Composters

Brown stuff: dried leaves, newspaper, paper towels, twigs, chipped wood, dead plant material, husks, nut shells, small amounts of dried grass, grains, breads, straw and hay.

Other stuff: Coffee grinds & filters, egg shells

Do not add: bones, meat, fish, seafood, dairy products, fats, oils, pet waste, coal or treated wood ash, weeds that have gone to seed, crab grass, diseased plants or large materials.

The technique is to fill a bin with layers of green and browns, all in a single day or week, and then turning them regularly without adding any more material until the composting process has finished. For this reason, if you have the space, having at least two composters is a good idea. One to start a new pile, while the other bin is composting. 

1. First loosen soil, then put down a layer of coarse material - corn cobs and husks, sticks, thick fibrous stalks from vegetable or tall flowers. This will improve aeration at the bottom of the compost pile if you are not able to start mixing pile right away.
2. Mix after 1-2 weeks to loosen material and allow circulation of air and then stirring weekly. Keep compost pile moist but not too wet. There should be enough moisture so the pile is about as wet as a wrung-out sponge. Add water if pile is too dry or dry materials if too wet. You should have compost in as little as three months.

1. The green cone requires a sunny location and where the surrounding soil is well-drained! Do not place in a shaded, cold, dark, wet, clay or sandy area in your yard.  Sunlight provides an energy source for the cone. The double-walled solar cone creates a heat trap of circulating air to encourage bacterial and micro-organism growth. It also insulates the waste during the winter season. The digestion chamber enables an aerobic condition (requiring oxygen) to be created and also reduces methane production
2. The black basket gets buried underground about 24 inches. Make sure is is not below the water table in your area.  Please be sure there are no underground wires where you intend to dig by calling Ontario One Call before you dig!
3. The soil filters odour and prevents access by flies. Micro-organisms and worms migrate freely in and out of the basket to aid in breaking down the waste.
4. The green cone is designed to handle 1 full kitchen caddy every 1-2 days during the summer, and 2-3 days during the winter.
5. Be sure not to drop any food waste outside of your green cone and keep the lid and outside of the container clean of food waste or it will attract wildlife.

Use it the first week of your cone installation to encourage the initial growth of bacteria.  The compost accelerator vastly improves the cone's digestion process, especially when it can't enjoy a full day of sunshine, or during the colder months of winter.  Add the powder into the cone before adding your food waste.