Glossary

Kitchen and garden waste turns into crumbly, nutrient-rich soil within one or two years.

Carbon to nitrogen: the right mix decides whether compost rots, goes foul or just sits there.

One bin is filled, one rests, one is emptied – every year everything moves on one step.

Leaves and fine twigs: carbon-rich material for compost, mulch and the compost toilet.

A toilet without water: biochar and litter bind smells, after two years of decay it becomes humus.

Wood charred without air: porous, long-lasting and a sponge for water, nutrients and smells.

A cone-shaped fire that burns from the top: the flames shield the embers below from oxygen – that is how biochar is made.

Cutting trees back regularly instead of felling them: firewood, tool handles, fodder leaves – and the tree sprouts again.

A roofed cooking place in the garden: canning and processing right next to the harvest.

A room under an earth mound: cool, moist and dark – apples and roots keep for months.

Water out, shelf life in: drying apple rings, herbs and beans in air and sun.