Composting can seem like magic. It is a brilliant method of reducing food waste, saving money, and helping the planet. But, of course, the food waste put into your compost system doesn’t simply disappear. Rather, it is converted into a very valuable soil-like material that has countless household uses and community benefits. The exciting news is that you can make it at home.
The Lomi food recycler is a countertop appliance that transforms your food waste into nutrient-rich plant food in just a few hours. Created by a leading sustainability brand, its innovative technology reduces food waste volume by up to 80% and creates an immediately usable Lomi Earth with the push of a button. The microbially-rich Earth produced by Lomi is perfect to be added to potted plants and gardens, or even sprinkled on your lawn.
Feel free to skip ahead to your most burning question:
So, what actually is this magical Lomi Earth, and how can it be best used?
What is Lomi Earth?
Lomi transforms your food waste into a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer that is ready to use in your house plants or garden. At the end of each Lomi cycle you are met with a product that looks very different than how it started. What was once your leftover lasagna, banana peels, and expired cheese is now a product that looks, feels, and smells like potting soil or mulch. While other countertop food recyclers will output dehydrated food or overly concentrated sludge, Lomi produces a microbially-rich Earth that can aid plant growth. Note that Lomi Earth is not the same as “compost”, which has very specific qualities, including the amount of time it spent forming.
Of course, Lomi Earth is made up of what you put into each batch (plus the addition of microbes and fungi from LomiPods). That being said, there are plenty of tips and tricks for optimizing the Lomi end product for plants. Most importantly, we recommend a blend of fresh fruits and vegetables and using Grow mode to slow down the decomposition process.
How does Lomi work?
Lomi is a multi-step process within a small and powerful machine that mimics traditional composting, but is easier! Inside your Lomi, food is fragmented, heated, and degraded.
Lomi’s first stage is grinding. Smaller food pieces are easier to break down than larger chunks, since increased aeration and surface area make it easier for microorganisms to break down the waste. In a traditional setup, you would provide the same benefits by manually turning the compost regularly.
After this, Lomi lets nature do the work. A heating and cooling cycle creates an optimal environment to break down food. Different Lomi modes—Eco-Express, Grow, and Lomi Approved–all do this at varying speeds.
8 ways to use your Lomi Earth
Now that you’re familiar with what exactly Lomi Earth is, the big question remains: What should you do with it? There are plenty of creative and practical ways to put your Lomi end product to good use.
1. Enrich your home garden
Using Lomi Earth is a wonderful way to provide your plants with natural fertilizer. If you are growing a vegetable garden, nutrients from your food waste can be cycled right back to your kitchen! The benefits of garden composting are far reaching, including:
- Slowing nutrient-release in the soil by breaking down nutrients as the plants need them
- Improving soil structure by encouraging soil particles to clump together
- Introducing valuable organisms to the soil such as bacteria and fungi
- Adding nitrogen and sulfur to soil, which are essential for plant growth and often lacking in home gardens
How to add Lomi fertilizer to your garden: To evenly distribute nutrients in your garden, mix Lomi Earth with other soil in a 1:10 ratio before adding to your garden. You can add traditional compost to the garden at any time of year, but the best time to add Lomi Earth to soil is in the fall.
Lomi recipe for home gardens: Garden plants will thrive on fertilizer made of fresh fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, and coffee grounds. Avoid adding large amounts of meat to the mix. Make sure to follow the Grow guidelines for what can do into Lomi when adding the fertilizer to plants. Always use Grow mode to optimize the end product for plant growth and throw in a LomiPod to fortify your Lomi Earth with beneficial microbes.
2. Make your own plant food for houseplants
Did you know that using nutrient-rich fertilizer is more beneficial to indoor plants compared to outdoor? This is because indoor plants are less often exposed to nutrients from the natural environment. Being in a small pot, they have less nutrients to draw from. Some benefits of adding Lomi Earth to your houseplants are:
- Providing your plants with hard-to-find nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium
- Helping to retain moisture, allowing the plant to “sip” water when it needs it
- Eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers
- Helping the plant stand up straighter and grow faster
How to add Lomi Earth to your houseplants: It is important to mix your Lomi Earth with soil before adding it to your plants. This can be done by mixing the end product into store-bought potting soil. We recommend a 10:1 ratio of soil to Lomi Earth.
Lomi recipe for houseplants: Like for gardens, we always recommend a mix of fresh fruits and vegetables, egg shells, and coffee grounds. The healthier the food you put in, the healthier the Earth will be for your plants! Always use Grow mode when optimizing for plants, and don’t forget to add a LomiPod and 50ml of water to jumpstart the development of healthy microbial cultures.
3. Sprinkle it on your lawn
It’s the American dream: a detached home, white picket fence, and Lomi Earth to dust onto your large green yard. Lawns often suffer from yellowing and patchiness caused by dehydration and lack of nutrients. There are many benefits of adding Lomi Earth to your lawn, including:
- Naturally suppressing weed growth, saving you money on toxic weed killer
- Replenishing essential nutrients that deplete in soils each year
- Helping maintain moisture levels, decreasing the chance of dehydration and discoloration
- Decreasing patchiness by stimulating root growth and seed germination
How to add Lomi Earth to your lawn: Lomi fertilizer can be sprinkled on your lawn by spreading it out in handfuls across the area. Since Lomi Earth provides the nutrients that were used by the plants in the season before, it is best to apply the Lomi Earth in early weeks of spring or late fall, but it can be applied at any time.
Lomi recipe for your lawn: All plants relish the nutrients of fresh fruit and vegetable scraps, grass included. Eggshells and coffee grounds are also excellent additions. Limit the amount of processed and cooked foods being added. Use Grow mode and add a LomiPod for a happy lawn.
4. Share with your neighbors
While it may be an unusual “welcome to the neighborhood” gesture, many people are in search of fresh chemical-free fertilizer for their indoor and outdoor plants. If you don’t have plants of your own, check with your friends and neighbors to see if they are in need of plant food. It’s a great excuse to make some friends, even if you become known for ‘dishing out Earth’.
Pro tip: If you’re looking for the perfect gift for a gardener, try dressing up your Lomi Earth and giving it to a friend or family member. Gardeners could always use an extra dose of healthy natural fertilizer.
5. Bring it to a community garden
Many urban areas have amazing community garden programs. They often serve as important social spaces, providing safe and affordable fruits and vegetables to locals. Many community gardens rely on membership fees, grants, or donations to operate and would gladly welcome additional materials. If you don’t have plants yourself, reach out to a community garden and offer your homemade nutrient-rich Lomi Earth!
Lomi recipe for a community garden: Treat the community garden as if it were your own. That means limiting processed foods and adding a diverse mix of fruits and vegetables, egg shells, and coffee grounds to Lomi. Run the cycle on Grow mode, add a LomiPod, and the community will thank you!
6. Bring it to a local school
Lomi Earth may seem like a strange gift for the local children, but there are countless benefits of composting in schools. Many schools have created composting programs as an educational and environmental program. Those that don’t have composting programs may have gardens or plants. This way, your food waste can become a natural and educational resource.
Pro tip: If you have young children, send them to school with the Lomi Earth as a perfect science project or show-and-tell opportunity. It’s a great way to get kids involved in your food recycling process.
7. Sell or donate your Lomi Earth online
It may sound eccentric, but people in your community are likely in search of all-natural fertilizers for their plants and gardens, especially in the spring. Microbially-rich Lomi Earth made from food waste is an amazing selling point. Not to mention that your customer will know everything that went into the dirt they’re buying or receiving.
Pro tip: If you know of a garage sale happening nearby, offer up a few jars of your Lomi Earth to donate or sell. It’s a great environmental initiative and a fun conversation starter.
8. Throw it in the green bin
If none of the above options apply or appeal to you, you can always throw out your Lomi Earth in the green organics bin. This way, you have avoided the smell of rotting food in your house and negated the carbon footprint of putting food into the landfill.
Lomi recipe to throw away the Lomi Earth : If your Lomi Earth is going into the green bin, all Lomi approved food and compostable items can be put in! This includes meat, dairy, plate scrapings, grains, Lomi Approved bioplastics, and more.
The best way to use Lomi Earth
Lomi is designed to fit your lifestyle and habits. If you are an avid gardener, mix Lomi Earth into your soil. If houseplants are your love language, add some to the pot to encourage growth. If plants just aren’t your thing, donate the Earth or throw it in the green bin. The best way to use Lomi Earth is however it is most convenient for you.
If you’re wondering if the Lomi Earth really does benefit your house plants, garden, and lawn, check out the 2500+ 5 star reviews. The act of turning household waste into a valuable product with Lomi is a fulfilling habit that minimizes your carbon footprint while avoiding a composting hassle. And as you can see, there’s a great demand for Soil food!
Written by: Cassia Attard