Summary

The system I describe here is efficient in that it requires minimal work, nothing is wasted, and it produces both excellent compost and a leachate that is rich in plant nutrients.

Most compost systems lose a lot of plant nutrients into the soil they are sitting on. They produce compost, which is a very good soil amendment, but does not provide much in the way of plant food.

The system I am describing produces excellent compost, a liquid plant food that has dramatic effects on plant growth, is inaccessible to rats, doesn’t need turning, and doesn’t become smelly.

Nothing is wasted or lost into the soil. You can compost everything that has ever lived or is the product of something that has lived – all your weeds and trimmings, kitchen waste, and if you like, everything your own body produces (optional!).

The system depends on raising the compost heap from the ground, passing urine through the heap, and collecting the liquid from the bottom. This site describes why the method is so beneficial and gives a couple of simple designs that make the process easy.

It is particularly suitable for people with allotments, large gardens or forest gardens, or people who strongly object to providing a home for rats in a conventional compost heap.