The moulding compost

Like nature itself

The compost can be compared to the human body: they both require oxygen, a varied diet and a good place to live in order to thrive and work well.

The compost is the centre point in the garden of Grönskan. Here it stands, in the middle of the garden, among coffee-drinking guests and flowers on sale. Like a garden decoration among others — and at the same time an excellent reason to open a conversation about biological cycles and environmental thinking.

Because of the placement it awakes curiosity — it draws the eye. Furthermore, the open wooden construction differs from what we usually think of when we hear the words "compost bin".

The proprietor of Grönskan, Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, willingly takes the time to answer the recurring questions of the guests about how life in the compost works.

Because a living world is just what the compost is. And like all aerobic organisms, it first and foremost needs oxygen in order to survive, something that is relatively absent in today's compost bins made from plastic materials.

Susanne usually compares the compost to the human body: both need air, a varied diet and a good place to live.

4 common mistakes with the compost

If the temperature rises sharply in the compost, you have introduced too much waste without stirring enough.
Solution: Stir the new waste so that it is mixed with and comes into contact with the soil.
Ants in the compost is a sign that it is too dry.
Solution: Water directly into the compost.
Flies and larvae also mean that you haven't stirred enough. For example, do not leave fruit on the surface, without contact with the soil, since it attracts insects.
Solution: If you have flies in the compost and absolutely want to be rid of them, pour boiling water over the larvae. This will also kill many other animals and organisms in the compost, but it will recover eventually and start over. Do not use cut grass to raise the temperature!
If the moulding process goes very slowly, you probably have a nitrogen deficiency in your compost.
Solution: Add some manure to speed up the moulding again.

Put simply, you could say that an environment where a human being wouldn't thrive, isn't suitable for compost soil either, and vice versa.

DIY model

Since 1997 she runs the company "Grönskan" (=verdure) on the island Lyr in the Bohuslanian archipelago of Sweden. A large greenhouse, the first thing that greets the visitor taking the ferry to the island from the mainland, is, fittingly, surrounded by verdure; a taste of what is being cultivated inside the glass windows.

Here Susanne sells unusual plants, runs a local convenience store and cafeteria with ecological groceries, and she hosts courses and conferences.

Susanne has made the blueprint for the compost bin which she calls "moulding compost". She sells it in the store ready-made for those who don't have the time or strength to build the bin themselves. Many people, and also preschools, schools and restaurants are buying the moulding compost.

It's the principles of nature itself which have determined the appearance. In the wild, animals decay directly on the ground, aided by worms, earth bacteria and other decomposers. A dead hare or fox disappears quickly, without smelling bad. That's why there are gaps between the planks of the compost bin, so that the air will be able to circulate properly. The idea is to mimic the environment on the ground as much as possible.

Well thought out measurments

The moulding compost's measurments are well thought out. The breadth of the bin is calculated in such a way as to never remove the centre of the compost further from the air than the depth of the soil layer, where the decomposition is taking place. If one digs deeper, the oxygen won't get through and there will be no aerobic animal life. If the bin were any wider, the oxygen wouldn't reach its centre.

During the winter, a sheet of ice forms around the compost — perfect insulation against the cold. The ice layer does not hinder the air supply, like for example plastic materials do. Since the moulding compost consists of two bins that are assembled together, they warm each other, while the air circulates between them.

The large volume (one cubic meter) makes it "burn" inside the compost even when the thermometer shows several degrees below freezing. The fuller the bin, the more efficiently the moulding process works during the winter months.

While it is possible to start a compost anytime during the year, it is probably best to start while it's still above freezing outside. Then, the moulding process has a chance to get started before the cold arrives.

What you can put in your compost

All organic material, i.e. all that comes from the plant and animal kingdoms. A varied mix is vital.
Garden waste, in appropriate amounts, can be mixed into your compost to acheive a good carbon-nitrogen balance. On the other hand, you never need to use sprinkling materials in a moulding compost.
Citrus fruits och bananas work splendidly. If they are sprayed with pesticides it will take longer before they are decomposed because the worms avoid pesticides.
Meat and fish are put well into the soil. The earth bacteria, along with the oxygen, make sure that the smell disappears after a few hours.
You vacuum cleaner bag also belongs in the compost, unless you're living close to a heavily traficked road. In that case pollution might enter the bag and harm the compost.
Paper and newspapers in reasonable amounts, can be put in the compost, as long as you mix it with other waste.
Avoid putting bark from pine and spruce since it contains terpentene and thus makes the compost acidic.

The metal net covers all sides of the bin, and the holes in it are just large enough for a worm to be able to pass through, but far too small for a mouse. Worms, by the way, never need to be inoculated in a working compost. They find their own way to environments where they thrive, just like they leave if they find the surroundings inhospitable. Worms in your compost is a sign that you have succeeded.

Looked after properly, the moulding compost does not smell and thus does not attract any bugs.

In a heat compost there exists no ordinary animal life. In the elevated temperature, which often exceeds 60 degrees centigrade, neither humans nor worms can survive. Plastic materials don't let enough oxygen through. The result is that the household waste rots to soil instead of moulding, which it would do in the presence of oxygen. As everybody knows, when something rots, it smells bad and attracts bugs. It's also not uncommon that mice and other rodents gnaw through the plastic cover.

While many people protest and claim that they have heat composts full of worms, Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak counters with that, if that is the case, they have something which is neither a real heat compost nor a good moulding compost, but a half-baked solution which is neither one or the other.

37 degrees — any higher is fever

In the moulding compost the temperature stays steadily around 37 degrees centigrade, just like in our own bodies. If it rises higher, the compost has a fever, just like we do.

When the compost looks and smells like soil, it's finished. During the summer months, it takes the household waste about three weeks to be converted to soil, during the winter it takes a little longer.

The compost soil is most rich in nutrients when new, and when it is used as an enriching layer directly in plantations and garden soil.

Written by: Angelica D Vacante.