Kekkilä Home Composter 230 L, Manual

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20 Kekkilä Home Composter 230 L
Instructions for use: filling, servicing and emptying
Filling the composter
Using the composter is simple. Cover the bottom with some 5 cm of coarse branch chips or twigs.
Regularly fill the composter with household waste a few times per week. Spread the household waste
evenly and always add drying agent in the amount of 30-50 per cent of the quantity of household
waste.
From the point of view of the compost function, it is important to add kitchen waste regularly and to
maintain proper humidity. The humidity level is right if few drops of water can be squeezed out of a
handful of compost. If the compost is too dry, it must be watered. If the compost is too wet, bedding
agent should be added. In addition to kitchen waste, the composter is also suitable for composting
garden waste and post-composting dry toilet waste. You should cover toilet waste with bedding,
when post-composting.
The compost should be mixed and turned every two weeks with an appropriate mixing stick to create
air passages. Once a month the compost should be mixed thoroughly and lightly covered with a
bedding mixture. Well-functioning composter does not need mixing and turning.
Emptying the composter
It is best to empty the composter in the spring or autumn when compost mulch is most needed.
The full composter may also be emptied mid-season, because the compost mass needs oxygen to
continue decomposing.
Empty the composter from the large lower hatch. If you use a shovel to empty the composter, take
care not to break the seepage riddle at the back of the compost mass. Use handles to open and
close the hatch. Large emptying aperture enables the use of separate inner container to help the
emptying process.
Using compost in the garden
You can use compost almost anywhere in the garden. However, compost containing toilet waste
should not be used in a kitchen garden. Compost mass is a very strong fertilizer. It binds moisture,
makes the soil more porous and adds nutrients. A well-functioning composter will provide half-
decomposed mass after only a few weeks of use, and the compost can be used as mulch under
shrubs, trees or perennials.
Half-finished compost can also be used to improve soil in a kitchen garden during the autumn, for
example. If you mix compost into the garden soil during the spring, it should be fully decomposed,
brown matter of even quality. You can make own soil from compost mass by mixing it with horticular
peat and sand 1:1:1. Compost can be sifted and return undegradable mass back to the composter.
Compost mass can be improved further by post-composting. The substance is ready for post-
composting when it has completely lost the appearance of the original waste. Post-composting can
be done in another composter or a compost rack. An open compost heap should be covered to
prevent nutrients from washing away.
Compost soil is typically fully finished after 1–3 years, when all waste is decomposed into dark
humus of even quality. The temperature of fully decomposed compost mass has decreased close to
the temperature of the environment. Please bear in mind that even when fully decomposed, compost
mass cannot be used as a gardening bed as such, but should be mixed with peat and/or sand. We
also recommend mixing the gardening bed with nitrogen. Finished compost mass, well sieved, can be
used as a nutrient for grass.
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