Considering getting a Lomi electric composter and wondering how to use lomi dirt? Read on to learn more about the different ways to use Lomi Dirt and why it might not be all it seems.
This post contains affiliate links. I've included them in case this post will help you decide which of these electrical connections is right for you. But as you can see from my discussion below, I really don't recommend either item for most people.
Maybe I should have called this article 9 WaysNOTo use your lomi land.
As a self-proclaimed composting nerd, theown a composting operationjwrites a lot about compostingfor others, I get a lot of questions about home composting. By far one of the most common questions I get is about electric composters. If you are considering investing in an expensive electric composting machine like thisbreaks, many people ask me how to use Lomi Dirt (that is, the output of the Lomi machine).
I would like composting to be much easier for everyday use. I was really hoping that electric composters would be the magic tool to make this happen. Unfortunately, after a few years of use, I don't think so anymore. I'll be giving a more detailed Lomi review soon (and you can seemy full FoodCycler review here). First, let's focus on ways to use the output, because if you can't use the output effectively, it doesn't seem like it's worth the investment.
Is it worth investing in electric composters?
I've given a lot of thought to the effectiveness of electric composters. I try to share a variety of home composting tips and feedback based on my own experiences and what I've learned from others to help as many people as possible to reduce food waste and keep organic materials from going to landfill limit.
i own onebreaksIt is aFood-Cyclerthat I bought with my own money, regardless of any collaboration with any of the companies that make them. I bought both so I can honestly and fully answer questions about whether or not people should invest in these tools.
After using theFood-CyclerHaving been a few years and running many cycles with the Lomi, I am not particularly compelled to recommend any of them to many people. In most cases, I believe there are several better alternatives to reduce organic waste going to landfill.
Against this background, food waste is a major problem. Our landfills are overflowing and food waste in our landfills creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. According to a November 2021 Environmental Protection Agency reportA third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten. Food waste is the most common material in landfills and incinerators, accounting for 22-24% of municipal waste. We urgently need to reduce the food waste we throw in our bins.
Solutions to reducing food waste in landfills vary significantly based on living conditions, financial resources, skills and time available to address food waste. I am aware of that. No one solution fits all, and we need a variety of solutions to meet the needs of as many people as possible.
With that in mind, I like to convince myself that an electric composter is suitable for a small group of people. But electric composters are definitely not the systematic solution to sending organic waste to landfill. They are not our golden ticket to freedom from food waste.
What is Lomi Dirt?
breaksDirt is the result of a cycle of organic waste processed by the Lomi electric composter. Lomi dehydrates and grinds leftover food and organic matter into a form of fertilizer for plants and gardens.
The company claims that its LomiPods, small tablets added at each cycle, help make production more beneficial to the soil. Since the machine heats the bucket and its contents to high temperatures, I'm not sure why the process doesn't effectively kill most or all of the active bacteria and microorganisms that would otherwise feed the soil.(Read: I have doubts about the usefulness of the finding. But I don't have the data or scientific knowledge to make a more definitive statement than to say I'm skeptical.)
But let's assume for today that lomi is dirtesactually a nutrient-dense supplement that can ultimately build healthier soil ecosystems (although it doesn't).
What Lomi Dirt is not.
I can safely say that the result has nothing to do with the finished compost. It looks more like potpourri. When using the LomiPods, the output is darker and a bit dirtier than without the pods. But I would never confuse it with soil, soil, or ready made compost (with or without pods).
Also, Lomi's mess often smells like processed food. The smell is not as strong after processing as it was before turning on the machine. But it's powerful enough that you won't want to spray it on dirt or grime without burying it.
When I first used the lomi, we put leftover cooked fish in the contents of the bucket and the dirt in the lomi definitely smelled like fish. I'm moving away from spraying this on the plants around my house.
Can you really use Lomi Dirt from the Lomi Electric Composter?
A more detailed review of the machine is worth (and will come in due course). For now, let's focus on how to harness the power of a Lomi electric composter because if you're not harnessing the power then it's not worth the investment of buying it.
Lomi official website offers eight ways to use Lomi Dirt. Some of them are good, although I don't think they are the best and best uses for our leftovers. However, some options are downright silly.
What good is an electric composter if we just throw the production in the trash? In order for an electric composter to be worth buying and running, it is important that we can use the production of organic matter effectively. We'll discuss a variety of ways that some have suggested to use Lomi Dirt, and consider alternative options that I find are often much better.
Throw Lomi's dirt in your green bin
In her YouTube videos and on her website, Lomi suggests disposing of Lomi's clutter in a green bin (e.g. compost collection or delivery service). I think this is technically an acceptable place to dispose of dried and shredded organic waste.
But if you release that content in a green light for someone else to process, then what's the point of processing it in an electric composter anyway? Why put them in a machine that uses energy and also leaves its own carbon footprint in manufacturing and distribution, not to mention disposing of e-waste at the end of its life when you can just toss your leftovers in the bin as is ?
HaveHome composting in different ways, I believe that an electric composter is one of the least convenient options for composting. If you have access to green bins through a collection service, city service, farmer's market, or other delivery services, these are generally better and easier options. Let's compare some options.
Lomi vs. Compost collection service
Tempo| Composting via a collection service, either a private truck or a municipal serviceformEasier than running an electric composter. For those who have access to a collection service and have no particular interest in using finished compost, I always recommend this as the first and best composting option. Even if you want finished compost, what you buy from the processor is likely to be of a much higher quality than the output of an electric composter.
Cost| Due to the significant cost of these machines, including recurring costs such as filter changes and LomiPods, the cost of a pickup is not significantly different than a machine service. Let's look at an example.
The Lomi machine is $500 and the LomiPods and charcoal pellets are around $120 per year ($40 needs to be replaced every 3-4 months). That's $620 at 1 year, $740 at 2 years, and $860 at 3 years. Home compost collection services range from free (if you have access to a taxable municipal program) to $25 per month for more expensive private transportation services. Let's call it $20 a month for discussion.
It would take 43 months (or over 3.5 years) of monthly collection service to recoup the cost of the lomi machine and its accessories (and that doesn't count the electricity to run it). Assuming it still works after three years!
If you have access, the pick up service is easier and cheaper. If you have a green bin, use it for leftover food and throw away the middle tier of an electric composter.
waste reduction| Most collection services will accept a variety of organic matter, including anything that might end up in a lomi. However, electric composters have a low volume capacity and cannot compost things like stone fruit and avocado pits, pits, and other hard objects that can damage the mulching mechanism. The collection service can hold more than just the items you want to compost.
Lomi vs. compost delivery
Tempo| At first glance, a delivery option may seem more time-consuming than using an electric composter. Perhaps this is the case for a handful of people.
But to truly eliminate food waste with an electric composter, conscious electric composter management is still required. Chopping up leftovers for the machine, getting it running, cleaning the bucket, and controlling production takes about as long as putting leftovers in a bucket and regularly disposing of them at a collection point.
Cost| Dispensers are usually free or charge a minimal fee for leftover food collection. So it would take many years to factor in the cost of the machine and recurring parts replacement (that whopping $860 price tag after just three years). ).
waste reduction| Most delivery locations will accept a variety of organics, including anything a lomi can wear. However, electric composters have a low volume capacity and cannot compost things like stone fruit and avocado pits, pits, and other hard objects that can damage the mulching mechanism. The delivery location can process more than the items you want to compost.
Accessibility| While not always the case, it's safe to assume that most people who can afford a Lomi electric composter will have access to a collection service, drop-off car, or reasonable transportation to a reasonably close drop-off location. If not, keep scrolling to find more alternatives to Lomi's suggested uses of dirt.
Throw Lomi's dirt in your trash can
face palm.Was?!
If you're throwing away organic matter, why bother with the expense, hassle and energy consumption of an electric compost bin? Some may argue that this reduces wasted space in your bin and ultimately in the landfill. I have prescribed this thought in the past and it is not wrong. Dehydrated and shredded food scraps take up less space in the garbage truck (which has its own carbon footprint) than if it were not dehydrated and shredded.
But this organic material will continue to emit methane into the landfill if it does not have access to oxygen to break down through aerobic processes. I find it hard to believe that it's collectively better to spend millions of dollars on electric composters just to reduce the physical size of the food waste we send to landfill.
Also, Lomi encourages putting torn cardboard and brown substance in the bucket. Hopefully whoever throws their lomi soil in the trash doesn't use it to make cardboard and other browns that could be recycled rather than going to a landfill.
If you buy the Lomi just to throw your organic waste in the bin, you save your money. Find another way to compost. Donate, volunteer, or get involved with organizations working to increase access to better systematic waste management programs for everyone (not just the wealthy who can afford lomi or other electric composters). It just doesn't seem worth it.
Add Lomi Dirt to your compost bin
If you have a compost bin, skip the lomi and just toss the leftovers into your compost bin or heap. Even if you live in a cold climate, you can often throw leftovers in a compost heap in the winter, freeze them, and compost them in the spring when they thaw.
A lazily managed compost pile takes a long time to decompose, so mass can accumulate (in any climate, but especially when it's cold). I've heard from some people who prefer to use an electric composter in the winter, harvest the lomi soil for several months, and then add it all to their compost bin in the spring.
I understand the appeal of it. Where I live we experience cold winters and our compost pile freezes for a period of time. But for someone willing to manage a compost pile, I still think there are easier and more out thereMore effective winter composting methods.than relying on an electric composter.
I also get a lot of questions from people living in bear country as to whether or not an electric composter would be a good alternative. Composting is not always a safe or effective option in these areas due to the food smells in a compost bin that attract bears.
But I'm not sure if the electric composter really solves the problem. The finished product will still have some odor. After spraying it in my yard, the scent had enough smell to attract raccoons to my yard in just one night. If raccoons care, I bet bears can smell it too.
Put Lomi Dirt in the soil around the house
Wouldn't it be nice if you could spray your electrical connection production on all the plants in your house and watch them bloom? Sounds too good to be true because it is.
additional steps| First of all, you can't just spray your houseplants with lomi soil. Lomi soil needs to integrate with the soil, so you can't always use lomi soil in your houseplants. Only when you plant new crops or transplant existing crops do you use up some of your Lomi soil.
very lomi| Additionally, Lomi recommends a 10:1 ratio of potting soil to Lomi soil. If you use your lomi regularly (at least 1-2 times a week for one person or a small family) you will likely create a lot more lomi soil than you use as a potting additive.
Too many nutrients?| In addition, potting soil is already rich in nutrients. I'm not sure if mixing lomi soil with potting soil is actually good for plants. A few months ago, a reader reached out to me to share how his FoodCycler Foodilizer created greens growth in his potting soil when he mixed it into the soil before planting. After contacting FoodCycler to ask about it, they said that adding Foodilizer (which is similar to lomi soil) to potting soil really adds a lot of nutrients to the soil.
I'm not a gardening expert, so maybe someone else understands this better than I do. But does that sound almost like soil, equivalent to an aquatic algal bloom caused by too many nutrients in the water? Eventually, over time, the odd growth disappeared (presumably because the excess nutrients were depleted). But why add organic matter to an already mixed potting mix to make it suitable for growing new plants?
ticket management| Also, Lomi suggests limiting Lomi entries to fruits, vegetables, egg shells, and coffee grounds if you plan to use Lomi soil for houseplants. You can generally compost all sorts of other things in lomi (like meat, dairy, browns, and bioplastics). The variety of compostable items is one of its selling points.
However, if you plan to use the houseplant output, make sure you don't include these other things. If you do, make sure you keep different containers of lomi soil so you know which ones contain meat, dairy, and bioplastics and which ones don't I think.
Finally, make sure to use Grow Mode (which requires almost 24 hours of uninterrupted power consumption) in conjunction with your LomiPods as this is the best way to ensure you get the most nutrient dense yield from the grow cycle. However, do not use growth mode when processing bioplastics (use Lomi approved mode).
Such administration seems cumbersome.
All of this means that using lomi soil to feed your houseplants sounds good in theory. But it really isn't very convenient for most people, especially those who expect lomi to be a shortcut to a simple compost. Also, if you actively manage what goes into the lomi, keep separate containers for "houseplant soil" and "houseplant soil", and feed some of the lomi soil to houseplants, most of it will end up elsewhere (probably in the trash).
Sprinkle Lomi Dirt on your lawn
I think this is not the worst option (how to shred dirt lomi), but lomi composters, be careful with this one. As I mentioned above, lomi soil still has a slight food odor (and a slightly strong odor if you're composting smelly foods like fish). Scattering Lomi soil on your lawn can attract animals.
Last summer I sprayed FoodCycler Foodilizer (similar to lomi soil) in some empty flower beds that were covered in wood shavings for the off-season. I mixed it with wood shavings. The next morning a ravenous animal had dug many holes in the garden bed to smell food which I could not detect but which the animal clearly recognized.
I suspect it was a curious raccoon unsuccessfully searching for its lunch. Needless to say, this scent will not "burrow" into your lawn. Lomi muck (or any electric composter ejector) is not the same as the fertilizer you sprinkle on your lawn. It takes much longer to break down than synthetic fertilizers to make nutrients accessible to soil microbes.
If you're concerned about animals digging up your lawn looking for the source of the food odor (or generally being drawn to your garden), I would cautiously use lomi soil as a lawn fertilizer.
Share lomi dirt with neighbors
Lomi dirt is only good for your neighbors if they can actually use it (and they have no better use for leftover food before it's processed through an electric composter). Check all of the above reasons (e.g. the way your neighbor might use the finished product) and consider that there are better alternatives.
That's not to say that sharing Lomi's dirt with neighbors is bad; There are so many better ways to chat with neighbors about composting and help your gardening friends have healthy soil.
Play Lomi Dirt in a community or school garden
As I mentioned earlier, lomi soil is not a finished compost. It is not a fertilizer (in the traditional sense). So before you toss lomi soil into a community or school garden, consider what you really need. A community garden may already have a lot of vegetables in their compost, e.g. B. all plant residues from previous seasons. A school has more than enough leftovers from their canteen, so they probably don't need any more vegetables from you either.
Some school or community gardens may require lomi soil, but this is unlikely and certainly not a general solution for most lomi users. If you're considering buying a lomi (or any other electric composter) and plan on donating your lomi soil, first find out if you really need it and understand exactly what you're actually getting. Don't make your rubbish someone else's problem.
Additionally, when you're ready to venture out of your Lomi country, you can find a drop-off point for your leftovers in your community (and save yourself the time and money for an electric composter).
Sell or donate Lomi Dirt
Possibly. But I'm skeptical about a big market for lomi dirt. I just searched "Lomi Dirt" and "Lomi Fertilizer" on Facebook Marketplace and couldn't find a single entry remotely resembling this one.
Don't look for deals on Facebook Marketplace for compost or mulch. That's not the same. I am not saying that lomi soil is impossible to sell or give away, but understand the lomi soil market in your area before assuming you will find a home for it.
Diploma
Before buying oneLomi electric composter, ask yourself what you intend to do with the output. If you don't have a good answer or I didn't consider your possible solution above, please reconsider if an electric composter is right for you. There's probably a better way to reduce food waste going to landfill. If we really get into the practical uses, I just don't think an electric composter is right for most people.
