Using the NatureMill Composter is very easy. There are a couple of easy
rules to keep in mind, but with those in mind, you should have your
compost up and running in no time.
The First Time You Use the NatureMill Composter
There a few extra steps the first time you use your NatureMill to get
the bacteria culture all set. See the instructions that come
with your composter for details, but the general idea is:
Add some soil from your
garden (to inoculate with
bacteria).
Add some sawdust pellets
that are included with your
composter (to Add "brown" material to your kitchen waste.
Add some baking soda.
Add enough kitchen waste to
fill the chamber, close
it, and don't add anything else for 1 week. This give the
compost a chance to get started.
After this start-up time,
you can add kitchen waste
everyday, and your NatureMill will compost it.
Using the NatureMill Composter
Regular use of the NatureMill Composter
Like all compost, you must
have a balance of "greens"
and "browns".
Unlike other kitchen
composting, the
NatureMill Kitchen
Composter is well suited to adding meat, chicken and fish.
Limit acidic foods like
lemon and orange peels.
Most kitchen scraps are
green. You can add
sawdust pellets for your brown matter, or try shredded paper from your
office.
Periodically you will add
1TB of baking soda.
Cut your food into "thumb"
sized chunks so that the
composter can stir it easily.
Beware of fibrous foods like
bananas,
and celery which can clog the turning forks.
When you compost is dark and
unrecognizable, push the
"OK" button. If the "wait" light comes on, you may need to
wait up to 48 hours for the compost to finish (and you will need to
store your food scraps during that time). Otherwise the
machine will empty the compost into the drawer below. Please
note: you will need to wait 12-24 hours from the last time
you added food for the compost to be ready to transfer. This
means that you will need to store your food items for that
time. You can transfer the finished compost to the bin below
every 3-5 days.
Let the finished compost
cure as long as possible.
Change the air filter every
4-5 years.
You do not need to clean the
composter--in fact,
cleaning the composter
would disrupt the cultures.
