Compost, worm farms and bokashi

Compost/Worm Bin Retailers

Bunnings Warehouse

76 Saxton Road West, Stoke

Ph: 03 547 1640

CAN PLAN (hungryBIN worm bins only)

23 Forests Road, Stoke

Ph: 03 547 0642

canplan.co.nz

Golden Bay Hammer Hardware

4a Commercial Street, Tākaka

Ph: 03 525 7265

Mitre 10 Mega Motueka

235 High Street, Motueka

Ph: 03 528 9220

Mitre 10 Mega Nelson

99 Quarantine Road, Annesbrook

Ph: 03 547 0747

The Warehouse Motueka

270 High Street, Motueka

Ph: 03 528 1079

Worm Providers

Julie’s Compost Shop

www.wrigglerscompostshop.co.nz

Ph: 03 544 9872

Community Compost

Waimarama Community Gardens

[email protected]

communitycompost.co.nz/worms

Willow Bank Heritage Village

79 Wakefield-Kohatu Highway, Wakefield

willowbankwakefield.co.nz

[email protected]

Bokashi Retailers

Bokashi Logic

2 Fry Street, Motueka

Ph: 020 4008 7487

Email: [email protected]

EcoWarehouse (online)

027 262 1497

ecowarehouse.nz

[email protected]

Bunnings Warehouse

76 Saxton Road, Nelson

Ph: 03 547 1640

Mitre 10 Mega Nelson

99 Quarantine Road, Nelson

Ph: 03 547 0747

MakeSoil uses social networking to reduce food waste in our region. (Please note this replaces the ShareWaste app which ceases to operate from the end of 2024.)

The idea is simple: if you have food waste you can’t compost, there is likely to be someone else who can compost it. MakeSoil connects people who want to recycle their kitchen scraps but don’t have either the space or the time, with people who are already composting or can use scraps for worm farming or chickens.

How MakeSoil works:

1. Find: Open the MakeSoil map on the app or website and look for a host near you.
2. Connect: Send the host a private MakeSoil message to introduce yourself and arrange the first drop-off
3. Collect: Store food scraps that the host can accept in a container until you have enough for a drop-off
4. Donate: Take your food scraps to your host so they can compost it or feed it to animals. 

To find out more, visit the Learn section on the MakeSoil website.

Check out our top tips for composting! (pdf 1.1 MB)

Composting is a simple way to help the environment. The nutrients in plants have come from the soil and putting them back into the soil will support this precious resource. Disposing of these to the landfill causes problems with gases and is a wasted natural resource.

Compost enhances your garden

• it encourages plant growth;
• is good for the soil, improving drainage in heavy clay soil and conserving water in light sandy soil;
• holds moisture in the soil, keeping the soil cooler in summer, warmer in winter;
• increases aeration in compacted soil;
• hosts beneficial insects and bacteria.

 It saves you money because

• it halves rubbish removal costs;
• reduces the need to water the garden;
• reduces the need for artificial fertilisers.

Materials you can compost

• vegetable and fruit scraps, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• vacuum cleaner dust and untreated wood ash
• old potting mix, leaves, garden and lawn clippings, weeds (if they have not gone to seed)
• sawdust, straw, animal manures, and seaweed
• shredded paper and cardboard scraps (softened by soaking).

Materials not to compost

• meat, fish, fats or cooking/salad oils (these may create odour and attract rats and flies)
• wood, bones, diseased plant material
• plant foliage with residues of chemical sprays, especially hormone type weedkillers
• oxalis, and other problem weeds such as live twitch, convolvulus, dock and dandelion.

Where to put the bin

You can either buy a pre-made bin (remember the voucher) or make an enclosure yourself.

Locate your compost bin in a sheltered area, preferably not in full sun. The compost heap should sit directly on the soil.

Setting up the bin

1. Before positioning the bin, fork over the soil on the site to aid drainage and encourage earthworms into the heap.
2. Start the heap by placing a 10-15cm layer of coarse twiggy materials ( partly decomposed and still coarse materials from a previous heap may be used) at the bottom of the bin to ensure good drainage and entry of air.
3. Add:
   • kitchen and garden waste
   • manure, soil, blood and bone or a compost activator.
4. If the compost heap is regularly turned it will be ready in 3-4 months. If the compost is not turned allow 9-12 months for the heap to mature.

Check out our top tips for bokashi (pdf 978 KB)

The Bokashi two-bucket system consists of a few simple elements. Two buckets are required, with one nested on top of the other. The top bucket has a tight-fitting lid and holes in its base to drain to the lower bucket. In addition, there is a bag of Compost-Zing made from wheat-bran and untreated sawdust that has been mixed with molasses, water and effective micro-organisms.

You can make your own system as long as it is airtight. Old paint buckets that have been cleaned out work well. Drill holes in the base of the top bucket and sit inside the other one. A good air-tight seal is very important.

The benefits

The benefit of this system is that you can add products such as meat and fish, which are discouraged in the usual compost due to vermin and odours. No outdoor space is required for the collection of the material as fermentation takes place in the bucket. This makes it ideal for businesses, small houses, apartments and schools.

Once the bucket has been filled it must be left closed for up to two weeks. Then it can be added into your normal compost or it can be dug directly into your garden. Due to the acidity of the material, it is not advisable to place it in direct contact with roots. It will neutralise within 7-10 days.

The liquid that drips through to the bottom bucket can be drained off and 1 teaspoon mixed with five litres of water to produce a plant fertilizer. This needs to be done regularly - every 3 to 5 days.

Buckets can be kept indoors as the smell is inoffensive. It keeps food waste out of the landfill and it is good for your plants adding beneficial vitamins to the soil.

Larger scale systems can be used in businesses.

Foods you can include

All food waste and smaller pieces are better:

• fresh fruit and vegetables
• prepared foods
• cooked and uncooked meat and fish
• cheese and eggs, coffee grinds, tea bags
• wilted flowers

Foods you cannot include

• liquids such as milk, orange juice and oils
• paper, plastic wrap and meat bones
• shells from seafood 

Check out our top tips for worm farms (pdf 866 KB)

Worm composting is a simple way to recycle your organic kitchen waste and return valuable nutrients to your garden. Worm farms can take purely kitchen waste without needing garden waste mixed with it.

Other advantages of worm farms are the rich vermicast compost they produce, and their ability to digest paper.

In a two-person household 1000 red or tiger worms are enough to digest food scraps. The castings take about seven weeks to be ready to use in the garden, which is quicker than compost bins. Earthworms from the garden can also be used in a worm bin but do not process food as quickly.

How to make a worm bin

1. Buy, recycle or make a suitable container (wood, plastic or metal).
2. Drill or punch a few holes in the bottom of the container for aeration and drainage.
3. Place moist bedding (shredded newspaper or similar) in the worm bin, plus one or two handfuls of coarse sand or topsoil.
4. Bins should be raised up on bricks or wooden blocks to aid air circulation and drainage. By placing a plastic tray underneath to capture excess liquid, you can obtain an excellent liquid plant fertiliser - use diluted at the rate of 1 part liquid to 10 parts water.
5. Add tiger and/or red worms (1000 or so). Tiger worms and red worms can eat as much as their own weight per day. That means that 1000 worms can eat about 400g per day of food waste.
6. Bury kitchen waste (vegetable and fruit scraps) just below the surface of the bedding preferably spread around the bin. The worm population will steadily increase. In ideal conditions, they can double their numbers every 40 or so days.
7. Cover with sacking or a loose-fitting lid that will keep the material from drying out and provide a dark environment for the worms.
8. Additional fresh bedding should be added at least every two months.
9. Harvest compost (worm castings) after 3 to 4 months and feed your plants.
10. Top up the bin with fresh bedding to replace the compost removed.

Feeding

Worms will eat most vegetable and fruit scraps, shredded paper, tea bags, tea leaves, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, bread scraps, cereal, cottage cheese, plate scrapings and biscuit crumbs.

Dairy products may also be used, but feed in moderation. Meat and fish scraps may also be used but are not recommended until you are familiar with worm composting.

Foods to avoid are citrus, onions, garlic, garden waste and grass clippings (garden waste is best dealt with by conventional composting methods), fats, cooking oils and oily foods (these create slimy conditions, odour and fly problems) and chicken manure.

Using the worm compost

Finished worm compost is nutrient-rich, so it is excellent for topdressing container plants and as an ingredient in potting mixes. It can also be used in the garden to condition the soil every time you plant (a handful mixed into the soil when transplanting vegetables etc gives plants a good start). Use in small amounts.

Compost used as part of a potting mix or as a topdressing around potted plants should not contain worms as they tend to upset the functioning of the potting mix.