Each time you add food waste to the composter and turn the handle, the food waste passes through the Ridan, composting as it goes. This process pushes the mixture through to produce fresh and nutritious compost at the other end.
Composting is a natural process which will happen as long as the key ingredients of Carbon, Nitrogen, Air and Water are present. For composting to take place naturally, the conditions have to be just right. Nature ensures the correct mixture of materials and aeration required for this to happen.
The Ridan food composter uses natural ingredients and processes to create a warm environment in which food waste (nitrogen) and wood (carbon), can mix with air and water. Unlike other composters, all this happens without the need for electricity, making your Ridan cheap and easy to use.
The Ridan composting system can compost all food waste and wood. Food waste includes meat, fish, dairy and eggs whether cooked or raw.
Heat is created when micro-organisms, (including bacteria and fungi) break down the organic matter, food waste and wood. The heat attracts even more hyper active microbes, which make the composting process quick and efficient. This creates the perfect composting conditions.
Simply add equal amounts of food waste (nitrogen) and brown waste such as wood (carbon), then turn the handle a few times to mix and aerate……..that’s it!
Wood – Carbon Rich
Any of the above can be used bearing in mind the following points.
Food – Nitrogen Rich
All raw and cooked food waste can be composted in a Ridan, but remember to drain off excess fluids, cut up big chunks and avoid all but small bones. Fruit, veg, greens and prep compost most easily, however starches, meats and dough take longer to digest, much like our own digestive systems, so a mixture of both types of foods is essential.
Dead leaves, straw, paper, cardboard and tissue can be composted by layering them into the Maturation Box, between the compost as it is loaded, this works better than adding them to the Ridan, they cannot replace the wood.
The maximum throughput refers to the maximum amount (in litres) of food waste that can be processed in your Ridan composter. This amount does not include the carbon (wood) materials. The figure quoted for the maximum throughout is the absolute maximum but the optimal amount is significantly less.
You do not have to fill the composter to the maximum or optimal amount. Small amounts can also be composted, just as long as the balance of food waste and wood are maintained.
Depending upon what sort of food is being composted it may be ready to spread straight onto the garden. However, it is usually best to mature the compost for a few weeks in a Ridan Maturation Box. Here the composting process will continue to break the products down even further.
