Say hello to our Compost Garden.
Inspired by Natasha in India, we designed our own onboard Compost Garden. And we donated our first load of sea-rolled "Linie Compost" to our friend and pro-gardener in Mölle – Felix StClair Renard. Check out the video below.
Natasha made her version with a regular pot and a big pet bottle. Designed for her garden. We had to consider sailing around in all-weather-all-splashing conditions.
Maybe not the world's first but our first, and we are super happy with the result.
Our decision to live a zero-waste life onboard meant a commitment to take care of our food scraps in a conscious manner. ROT** is the 5th R in our zero waste methodology. We were a little familiar with bokashi composting but it seemed quite complicated for us on the boat. A bokashi system would require that we either buy the "bran" needed or ferment this live yeast ourselves, which we wouldn't always have access to on our journey.
Natasha's version is odorless and requires only three things to work: Moisture, air, and microorganisms. If these are kept happy, the compost will happen. And there will be no smell. That was what Natasha told us in her e did attract some pretty intense attention in the marinas:-)s
Natasha's version is odorless and requires only three components to work: moisture, air, and micro-organisms. If these are kept happy, the compost will happen. And there will be no smell. That was what Natasha told us in her video with some 2,6 million views.
Here's how we made it:
We fell in love with Natasha's simple and natural trick where the micro-organisms in the soil help to break down the food scraps and the plants benefit from the nutrition that is added from the compost into the soil. All we had to do was was to add moisture and air.
The principle was to start to fill up one tube with food scraps, then a layer of paper, sawdust, or leaves, then fill up with more food scraps and cover again, etc. We filled one tube/pot and then let that one rest while we filled up the other one. The content was stirred now and then to get some air into the mixture. Check it out in the video:
On our way sailing down the Swedish coastline it was time to give the compost some loving care. Guri shows you what sailboat compost gardening can look like in 5-6 knots speed...
We found the pots and the center tubes in hardware stores and we went to the garden Rosendals Trädgårdar in Stockholm where we could buy good fresh dirt without any packaging. We then drilled holes in the tubes as shown below and we mounted it all together and then filled up with mini lecas and the dirt. Then we planted arugula in one of our two pots (we had started growing them earlier this spring – seeds in egg cartons). For pot number two we bought some herb starts from Rosendals Trädgårdar.
What a successful day that was...buying great dirt in bulk per liter without plastic, and found what we wanted at the first stop when stuff hunting at hardware stores.
A gift to Felix – World's first "Linie Compost"?
If you know Felix StClair Renard, you know that it is not easy to buy a gift to him that he doesn't already have. There is even a saying: "If there is only one copy on the planet of a certain item, Felix has both". We texted Felix on our way to Mölle and told him to meet us and bring a bucket as we had a gift for him. He replied asking if we had a lobster, a shark or some other exquisite catch from the ocean hahaha...little did he know what was waiting for him: Sea-rolled food scraps. Ok, not all the way down to the equator and back, but still...from Stockholm all the way down and around Smygehuk and up to Mölle.
Sailing with food scraps on the transom for 2 months calls for a good receiver of the cultivated deliverables, Felix St Clair Renard is a great friend spending his time in his garden all summer amongst thriving plants and exotic fruits.. What could be a better gift to him, and who could be a better receiver?
Couldn't avoid to play around with Photoshop and fix a dedicated label. Of course inspired by the original – Lysholms Linie Aquavit – from Norway, the liquor that is being sea-rolled back and forth to the Equator. Maybe testier, but not as unique. Felix got the first load – who is interested in the second? :-)
** ROT – the last of the five Rs in Bea Johnson's Zero Waste methodology. Read more in our policy,
