Composting closes the loop from field to fork. Through composting we can to use our waste to rebuild the living web of nutrients and microorganisms that is missing from our soils. To find out more about this magical process, Nancy went to visit the Compost Club at Phoenix Place.
Michael Kennard has been working on his missions of soil regeneration, waste management and community building since 2020 through the Compost Club. Today, through a fleet of compost tumblers and towers, and an army of beneficial worms and microorganisms, the Compost Club team process 1500L of food waste weekly into living compost.
Using an electric van, the Compost Club team pick up bokashi-treated food waste from their members and bring it back to HQ at Phoenix Place. Bokashi – an inoculated bran – means that all food waste, even animal products, can be treated. The food waste then goes through a series of carefully controlled processes that convert it into living compost – a network of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes that make up the ‘soil food web’.
True to their regenerative principles, the process does not involve fossil fuels or mains water. Compost is delivered in hession bags, which eventually decompose, for a plastic-free process.
The compost produced, which members are offered as part of the compost club’s circular economy, is powerful stuff. Just 1 tonne of biological compost is enough to supply an acre’s worth of soil biology. With this compost, a little goes a long way: you can mix with your seeds to give them a boost before planting; you can mix with water and apply to your plot; you can sprinkle directly on your beds.
for more information about Compost Club, visit: about | Compost Club
You can also buy your own subsidised composting kit thanks to East Sussex County Council through Get Composting
Come along to a community garden to find out more about composting: see our Grow Cook Eat network for more info.