Started with the process around Feb 23, with two small pots. Was worried about smell, worms and what not. Mercifully, there was no smell. But, suddenly, the second pot was filled with maggots because the garbage was too wet. My westside balcony with its more than kind sunlight to the rescue! Sunned the mush and wow, back on track!
The two pots were filling up quickly - I mean, the old one halved in sometime, and then I had to transfer from the second to the first as the second was overfilling. Finally, had to buy a third pot. But that was the right decision since for almost a month, I didn't have to touch the first two. In that one month, the garbage in both the pots decompositioned (is that right?). Yesterday, finally, decided to sieve them and separate the compost material from the other dry lumps that need further breaking down.
Today, planted fenugreek in a small pot using a small amount of the compost because I believe that is a good way to know if the compost is good. Meanwhile, the third pot is going to lie idle and the first one starts getting fresh garbage.
I feel sad that we have lost the surroundings needed to let organic waste compost naturally. We crib about things being thrown without a thought on the roads, of people urinating in public and spitting. Yes, I hate it too. But what I hate more is the absence of enough soil to absorb these natural wastes which were absorbed by the soil and broken down to components that fertilised the soil.
Instead, we have more tar and plastic which have created needs for artificial disposal of waste - a problem that is not going to be easy to solve. The least we can do is to recreate the natural cycle and put the organic waste back into nature so that our waste disposal problem comes down, we don't have stinky garbage bins on public roads and are able to put the waste to good use.
