Video summary

Cómo hacer compost en casa

Main summary

Key takeaways

Cooking

Presenter / channel

Video content is presented by the speaker in this cooking/lifestyle channel. They reference SODIMAC (links to composters in the description and stores/app at SODIMAC.COM).

Ingredients / materials (with quantities when stated)

Composting (general layers)

  • Fresh/wet organic waste (vegetable scraps, salad leftovers, food leftovers)
  • Dry matter (examples of “dry layer” materials)
    • Cardboard paper scraps, wooden sticks (e.g., sushi sticks), or dry leaves
  • Water: added once a week (for garden-style compost and watering in vermicomposter)
  • Worms for vermicomposting (apartment system)
    • Californian worms, scientific name Eisenia foetida (amount not quantified)

Lettuce sprouting (repurposing scraps)

  • Water in a glass/jar (enough to keep the base moist)
  • Lettuce (ugly/outer parts saved for regrowing)
  • Optional planting materials mentioned:
    • Leaf soil + compost (used to fill a pot)

Peach pit seed germination (repurposing)

  • Peach pit / stone
  • Water for soaking (time given: 24 hours)
  • Wet absorbent paper (to cover the seed during sprouting)
  • Drying time for pits: 3 days

Natural citrus degreaser (kitchen use for waste)

  • Citrus peels (lemons, oranges; includes technique to remove the white part)
  • Vinegar (to marinate peels; enough to fill the jar “well”)
  • Equipment: a canning jar and later a sprayer
  • Key timing: macerate/marinate for 2 weeks in a dark place

Equipment / preparation steps

Compost bin choice

  • Choose a bin suitable to space:
    • Apartment: a vermicomposter (small; can be placed on terrace/loggia)
    • House with garden: larger compost bin for plant waste

Vermicomposter setup (apartment)

  • Add worms (Eisenia foetida)
  • Layering approach:
    • Start with dry matter layer
    • Add wet matter layer (doesn’t need full coverage)
    • Cover food scraps with a dry layer
  • Weekly maintenance:
    • Water weekly
    • Collect excess liquid in a plastic tray

Garden compost (non-worm compost bin)

  • Process is layered like lasagna:
    • Alternate fresh/wet waste layer and dry waste layer
  • Maintenance:
    • Water once a week
    • Turn/mix the soil periodically for aeration (prevents bottom from rotting)

Step-by-step method (timings, techniques, cues)

A) How to make compost (general, “lasagna layers”)

  1. Collect fresh/wet waste (vegetable scraps, salad leftovers, everything edible leftovers mentioned).
  2. Prepare dry material (cardboard paper scraps, wooden sticks, dry leaves).
  3. Build compost bin in layers:
    • Put a layer of fresh/wet waste
    • Then add a layer of dry waste
    • Repeat, “like lasagna.”
  4. Dry-to-wet balance:
    • The dry matter should double the wet matter amount to achieve needed balance and help avoid mosquitoes.
  5. Continue week by week until the bin is filled.

Do not compost (explicit list)

  • Remains of meat, chicken, fish (with bones), feathers, leather
  • Food containers, tetrapacks
  • Glass
  • Plastics, and anything linked with oil/detergent/fuel/lubricants
  • Cigarette butt (discouraged due to chemicals in the filter)
  • (Also mentions) keep “common sense” about what you add.

What’s fine

  • Coffee grounds/rests
  • Tea bags
  • “That type of paper” (paper mentioned as compostable—no paper types beyond tea bags and cardboard scraps specified)
  • Eggshells work great

B) Garden compost bin (takes longer; no “humus”)

  1. Layer fresh/wet with dry matter.
  2. Once a week:
    • Water the pile
    • Turn the soil to aerate (so it doesn’t rot; instead decomposes with air)
  3. As it progresses, it should become:
    • ~30 days: mostly well-decomposed matter; no smell; some bugs appear
    • Later: looks finer; worms/past life may show; ready to harvest.

How to know it’s ready / “harvest”

  1. Inspect when the compost bin has at least 50% volume filled.
  2. At around ~30 days:
    • Check for no smell (methane production said to have ended)
    • Look for decomposition stages and small bugs/worm activity
  3. When ready:
    • Sift through the material
    • Put back any thick/unbroken pieces into the bin
  4. Finished compost described as:
    • Dark, bold (rich), “practically no smell”
  5. Use amount given for pot fertilizing:
    • For a plant in a pot: a handful is enough

C) Vermicomposter method (apartment, with worms)

  1. Set up the vermicomposter (previously mentioned linked via SODIMAC).
  2. Add dry matter first, covering the base surface.
  3. Add wet matter (food scraps), not necessarily covering all surface.
  4. Add worms:
    • Recommended to add Californian worms (Eisenia foetida) because they speed decomposition and avoid sunlight (“photosensitive,” so they hide).
  5. Cover scraps by leaving worms on the organic waste and then cover with a dry layer.
  6. Maintenance:
    • Water weekly
    • Excess water drains into a plastic tray
  7. Liquid fertilizer use:
    • Collect excess liquid; store in a jar/bottle
    • Mix: add twice as much water and spray plants
    • Suggested frequency: every 15 days
  8. Harvesting vermicomposter output:
    • When the top tray is full, remove it and move to the next level
    • Use the screen/perforations:
      • If it has perforations, liquid flows
      • If closed-surface style, empty and screen the substrate

Tips / common mistakes / handling cues (as stated)

  • Maintain correct dry matter ratio (dry doubles wet) to keep balance and reduce mosquitoes.
  • For garden compost, turn the pile and aerate so contents don’t rot at the bottom.
  • For vermicomposting:
    • Keep worms hidden from sunlight (they are photosensitive; they should remain in the bin).
  • Readiness checks:
    • No smell is a key indicator (methane production said to have ended).
    • If one side isn’t ready, check the other side (mentions a record/indicator on each side and opening to assess leaves).

Repurposing organic scraps beyond compost

D) Sprouting lettuce from leftovers

  1. Take lettuce scraps (the “ugly” parts).
  2. Place in a glass/jar with water.
  3. Let it sprout until little leaves grow.
  4. Plant into a pot using leaf soil + compost (compost from the compost bin is used).
  5. Use remaining water poured into the pot.

E) Germinating peach pits/seeds

  1. Wash the stone/pit very well.
  2. Dry for 3 days.
  3. Open it and remove the seed inside.
  4. Soak seed for 24 hours.
  5. Place seed under wet absorbent paper.
  6. When sprouted, transplant into a pot.

Natural degreaser (from citrus peels)

Steps

  1. Remove as much of the white part (“pith”) as possible:
    • If needed, scrape with a spoon (or use a knife).
    • Reason given: more moisture in the white part can lead to fungi during maceration; only citric-acid portion is desired.
  2. Place peels in a canning jar.
  3. Cover peels with vinegar.
  4. Close well and let macerate for 2 weeks in a dark place (pantry).
  5. After 2 weeks:
    • Strain the mixture
    • Transfer to a sprayer
  6. Use:
    • Mainly for kitchen, dishwasher, kitchen irons, and stainless steel
    • Can also help with a stubborn frying pan
  7. Claims stated:
    • “Biodegradable, organic,” and uses what would otherwise be waste.

Plating / serving suggestions (within video context)

  • The “plating” concept is repurposing:
    • Finished compost is used as fertilizer (handful per potted plant).
    • Collected vermicomposter liquid is diluted and used to spray plants.
    • Lettuce sprouts are planted into a pot to grow again.

Sources / references mentioned

  • SODIMAC: links to composters provided in the video description and availability via SODIMAC stores/app at SODIMAC.COM.

Original video