Here we have a short guide on how to build a device that will dry out your food waste, ready for use in your composter, and also produce a pungent liquid which you can use to fertilise your plants.
What will you need?
- Two of the same size large plastic buckets which can sit one on top of the other.
- A basic tap (to fit in to the bucket)
- A drill with 3mm drill bit and a larger bit to fit your tap
How does it work?
This is a very simple design which is very easy to use. The top bucket has lots of 3mm holes drilled in to the bottom. You place this bucket on top of the bottom bucket. The bottom bucket has a tap at the bottom. This is used to drain the liquid which has drained from the food in the section above. You could even skip the tap on the bottom section if you dont have the resources to add it. You can just take the top bucket off when the food is dry, and pour the liquid out for use later.
Leave the food in the top section for about two weeks, or until it is dry. Drying your food waste before adding itto your compost pile will help avoid the problems with a wet smelly compost heap.
When you drain the liquid from the bottom section, mix it with four parts water and use it to water your plants.
And finally, here is a quick sketch to show how simple this design really is. As always, any questions, leave them at the bottom here and I will do my best to reply soon.
Mediterranean Permaculture 