic vegetables.
So, I was inspired by what I saw and took the first step to start composting with regular kitchen waste and growing whatever vegetables possible in my home.
As a first step, purchased 4 plastic containers about 8 inches wide and 10 inches long tapering down.
For aeration, using a pointed heated metal stick, made 2mm sized holes in a zig zag pattern on the sides, 4 holes in the bottom in a rectangular pattern. At this point I had only thought about allowing sufficient breathing for the composting box. On the negative side, this led to maggots getting into the box through the holes and had a field day. There was no way I could change the size of the holes, so thought to leave it as is and see what happens. Many composters had recommended making bigger holes and then using a mesh to cover them so that it prevents insects and at the same time keep the air flow smooth. I wanted to try and figure out the right sized holes without using a mesh.
On the base, I started by putting some coconut fiber as a dry bed. On top of this I started dumping everyday kitchen waste like used Tea powder, used Coffee powder, onion left overs, chilly left overs, orange peels, lemon peels, banana peels, coriander left over sticks, left curry leaves stick, used flowers from the Puja room, etc. Oh yes, I also added a couple of very tiny lumps of dry cow dung which I had borrowed and a couple of spoons of curds (yoghurt).
Some of these may not be recommended by experts in this field. I just wanted to go try it out and see what happens. I started on 4th September 2015. By 20th September 2015, the box reached it's brim. It was time for the 2nd box. I have stopped adding kitchen waste to the 1st box. As per what I have read, it could take anywhere between 60-90 days for complete decomposition. I will leave it, wait and watch. I'm just turning up the box once in 2 days, use a stick to dig in and mix up a bit to let air circulate.
To maintain the moisture, from time to time I also added some shreds of newspaper bits and dry leaves that I gathered from a nearby park.
Here are some pictures of the 1st box.
I started the 2nd box on the 22nd September 2015. With some learning from the 1st box, I drilled holes as small as 1mm along the sides in a zig zag pattern as earlier. Also punched similar sized holes in the bottom and the lid too. I made a slightly thicker dry base than the 1st box with more granulated dry leaves. Whatever I put in, am trying to size them down before dropping them in so that when I shake it up, they will mix better than if they are big sized.
Here are some pics of the 2nd box.
Couple of days back, we generated quite an amount of peels of Hyacinth beans (Avarekaayi in Kannada). That filled up more than half of the 2nd box. So, the 2nd box actually filled quite faster.
Today (26th Sep 2015), when I opened the boxes for a quick shakeup, the 2nd box is upto the brim. However I have noticed that the filling goes down a bit as it settles down.
I also opened the box and using a thick stick, dug up the center of the pile in 1st box. Was glad to see dark content inside which means the breakdown has started and is on it's way for a good compost. During the last 4 days, I had not added anything to the 1st box.
Due to the size of the 2mm holes I put into the 1st box, I noticed 5-6 fattened well fed maggots and many little small insects fly out when the box was shaken. It's quite possible that they may go back in again through the holes. However, not a single insect came out of the 2nd box even though the pile is now full. It helped to pierce holes of only 1 mm in size.
Here's a picture of the 2nd box pile. This has taken slightly more tea powder, coffee powder and ginger than the first box. Will be interesting to see how it turns out:
One of the best things about this experiment is that you get to see so many variety of insects you would never have imagined exists in day to day life.
I saw one black insect (not a flying one) which was sleek and about 2 mm long. It had 2 heads on both sides and was able to move either side without turning. I was amazed at nature's creation. I showed it to my 2 daughters who were also super excited to see that.
My brother Sanjeev has done a pretty good job at building a terrace garden at his home. He has been growing a variety of organic vegetables that's sufficient for 3 weeks in a month. That's a huge cut in vegetable expenditure plus you get to eat chemical free organic vegetables.
So, I was inspired by what I saw and took the first step to start composting with regular kitchen waste and growing whatever vegetables possible in my home.
As a first step, purchased 4 plastic containers about 8 inches wide and 10 inches long tapering down.
For aeration, using a pointed heated metal stick, made 2mm sized holes in a zig zag pattern on the sides, 4 holes in the bottom in a rectangular pattern. At this point I had only thought about allowing sufficient breathing for the composting box. On the negative side, this led to maggots getting into the box through the holes and had a field day. There was no way I could change the size of the holes, so thought to leave it as is and see what happens. Many composters had recommended making bigger holes and then using a mesh to cover them so that it prevents insects and at the same time keep the air flow smooth. I wanted to try and figure out the right sized holes without using a mesh.
On the base, I started by putting some coconut fiber as a dry bed. On top of this I started dumping everyday kitchen waste like used Tea powder, used Coffee powder, onion left overs, chilly left overs, orange peels, lemon peels, banana peels, coriander left over sticks, left curry leaves stick, used flowers from the Puja room, etc. Oh yes, I also added a couple of very tiny lumps of dry cow dung which I had borrowed and a couple of spoons of curds (yoghurt).
Some of these may not be recommended by experts in this field. I just wanted to go try it out and see what happens. I started on 4th September 2015. By 20th September 2015, the box reached it's brim. It was time for the 2nd box. I have stopped adding kitchen waste to the 1st box. As per what I have read, it could take anywhere between 60-90 days for complete decomposition. I will leave it, wait and watch. I'm just turning up the box once in 2 days, use a stick to dig in and mix up a bit to let air circulate.
To maintain the moisture, from time to time I also added some shreds of newspaper bits and dry leaves that I gathered from a nearby park.
Here are some pictures of the 1st box.
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| Day 3 |
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| Day 8 |
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| Day 8 |
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| Day 12 |
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| Day 17 |
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| Day 19 - 22nd Sep 2015 |
I started the 2nd box on the 22nd September 2015. With some learning from the 1st box, I drilled holes as small as 1mm along the sides in a zig zag pattern as earlier. Also punched similar sized holes in the bottom and the lid too. I made a slightly thicker dry base than the 1st box with more granulated dry leaves. Whatever I put in, am trying to size them down before dropping them in so that when I shake it up, they will mix better than if they are big sized.
Here are some pics of the 2nd box.
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| Day 1 - 22nd Sep 2015 |
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| Holes in the lid |
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| Holes in the box |
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| Day 2 |
Couple of days back, we generated quite an amount of peels of Hyacinth beans (Avarekaayi in Kannada). That filled up more than half of the 2nd box. So, the 2nd box actually filled quite faster.
Today (26th Sep 2015), when I opened the boxes for a quick shakeup, the 2nd box is upto the brim. However I have noticed that the filling goes down a bit as it settles down.
I also opened the box and using a thick stick, dug up the center of the pile in 1st box. Was glad to see dark content inside which means the breakdown has started and is on it's way for a good compost. During the last 4 days, I had not added anything to the 1st box.
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| Day 23 - 26th Sep 2015 |
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| Day 23 - Notice the dark matter inside. Composting activity in full swing |
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| Day 23 - Added some coconut fiber as the moisture content was a bit high. Notice the pile has gone down from the brim. |
Due to the size of the 2mm holes I put into the 1st box, I noticed 5-6 fattened well fed maggots and many little small insects fly out when the box was shaken. It's quite possible that they may go back in again through the holes. However, not a single insect came out of the 2nd box even though the pile is now full. It helped to pierce holes of only 1 mm in size.
Here's a picture of the 2nd box pile. This has taken slightly more tea powder, coffee powder and ginger than the first box. Will be interesting to see how it turns out:
 |
| Day 5 - 26th Sep 2015 |
One of the best things about this experiment is that you get to see so many variety of insects you would never have imagined exists in day to day life.
I saw one black insect (not a flying one) which was sleek and about 2 mm long. It had 2 heads on both sides and was able to move either side without turning. I was amazed at nature's creation. I showed it to my 2 daughters who were also super excited to see that.
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