How to Turn Waste into Gold. Practical Manual for Home Composting of Kitchen and Garden Waste.

By Bruno Del Medico

This book is a comprehensive manual for recycling household and garden waste. It illustrates all the techniques for obtaining an excellent fertilizer and soil conditioner for free.
A family of 3-4 people with an ordinary sized vegetable garden can produce 5 quintals of organic waste every year from which 2 quintals of compost can be easily obtained, equal to ten 50 liter bags of garden soil. This reduces the costs for the purchase of fertilizers to practically zero. Furthermore, many local administrations offer discounts and concessions to those who produce their own compost. This book is a comprehensive manual for recycling household and garden waste. The book illustrates all the techniques to obtain free an excellent fertilizer and soil amendment. The text is enriched by cards, tables and images that guide the reader in the production of compost both in the garden and on the balcony of the house, even with a self-built composter.
For millions of years, on Earth, an enormous mass of organic substance has been "dying". In our gardens, as in the parks and forests of the planet, all species of plants and insects, as well as higher animals, renew their presence according to the cycles of nature. If we consider the number of leaves on a tree or the amount of grass on the expanse of a lawn, we can imagine the mass of organic material that ends up on the ground where it decomposes more or less quickly.
Yet, this enormous level of decaying matter causes no pollution. It is enough to enter a wood in winter and stir up the mantle of dead leaves under the trees: no smell of putrefaction will arise, if anything, an even pleasant smell for nature lovers.
Digging under the leaves, after a few centimeters you come across a dark colored soil, rich in humus. It is the well-known forest land, highly sought after for many crops. Forest earth is a precious product of nature's work.
If, on the other hand, we think of our kitchen waste, which we put in the bin, we immediately notice the difference: in fact, after a while they putrefy and give off a disgusting smell.
The difference between the work done by nature in the forest and that done by us in the dustbin lies in the fact that the forest is a living organism: the waste that falls on the ground finds billions of fungi, bacteria, nematodes, worms and insects ready to work to transform waste into humus. All these agents of nature, with the supply of oxygen, cause a positive transformation.
Home composting, the subject of this book, illustrates the techniques necessary to ensure that even the waste from our kitchen and our garden is removed from putrefaction and transformed into humus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bruno Del Medico Editore
• Release date: Jun 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224234073

Bruno Del Medico

1946. Programmatore informatico attualmente in pensione, opera come divulgatore e blogger in diversi settori tecnici. Alla nascita dell’Home computing ha pubblicato articoli e studi su diverse riviste del settore (Informatica oggi, CQ Elettronica, Fare Computer, Bit, Radio Elettronica e altre). Negli ultimi anni si è impegnato nella divulgazione delle nuove scoperte della fisica quantistica, secondo la visione orientata alla metafisica di molti notissimi scienziati del settore come David Bohm e Henry Stapp. In questo ambito ha pubblicato tre volumi: “Entanglement e sincronicità”, “Succede anche a te?” e recentemente “Tutti i colori dell’entanglement”. Gestisce il sito www.entanglement.it, ed è presente su Facebook con la pagina di successo “Cenacolo Jung-Pauli”, che conta oltre 10.000 iscritti e vuole essere luogo di dibattito dedicato all’incontro tra scienza e psiche.

Book preview

Book index.

Book index.

Preface.

How to use this book.

Chapter 1. Imitate nature.

Composting is a natural process.

Chapter 2. What is composting.

Soil depletion.

Sheet 1 The basis of good composting.

Sheet 2. The characteristics of an efficient composting system.

FAQs. What is Bentonite Clay?

Chapter 3. What is compost.

NOTE. Cumulus and Cumulus outdoors.

Sheet 3. What is needed for good composting.

Two important elements: carbon and nitrogen.

Sheet 4. The biological, physical and chemical properties of compost.

TABLE 1. Useful prerequisites for obtaining good compost.

TABLE 2. Some limits set by local laws on the composition of the compost.

FAQs. What does it mean to amend the land?

Chapter 4. Home composting.

NOTE. Composting from a technical point of view.

Sheet 5. The home composting system.

Sheet 6. The advantages of composting.

Sheet 7. The stages of composting.

Sheet 8. Tips for home composting.

FAQs. Is it essential to use compost activators?

Chapter 5. Why Compost.

Incentives and economic benefits.

Sheet 9. Good reasons to compost.

Chapter 6. Methods for home composting.

TABLE 3. Comparison between different composting systems.

FAQs. Can peach bones be composted?

FAQs. Can walnut and hazelnut shells be composted? And the shells of molluscs?

Chapter 7. The composter. How it's made, how to use it.

Fund preparation.

Choice of place.

NOTE. The right humidity.

Maintain the right humidity.

Aeration or oxygenation.

NOTE. The porosity.

Sheet 10. How to use the composter.

Some tips for using a composter.

Sheet 11 . Different types of composters.

Chapter 8. How to make good home composting.

The choice of location.

NOTE. Specific gravity of the compost.

Good background preparation

NOTE. The stratification.

NOTE. Turn the heap upside down.

The stratified addition of waste.

The shredding.

Turning the compost pile.

FAQs. Can you compost pine needles and magnolia leaves?

Chapter 9. Humus.

How humus is formed.

Biodegradability of materials.

FAQs. What does biodegradable material mean?

FAQs. Can poisonous plants like datura or oleander be composted?

FAQs. Can lemon and other citrus peels be composted?

Chapter 10. How transformation occurs.

Sheet 12. Organisms that decompose compost.

Sheet 13. The stages of composting.

The stages of transformation.

Decomposition Phase or ACT Phase (Active Composting Time).

II STAGE. From the third month

Maturation phase or extensive phase (Curing) (from the 4th to the 8th month).

III STAGE.

Sheet 14. Need to cover the open heap or composter.

Sheet 15. The golden rules of composting.

FAQs. Can products treated with pesticides be composted?

FAQs. Is it normal for worms and insects to be present in the compost pile?

Sheet 16. What's in the trash?

FAQs. Can newspaper be composted?

Chapter 11. The technical parameters and their control.

Nitrogen and the carbon/nitrogen ratio.

NOTE. How to interpret the C/N ratio.

Sheet 17. The right C/N ratio.

Table 4. C/N ratio of various types of waste.

The ventilation

Oxygen control.

NOTE. Living conditions of aerobic bacteria.

NOTE: The oxygen in the pile.

Verification of oxygenation.

FAQs. What is lithothamnium?

Table 5. Frequency of compost pile turnings.

Turning the compost pile.

The water.

The humidity test (ideal percentage: 50-60%).

Sheet 18. Humidity control parameters.

NOTE. Optimum humidity value of the pile.

The heat.

Cumulus temperature measurement.

NOTE. Temperature control in the first month (50 60 °C).

Sheet 19. How to raise the temperature of the heap.

Table 6. Summary of optimal parameters for good composting.

Sheet 20. Phenomena that develop in the cumulus.

Sheet 21. Quick recipe for a good compost.

Chapter 12. What to compost and what not.

Nature produces no waste.

The ideal blend.

What if I have too much dry material?

What can be used to make compost

Wet and dry materials.

Wood, paper and branches.

What not to include in the stack.

Table 7. Materials that can be composted.

Table 8. Materials that cannot be composted.

Sanitization of the heap.

Separate waste collection and industrial recycling.

FAQs. Can sawdust be composted?

FAQs. Why do midges develop on the compost pile?

Chapter 13. Shredding.

Structure, texture, porosity.

NOTE. Structure, texture, porosity.

FAQs. Can cardboard be composted?

Chapter 14. Building a homemade composter.

A group of composters.

The metal mesh composter.

FAQs. What are pallets?

FAQs. Should I choose the composter or the open heap?

Chapter 15. Composting in the composter.

Sheet 22a. Positive aspects of composting in the composter.

Sheet 2b2. Negative aspects of composting in the composter.

Location of the compost pile.

Process management times in the composter.

Sheet 23. Completion times of the process in the composter.

Chapter 16. Composting on the balcony.

Building a balcony composter.

Filling and picking up compost.

FAQs. How long can I store compost?

FAQs. How do I protect the cumulus from the summer sun?

FAQs. How do I protect the compost pile from rain?

Chapter 17. Composting in an outdoor waste pile.

Sheet 24a. Positive aspects of outdoor heap composting..

Sheet 24b. Negative aspects of outdoor heap composting.

Composting in a hole in the ground.

FAQs. Can weeds be composted?

Chapter 18. Integrators and accelerators.

Composting activators.

Sheet 25. Compost supplements.

Chapter 19. When is compost mature?

NOTE. How much compost can a household produce

Sheet 26. The stages of maturation of the compost.

NOTE. Proof of maturation.

Table 9. Nutrient elements present in the compos.t

Sheet 27. Effects of compost on the soil.

Chapter 20. Using compost.

The preventive sieving of the material

Compost as a soil improver.

FAQs. Can I put my pets' litter in the pile?

Sheet 28. How to use compost in the garden.

Sheet 29. How to use compost in the vegetable garden.

Chapter 21. Drawbacks and solutions.

Annoying smells.

Midges.

Mice and other animals.

Snails and slugs.

Beetle larvae or other insects.

Mosquitoes.

Card 30. Drawbacks and solutions.

AQs. What is soil pH?

FAQs. What economic benefits can I get from my local administration?

Preface.

This book is a comprehensive manual for recycling household and garden waste. It illustrates all the techniques for obtaining an excellent fertilizer and soil conditioner for free.

A family of 3-4 people with an ordinary sized vegetable garden can produce 5 quintals of organic waste every year from which 2 quintals of compost can be easily obtained, equal to ten 50 liter bags of garden soil. This reduces the costs for the purchase of fertilizers to practically zero. Furthermore, many local administrations offer discounts and concessions to those who produce their own compost. This book is a comprehensive manual for recycling household and garden waste. The book illustrates all the techniques to obtain free an excellent fertilizer and soil amendment. The text is enriched by cards, tables and images that guide the reader in the production of compost both in the garden and on the balcony of the house, even with a self-built composter.

For millions of years, on Earth, an enormous mass of organic substance has been dying. In our gardens, as in the parks and forests of the planet, all species of plants and insects, as well as higher animals, renew their presence according to the cycles of nature. If we consider the number of leaves on a tree or the amount of grass on the expanse of a lawn, we can imagine the mass of organic material that ends up on the ground where it decomposes more or less quickly.

Yet, this enormous level of decaying matter causes no pollution. It is enough to enter a wood in winter and stir up the mantle of dead leaves under the trees: no smell of putrefaction will arise, if anything, an even pleasant smell for nature lovers.

Digging under the leaves, after a few centimeters you come across a dark colored soil, rich in humus. It is the well-known forest land, highly sought after for many crops. Forest earth is a precious product of nature's work.

If, on the other hand,