Types of the Composting

1. Open Air Composting

Open Air Composting is traditionally a pile of green and brown matter in your backyard.

More often than not it is a bay constructed of anything you can get your hands on that is cheap and easy
to put together. Or you might have a couple of bins upturned sitting on the ground like the Gedye bin
you can buy in a shop.

Wire cages are also used inlaid with piping around the edges to hold water and capture heat. This can
then be used for hot water systems in sustainability situations.

Open Air Composting is generally considered to be a Hot Composting method. Some people often call it
a Cold Composting when smaller quantities of waste are used because it does not build up the same
amount of heat.

To me, Cold Composting still produces heat and therefore is not technically cold composting.

Perhaps one could call it Warm Composting as the only way you could completely cold compost
something is to let it rot in the fridge. And we all know that smell in the fridge.

2. Direct Composting
Direct Compost is simply digging a hole or trench in the ground and burying your scraps.

It is also probably the oldest and most effective method of composting, but like all other methods of
composting it too has its limitations. The main one being that it takes a long time to decompose unless
you chop everything up.

You can only bury fruit and veg or you run the risk of it being dug up by all sorts of garden critters from
birds to vermin. And you have to keep digging holes.

It does, however, produce an abundance of worms that then help to nourish your garden and improve
your soil.

3. Tumbler Composting
Tumbler Composting comes in many shapes and sizes of single to double units that you may purchase
commercially from your local hardware store.

For many people, this is a great system if you are relatively strong and keen to turn it every day or every
few days.

For others, it is hard work especially if you are getting on in years. But you can get some mechanized
ones that make turning easier.
You often need two of these systems so you can let one sit for a few months to fully decompose before
you empty it. While this is happening you fill the other one up.

This can be a good system if you have a large amount of green and brown waste to dispose of and have
the space to fit this system.

If you are only filling it with green and brown waste, then a bay system would be just as good though
you may have to watch out for snakes and rats nesting in the warm compost.

4. Worm Farm Composting

Worm Farm Composting for many is the most common and preferred choice of composting because of
their capabilities to grow worms, produce compost and compost tea and keep rats out of your compost.

The worms produce castings concentrated with nutrients lower in nitrogen compared to other
composting methods.

Worm farms can be utilized even if you have no garden.

I think everyone has tried at some point in time to make their own worm farm with varying degrees of
success using anything they can find that is cheap.

Do not house them in metal containers as copper leaches out, which is toxic to your worms.

I personally have tried foam containers only to find the worm juice eats out the foam so they leak
everywhere.

Unless you have them on the ground somewhere so the nutrients can go directly into the soil you end
up with a big mess.

If you use plastic containers you can collect the juice but then you have to add a tap to drain it off or
some way of rotating the containers to collect the worm tea.

They need to be kept out of the sun, frost, and rain, and somewhere that’s not too cold either.

Worms are temperamental little critters and will try and escape their containers if the conditions are not
right and they are not happy.

It is said that you should use local worms for your area. I personally have no experience with this so
you would have to try worms from other areas to know for sure if they will survive.

Local Worm Types

South Australia Red Worms (Lumbricus rubellus) and Tiger worms (Eisenia fetida) under ideal conditions
are said to rapidly reproduce 8 to 1500 worms

The Tropics use Pontoscolex corethrunus or Pheretima group, commonly found in gardens

Fishing worms are apparently not good for composting.

If you can be bothered (according to Bob) you need to test the pH of each batch as some may be are
more acidic than others.
But who has time for this or could be bothered.

That’s why I love the Compost because the local worms in your garden will come and you don’t need to
add worms unless you have really bad soil.

5. EMO Composting
EMO Composting or Effective Microorganisms is a system generally used for indoor composting but can
be used by anyone who likes this method of composting.

The most common product using EMO’s is the Bokashi but other indoor systems can use it plus there are
some systems that use a carbon filter in the lid as well to filter odors.

Generally speaking, you need two of these, so while one is sitting the other is being filled.

You can collect juice to use in your garden.

But you cannot put everything from your kitchen is the Bokashi System.

You can buy the EMO online through many sites selling the Bokashi System.

You can use the EMO’s in other systems if you so desire to aid the composting process.

6. Combination Composting
Combination Composting or Compot Composting is a combination method of open-air composting,
direct composting, vermicomposting, and EMO composting.

All the elements of composting are used and will suit most household circumstances.
For some people, it too has its challenges. But for me, the challenges are less and the rewards are
better.
You can compost ‘ALL’ your kitchen waste and not just ‘some’ of it.

So ultimately you have over 50% less waste each week to put in your council bin.

Just Fill…Forget…Refill…when ready and give it a good clean out once a year.

It is faster and requires less work than most other composters.

And it nourishes your soil with all your own waste.

To me, it is the easiest composter I have ever used.

7. Commercial Composting
Commercial Composting is different to backyard composting and uses different materials.
The Compost is made in long rows using such materials as, sawdust, pine bark, sand plus ferrous
sulphate and maybe some sulphate of ammonia all mixed together. It is usually turned every 3 to 4 days
and is generally ready in 6 weeks for bagging. There is not much nutrient value in the cheap commercial
compost. But there are small independent commercial compost companies that produce a better quality
product, than the large commercial compost companies. They are however more expensive.
Some producers such as McLeod’s Agriculture are certified organic as well.
The old saying “you get what you pay for” certainly applies to commercial compost.

The cheaper commercial compost is a good filler for raised garden beds or to backfill a Compost in clay
or sandy soil.

Or it can be used to mix with composted soil to fill a pot plant perhaps.
If you are buying commercial grade compost to grow things it is best to buy a high-quality propagation
mix.

8. Mechanical Composting
Mechanical Composting is an efficient method of composting that uses electricity to create the heat
required and rotation of the contents required to produce semi-composted waste literally within a 24
hour period.

This system suits restaurants, hotels, motels, hospitals, schools, kindergartens and any large institution
creating large amounts of waste from many people. It is a manageable in-house system instead of
sending your waste off to council tips. You do however need to further compost the waste so need
someone to collect the leftover contents for further composting in a garden bed or bay composting
system.

There are also small systems that suit some people for their private residence but they can be quite
expensive and will, of course, cost you ongoing electricity. Like all composters they to come with some
pros and cons, but they do produce fast semi-composted soil.