My wife does the gardening, but I do the composting. For me, getting started on a compost system depends entirely on the ‘yard’ and the amount of composting material available. No need to teach experts, but in short for me these have meant choices about whether I can compost by digging holes in the ground, or need to use barrel compost bins, upright ‘bins’ so that I can simply bury the compost as readily as I can once seasonal crops are finished, or whether I need to build above ground beds, or buy a special composter.

Apparently he Britts showed that composting worms actually produce nasty methane. Aussies know that the best compost is made by turning composting material over and over in soil. Turing the soil oxygenates it and oxygen does its ‘corrosive’ thing. Once soil is conditioned with bacteria, those unappealing white things which are not maggots but grubs, and the simple garden worm, it only takes six – eight weeks to feel the satisfaction of composting. Compost needs to be turned in soil every 7-14 days.

I read Mary Jane Owen’s post. That is brilliant. I can imagine community based organic composting working in Japan or Edmonds USA, but here? there? Have other people had experience with Inner-city councils and composting? Have any used covenants? How would tower dwellers ensure that unwanted material does not find its way into organic compost?

I think this is a very worthwhile post. Even to include a discussion of Insinkerators.