Steps for hot-composting

Option 1 - PASSIVE COMPOSTING: Simply heap organic materials in a corner of a farm and over a period of time it will naturally break down.

• Needs a designated space or pit near the farm

• Compost will be ready in 6 months to 1 year

• Minimal effort, you just have to collect organic waste and farm waste and add it to the pile

Drawback - takes a longer time to be ready and we cannot assure quality of manure

Option 2 - HOT COMPOSTING: This is more commonly practiced and, in this method, materials are heaped together in a specific way to maximize the biological activity. As bacteria multiply and ‘feed’ on the material, they respire, generating heat. This heat encourages more bacteria to increase. The heat can also kill weed seeds and human pathogens. This process breaks down the material quickly. Compost can be completed in 3 weeks to 3 months, depending on the waste materials used.

• Needs more attention

• Ready within 3 months

• One time activity - minimum 1 cubic metre space - needs 6-8 hours of efforts - yields 800 kg compost.

Materials required for Hot Composting:

• Dry / Brown or Carbonaceous materials, (High carbon content materials) such as hay, straw, shredded pruning, sawdust and other wood wastes, dried/dead leaves etc.

• Green or Nitrogenous materials, (high nitrogen content), for example green plant materials, kitchen wastes etc)

• Cow dung (as a starter for decomposing the materials used to make compost)

• Water

• Hydrated lime and Ash

• Soil

Source - The Science and Art of making compost by Soil Vasu

Proportion of materials:

Source - Rebuilding Soil’s Health with COMPOST by Soil Vasu

Steps:

Step 1: Select site

• The site for making a compost should have little shade, hence under a tree (not too close to the tree is advisable). Avoid direct sun. If there is no tree, create a small shed with scrap material.

• Good drainage where compost can be protected from heavy rain and water logging.

• The dimensions of the site where compost is prepared should be 3 ft. width, 3 ft. length and 3 ft. height.

• Mark the site and clear it by removing whatever weeds, roots and plant waste that are there.

Step 2: Create a boundary (of 3 ft by 3 ft) and elevation:

Collect coconut, bricks, sticks, sturdy plant stock or any other material within the marked site to make a base of dry woody material of about one foot thickness. This is called tunnelling for aeration. Use local resources only - no need to buy any material for making the pit boundary and elevation.

Step 3: Chop the dry material into small pieces. Soak the chopped dry material up in water, squeeze it, and spread it between the compost boundary.

Step 4: Apply cow dung slurry (sufficient to drench the dry material) as a starter for decomposing the materials used.

Step 5: Chop the green material into small pieces. Spread the green material of 1/5 ft height above the dry matter and cow dung slurry. The thickness of the green matter should be approximately 3 inches above the dry matter.

Step 6: Sprinkle a small amount of lime powder or ash (like adding pepper and salt on omelets) on the green material.

Step 7: Add one layer of soil on the top.

Step 8: Repeat this sequence and make it in a stable dome shape until the heap is 1.5 m high. Then plaster it with wet soil so that the heat generated inside will not escape. The dome shape will allow water to flow down the sides and the pile to stay stable.