If you read much about soil or compost, you’ll soon come across references to salts. This doesn’t necessarily mean the table salt (aka sodium chloride) you have in the kitchen. A salt can be any substance that is made up of ions. For example, sodium chloride is made up of sodium ions and chloride ions. […]
What Are ‘Salts’ In Compost? Read More »
Yorkshire Tea Bags are my first choice when it comes to tea. It’s not just because my dad is from Yorkshire (although admittedly he does insist on buying them). I prefer the strong taste to other teas, and I am also impressed by the work they have done for the environment. So I’ve always been
Are Yorkshire Tea Bags Compostable? Only Under Ideal Conditions! Read More »
Over the last ten years, I’ve only experienced a handful of instances where compost smelled really bad. What’s more, those have usually been times when I’ve been experimenting with far-out methods. Most normal people don’t experiment with different ways to compost fish, or try different compost mixtures with black bag composting! Of course, compost does
How to Stop Compost Bins & Heaps from Smelling: 7 Easy Fixes Read More »
To grow food in our modern civilization, we mine phosphate and potassium. We ship them across the world. We lose some, and use a lot of energy, in the process. These minerals are essential for making artificial fertilizers – fertilizers that have changed the world! Multiple times we have feared that our world faced mass
How Humanure Could Change The World (If We Don’t Turn Up Our Noses!) Read More »
4th March 2023 As companies strive to develop biodegradable plastic packaging that promises to be better for the environment than traditional plastics, experts warn of potential environmental risks and wasteful consumption. Bacardi’s biodegradable spirits bottles, Skittles compostable wrappers and designer water bottles are just a few examples of such packaging being developed. Some argue that
Experts Warn Of Wasteful Consumption Of Biodegradable Plastics Read More »
Protozoa are microscopic single-celled organisms that can be found in water droplets in the compost heap. They are larger than bacteria and more complex in their activities. Their size varies from 5 to 1000 micrometers. There are thought to be many thousands of types of Protozoa, and only a few hundred have been identified. These
The Role Of Protozoa In Compost Read More »
3rd March 2023 In news that will warm the heart of vermicomposters everywhere, a new study has revealed that earthworms can help drastically reduce the impact of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spread by food waste. The study focused on how antibiotic-resistant genes occur and spread in food waste and ways to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes
Earth Worms Can Eliminate Antibiotic Resistant Genes Says New Study Read More »
I have a good few books on compost in my library, and the now stained and worn copy Humanure Handbook, Shit in a Nutshell is one of my favorites. Firstly, there’s the breadth of the book. It could easily have been a narrow polemic on the need for humanure, but instead, the book takes you
Humanure Handbook Review – You’ll Never Think About S**t In the Same Way Again Read More »
Air is one of the keys to making compost. In fact, some studies suggest even a temporary absence of air can lead to a reduction in compost quality. In a previous article, we took a look at the role of oxygen in compost. That was the more sciency, technical aspect (but super interesting – do
11 Ways to Aerate Your Compost (Only 1 Involves Turning!) Read More »
The fastest way to turn kitchen and garden waste into compost is aerobic composting. Aerobic literally means ‘with air’ – so as you can imagine, air is pretty important for aerobic composting! In this post, we’re going to dig a little into the science of why it’s important, what happens when it’s not present, as
Optimizing Oxygen: Understanding the Role Of Air In Making Compost Read More »