Ancient Food Preservation Techniques

What is Composting? Composting is a natural process of breakdown or decomposition of various organic materials otherwise regarded as waste products and finally produces a nutrient rich product which is known as the compost. Why should you compost? Most of the solid wastes in our cities comprises of our yard waste and kitchen or food waste. By composting or recycling these items, it makes it possible to reduce the overall amount of waste being sent to landfills or mass burn incinerators. The final compost is nutrient rich and can be used to amend poor soils and fertilize gardens instead of using the chemical fertilizers which are hazardous to all organisms on earth. What are the Types of Composting? There are three types – Aerobic, Anaerobic like the Bokashi composting method and Vermicomposting. Each one has its own pros and cons. Lets look at Aerobic Composting. In aerobic composting method, air or oxygen is introduced to help break down organic materials. The composting pile needs to be turned for aeration every other day. This can be accomplished by using a fork tool or using a tumble style or barrel composter. We will discuss and demonstrate how to easily do aerobic and also anaerobic or bokashi composting later after we discuss some fundamental concepts of composting. 2. Anaerobic Composting – This is exactly opposite of aerobic composting. Actually some do not include this in composting and rather call it as a fermentation process. Japanese method called Bokashi composting is the best example of anaerobic composting. Anaerobic composting takes almost no effort at all. Just add scraps into the composter and leave it air tight for many days. Many people think anaerobic composting stinks like hell, but this is not true if done properly. And this can be avoided with the use of Bokashi method which we will demonstrate and discuss later on. 3. Thirdly the Wormy Composting – Wormy composting uses earthworms, oxygen and moisture to safely break down organic materials with very less odours. Basically worms do most of the job along with the bacteria. This method is the preferred method due to its many advantages. Now let's look into the Fundamentals and Requirements for Composting. These basics are really important and please do not skip these points. Composting requires the following three components i.e. Human Management, Aerobic Conditions and the development of internal biological heat. Composting process by organisms requires four equally important components to work effectively. Firstly, Carbon i.e. for energy and the microbial oxidation of carbon produces the heat. High carbon materials to be added to compost bin are generally brown and dry stuff like dried leaves, twigs, sawdust, charcoal and so on. The second ingredient is Nitrogen which is essential to grow and reproduce more organisms to oxidize the carbon. High nitrogen materials generally tend to be green like the wet scrap from your kitchen like fruits and vegetables. We will also discuss on the importance of carbon nitrogen ratio later on. The third component is Oxygen i.e. for oxidizing the carbon and for the decomposition process. This is supplied by good aeration of the bin and also by turning the compost pile every other day. 4. Water or Moisture – All life on earth needs water i.e. for the microorganisms and also the earthworms if you are doing vermicomposting. And water in the right amount is very important for decomposition process and to keep the temperature regulated. Too much or too little water is bad for composting. The composting microorganisms are introduced into the pile to start the process of decomposition by either adding a good quality garden soil or a manure like vermicompost or even cow dung manure. You also have many commercially available compost makers or compost starters for this job. Aerobic composting requires four things – carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and water in just the right amount for proper composting. Out of these we need to provide carbon and nitrogen in the proper ratio what is known as the carbon nitrogen ratio or CN ratio. Things that are rich in carbon are called the browns and those that are rich in nitrogen are known as the greens. To be correctly composted, a material needs to have the following two important characteristics. The waste material must be organic and biodegradable. The waste material must contain things that are liked by microorganisms to feed on. So what types of waste can we use in aerobic composting method? Firstly, let's start with what we should not put into our compost bin or compost heap. So let's list out the DON'TS first i.e. Glass, Metal and Plastics are obviously prohibited in both types of composting i.e. aerobic and anaerobic. Secondly, Oil, Fat, Meat, Fish or Dairy products are avoided because of the tendency to attract insects like flies and rodents. But these products are allowed in Bokashi composting. Thirdly, Hard woody branches, stems or roots which take a very long time to decompose. Fourthly, Rubber bands, latex condoms, diapers and other obvious stuff like metallic objects like safety pins. Having looked at the things to be avoided, now let's look at the things that we can add and there are literally thousands to choose from. Aerobic composting works best if these microorganisms are fed a mixture of carbon rich materials known as the browns and the nitrogen rich materials known as the greens in proper ratios. Let's list out the Browns first. Browns are mostly dried woody materials which are high in carbon. Without the browns, your greens will decompose too quickly and turn into a smelly pile that's called putrefied pile. Here is the list of Browns. Dry Fallen Leaves, Dried Flowers, Wood Chips, Twigs, Straw, Shredded Paper, Shredded Cardboard or Paper Cottons, Toilet Paper Rolls, Toilet Paper or Used Napkins or Facial Tissues, Coffee Filters and Tea Bags, Cotton, Sawdust, Pine Needles, Pencil Shavings, Dried Grass Clippings, Peat Moss, Cocoa Peat or Coconut Fibers, Used Paper Plates, Nut Shells, Wine Cogs, Toothpicks, Paper Cupcakes, Used Matchsticks, Wood Ash or Ashes from the Fireplace, Coal and so on. Now let's list the Greens. Greens are mostly wet materials like waste kitchen scraps, mostly the vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, fresh grass cuttings, animal manure but not your cat or dog poop, bird or poultry droppings, feathers, fleshy plants and leaves, flowers, tea and coffee waste, egg shells, nail clippings, no nail polish, human and animal hair and so on. Having said that, now let's look at the Greens vs Browns Ratio and the Carbon Nitrogen Ratio. The right mixture of greens and browns known commonly in the gardening world as the Carbon to Nitrogen ratio or the CN ratio and it's important for proper composting. We want composting and not putrefaction or rotting. So what is the ideal CN ratio for aerobic composting? Most experts suggest a CN ratio of 25 to 30 is to 1, which means 25 to 30 parts carbon rich material to 1 part nitrogen rich material. High carbon may result in too slow composting whereas high nitrogen may result in foul smelling putrefaction process. So how to use the Carbon Nitrogen Ratio? Do not misinterpret this Carbon Nitrogen ratio. This ratio describes the chemical composition of a material and does not mean that you need to add a volume of brown materials that is 30 times greater than the amount of green matter. Do not make this mistake. Here comes the green to brown ratio to our rescue. You have to understand this carefully. The ideal green to brown ratio is 2 is to 1, but it can also be 1 is to 1 for those who are starting to compost. This means, for one bowl of greens, you add one bowl of browns. Let me explain this. Every material has its own carbon nitrogen ratio. Like for example, food scraps has a carbon nitrogen ratio of 17 is to 1, meaning 17 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen and sawdust has a very high carbon nitrogen ratio of 500 is to 1. Hence this calculation depends on what you want to add to your compost bin. And it gets more and more complicated. You can store this table shown on the screen for reference of the CN values of various materials. For ideal composting, do remember these two golden tips. A 2 is to 1 ratio of greens to brown is your best bet when creating a batch pile. This will aid you in creating about 30 is to 1 CN ratio adequate enough to get a hot pile. A 1 to 1 ratio works well with the add as you go pile as well as for the batch pile and is safe for beginners. This will aid you in creating about a 50 to 1 CN ratio and adequate enough to get a warm pile. Bokashi composting is an anaerobic method of composting, meaning it happens in the absence of air or oxygen and is actually a fermentation process carried out by special anaerobic microorganisms. This was first developed by a Japanese professor Dr. Turo Higa. The term Bokashi is a Japanese word that means fermented organic matter. This method was mainly developed to recycle wet nitrogen rich kitchen waste quickly, unlike the conventional aerobic composting which takes at least 4 to 6 weeks or even more to form complete compost. So, What are the materials that best work with this type of composting? Anything can be composted, but the carbon rich materials like the dried leaves, sawdust, dried grass clippings, paper, cardboard etc. will take a long time to decompose in this method or might even halt or fail the process of composting. Anaerobic composting works best with nitrogen rich materials as they are mainly wet like kitchen scrap including leftover cooked or raw food, vegetable and fruit scraps, cooked or uncooked meat and fish, except the bones. These products are actually avoided in aerobic composting and even vermicomposting, but this is the beauty of Bokashi composting. You can also add eggshells, tea and coffee grounds, tea or coffee bags and other stuff which is common for greens in aerobic composting. Avoid adding large seeds like mango seeds, bones, rubber bands, latex products like gloves and condoms, metallic objects and so on. Well, Now let's learn Bokashi step by step. One thing to note before we start is, you can either do batch composting or one shot composting. In batch composting, you add kitchen waste on a day to day basis, opening the compost bin lid frequently. I recommend one shot composting like add it, close it and forget it. One simple tip Collect your daily kitchen waste in bags and store the waste in your refrigerator. Let's start with Step 1. Choosing the Container. This is typically an airtight container called digester. You can use any barrel or a bucket with a lid which can seal it perfectly. This container should have a tap at the bottom to collect our nutrient rich compost tea once or twice in a week. Step 2. Preparing the Bottom. First of all, place about 20 to 30 grams of jaggery or molasses at the bottom of the container. This accelerates the fermentation process and is a food for our hard working microbes. Then place the plastic grate at the bottom of the bucket with the knob facing upwards. This space of about 3 inches is required for the fluids to collect at the bottom which we drain out as the Bokashi tea. Then make sure the tap is closed and then place a piece of newspaper on the top of it. Step 3. Bokashi Bran or Bokashi powder which is a magic ingredient in this system. This is a vegan stuff and contains the essential microorganisms which perform the composting process quicker than the conventional method of composting. This powder is inexpensive and easily available. Step 4. Layering. First layer, you sprinkle the Bokashi Bran over the bottom like 2 tablespoons. Then you add a 1 to 2 inch layer of kitchen waste over it. For every 1 to 2 inch waste, sprinkle at least 2 tablespoons of Bokashi Bran. Then again add 1 to 2 inches of kitchen scraps and then again sprinkle Bokashi powder i.e. 1 to 2 teaspoons. Repeat this process for multiple layers. Make sure you chop larger chunks of waste products into smaller pieces for faster composting and also crush and add eggshells if any. Step 5. Compression. In this step, you compress the layers as and when you are adding the waste layer by layer. This will displace out the air pockets which may be present in between the waste. This is also an important step for successful smell free composting. Step 6. After you finish multiple layers, add a thick layer of Bokashi powder like about 3 tablespoons and take another extra step to keep it air tight, like place a piece of cardboard on top of the layers and press it. Then finally close the lid properly to make sure there is no chance of air entry. Step 7. Location. You can keep it indoors or in any location where there is no sunlight. Step 8. Collecting the Bokashi Tea. This tea must be collected every 3 to 4 days to avoid foul smell and composting failure. This tea can be used as a liquid fertilizer for your plants. It must be diluted with water in about 100 is to 1 ratio i.e. 100 parts water to 1 part Bokashi juice. That's approximately 2 teaspoons of this juice for every liter of water. Mix well and water your plants to give them an instant supply of nutrients. Step 9. Leave it undisturbed for at least 15 days before you harvest. But do not forget to collect the Bokashi tea twice or once in a week. Step 10. Harvesting. This is the only drawback of Bokashi. Just as pickled onions or mangoes are still the same size and shape, your pickled food scraps preserve their looks unlike the aerobic composting where the stuff shrinks considerably during decomposition. But the advantage of it is its high nutritive value. But the harvested Bokashi after 15 to 20 days needs further processing and cannot be directly added to the plants. You need to process it further by digging a trench in the soil and add this final product and cover it with at least 6 inches soil. Allow another 3 to 4 weeks for final processing and then plant over it or use this finished compost on your plants. If you also have the conventional aerobic composting going on, you can just dump this into the drum for faster and perfect processing. Let's learn how to perfectly make compost at home in 5 easy steps. Step 1. Choosing Your Container. There are many ways to compost. You can either use an open pile composting method or use a compost bin. Open pile composting or using a simple chicken mesh boundary is the simplest way to start, but it has its own disadvantages. The best way to compost at home is use a compost bin. Bins have the advantage of being neat, keeping animals, rodents and insects away and also preserving heat. You can build your own DIY compost bin from some plastic buckets or even drums or barrels. You can even build a tumbling compost bin. Or you can just purchase these from a garden store or online. The size and type of the bin you build or purchase will depend on how much compostable material you can generate on a day to day basis. A rotating tumbling compost bin has many advantages, like you need not turn up the compost pile for oxygenation manually. Instead, you just give few rotations once daily and this will also speed up the process of composting. The twin drum compost bin has an advantage of providing continuous supply of compost, like when one drum is full, you leave it for few weeks from final maturation and then start adding materials into the second bin and then repeat this process to get a continuous supply of compost. Step 2 is Choosing the Location. For conventional pile composting, a sunny location and a flat surface on the soil is better. For drum composting or even if you are using a tumbling composter, this is not so crucial. However, keep in a place which is open with good air circulation. Keep in mind, there is a liquid leak below the compost bins. This compost tea can be collected and this makes very good liquid fertilizer for plants if used in adequate dilution. Step 3 is Adding Greens and Browns. For greens and kitchen waste recycling, you can add them daily to your compost bin along with the browns. If your daily collection is too little, you can store in refrigerator and then add to your compost bin. As a general rule, a 1 to 1 ratio works well with the add as you go pile as well as for the batch pile and is very safe for beginners. This means for every bowl of greens, you add one bowl of browns and a little bit of compost activator. That is Step 4. Compost Starter or Accelerator or Activator. If you are starting the first time or your first batch, you need to add those microorganisms to start the composting process. This can be either a commercial compost maker powder. But remember not to add that Bokashi brand powder which is exclusively meant for anaerobic composting. So, you can add this powder like 1 or 2 teaspoons or as recommended in your packet and every time you add greens and browns and then rotate the tumbler or turn your compost a few times for good oxygenation. If you have a half finished compost or even a fully finished compost or even decomposed cow dung, this can be added as a starter. You can also add the finished compost from your Bokashi bucket into this aerobic compost bin. Step 5 is Maturation and Harvesting. When the bin is about 70 to 80% full, stop adding further waste into it and leave it on for 6 to 8 weeks for compost cooking and final maturation. But make sure you tumble the compost bin on a daily basis or if you are doing the compost pile method, you need to turn the compost pile every other day for proper aeration, otherwise it will develop foul smell and fail. If you are getting a sweeter pleasant smell, then everything is going good. After 6 to 8 weeks or even more, you can collect your final compost and use this pure fertilizer for your plants. You can leave about 10% into the bin which acts as an accelerator or starter for the next batch. Finished compost will be dark, crumbly and smells like earth. Please like, share and comment below with your feedback and queries. Happy Gardening!