Composting

You can compost anything organic: all vegetable and meat scraps, coffee grains, eggshells, etc. as well as any kind of manure. It’s just a question of how long each type of organic material takes to break down and decompose into rich, usable soil.

We have set up a system of compost bins, made out of pallets. We have different compartments for different types of organic materials: one for chicken manure, and one for kitchen waste and human-manure, or humanure. Once we fill up a bin, we start a new one, leaving the first to compost for an adequate amount of time before using it.

Chicken Manure
Most types of animal manure are too “hot” to use immediately in the garden; it would burn the plants.  We leave a full bin of chicken manure for six months before tilling it into the soil.

Kitchen Waste
Kitchen waste does not take long to compost, but, because we mix it with humanure, it follows the latter’s set of rules.

Humanure
This is the part that people freak out about, but please, stay calm, it’s not as bad as you think!

The Humanure Handbook is an excellent book on composting and using waste thoughout your homestead.  It explains the process in detail and is a must-have.

Human shit, just like any other animal’s waste, is a great source of compost.  However, it can contain pathogens that can be extremely dangerous to our health if they enter the food chain.  For this reason, humanure must be leaft to decompose for a longer period than other types of manure to ensure the breakdown of those pathogens.  We leave ours for two years (colder climates may require longer), and by the end of that period, it looks, smells, and feels like any other rich dirt.

Many people find the idea of saving  “poo” repulsive.  But for us, it is a natural and very beneficial process.  In fact, we find the alternative digusting and unnecessary.  The whole “flushing toilet –septic system” thing seems wasteful and unhealthy.  For starters, we cannot justify the use of good, clean water to wash away a useful commody.  Secondly, just because the water takes it away from sight, it does not mean it magically disappears.  The waste sits, soaking in water, breeding pathogens, usually underground, where the sun and air can’t help it decompose.  And then where does it go?

At least with a composting toilet, you know where it goes.  With responsible management of compost bins, you can turn a dangerous pollutant into food.

A composting toilet is easy to build.  You have some sort of collection vessel, like a bucket, which you empty into your compost bin.  After each use of the toilet, sprinkle sawdust or peatmoss into the bucket.  This helps absorb moisture and adds to the decomposing process.  Personally, we prefer sawdust.  We find it takes away the smell more effectively, and is readily available to us.

We’ve been using this system for four years and we love it. The compost area does not smell, contrary to what we had expected.  In fact, we’ve only found one downside… flies.  The compost is definitely a favorite hangout spot for flies.  We counter this by using fly parasites, a small flying insect that feeds only on maggots.  We also keep the compost bins far enough from the house that the flies around the house are diminished.

Humanure is a subject we feel very strongly about (much to our famly’s dismay – I guess they don’t feel it makes for pleasant dinner conversation). If you would like to know more, one of the best books there is on the subject is Humanure.

Additional Resources:

• FreeCycle.org - the best online resource for reusing and recycling
• The Humanure Handbook - A must have composting resource