How can i make and maintain a compost pit/bin, overcoming space problems?
Question:I LIVE IN INDIA and i would like you guys to tell me about a good way of disposing kitchen waste. I live in an appartment, so we have no garden as such..only one metre of earth all around the building. THAT'S IT. The earth around the house is rather sandy. I tried scraping the mud with a spoon this evening,there was a very thin layer of soil and underneath that there was a rather hard surface. Is it possible to have a compost 'pit' in this kind of mud? and oh yes..if i simply fill a bucket with the kitchen waste and leave it uncovered in the terrace...will it decompose? if so, how long will it take?
And by the way, please don't ask me to buy stuff from the stores, i don't have a very big budget! So please tell me what I need to know, give me tips that could help, and oh yes..wish me luck!!
And I have to mention this...I am only fourteen! I want to make earth-wise choices so don't ask me to dump the organic waste into the trash can along with everything else!
THank you guys so much!!
Answers:
I have been using a composting pit for 2 years now and it makes excellent compost. I have a hole in the ground which is 1 meter wide x 1 meter deep x 2.5 meters long. I keep it covered with tree branches and plywood. At one end there is a ledge to allow stepping down. I put grass clippings, food scraps, shredded paper, shredded branches and debris from my garden. I also add a sack of cow manure every so often. I am very proud of the quality of compost I wind up with. It has turned out to be rich in nutrients for my vegetable garden and all of the earthworms in the soil. I garden using NO chemicals. Only compost and manure.
A bucket is fine... even better than a pit in the ground. To make it work, you need to cut several holes in the bucket for air to get into your compost. You also need to mix it a few times a week to expose all parts of the compost to oxygen.
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