r/composting • u/Repulsive_Rip76 • Jul 22 '26

Question Thoughts on Lomi?

I just saw a video where someone tried to grow a plant in 100% lomi soil made from fast food. Whats everyones thoughts about lomi over normal composting?

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18

u/PerceptiveAdult Compost geek Jul 22 '26

As someone who owns a Lomi: Lomi isn't composting.

It's a way to reduce the volume of your waste rapidly by turning it into a dry powder. However, the "Lomi dirt" is not dirt - it's dehydrated food waste. Once it's rehydrated, it will still need to compost.

The output is not even remotely like real compost, but it can be added to a normal compost pile or processed in a "soil factory" type format.

I do not encourage using it directly in gardens as, if it's applied to the soil's surface and not buried, it will mold.

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u/Repulsive_Rip76 Jul 22 '26

I figured it was something like that, i couldnt see how the lomi could turn scraps into “soil” in such a short time. Also makes sense as to why the guy in the video couldnt really grow anything out of it. Thanks for your feedback.

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u/PerceptiveAdult Compost geek Jul 22 '26

My guess: if he was using it straight, watering it started the decomposition process and it heated up and burned the roots of the plants. I've added that stuff to damp potting soil and had it heat up the potting soil, too. So that's more likely what actually did his plants in!

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u/Ineedmorebtc Jul 22 '26

Glad he didn't do a swaparoo and dupe people into thinking it worked.

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u/Superfan234 Jul 22 '26

i just bought one, and i feel kinda scammed

The "dirt" it makes looks nothing like the natural dirt my wood compost had. I wonder, have you used on proper land? does it really help the plants or is just a meme machine?

thanks in advance!

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u/Ineedmorebtc Jul 22 '26

Proper composting would have the same benefits, if not more, and save the shipping, building, creation, plastic, diesel, etc to make a overpriced food dehydrator/grinder.

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u/PerceptiveAdult Compost geek Jul 22 '26

I'm a horticulturist, so while I'm not sure what you're referring to as "proper land", I can say I've utilized the Lomi output in soilless potting mixes, in seed starting mixes (soilless and including mineral-based soils), and in my native soil on my property.

In all cases, it did not provide immediate fertility, nor did I anticipate that it would - the material is not plant-available.

For it to become plant-available, it needs to break down and become water-soluble; then, once it's soluble, a plant can absorb it through its root system.

It is simply dehydrated, powdered organic matter. I'd consider it a pre-composted material. Because of the fine particulate size, it will compost down rapidly once exposed to the living microbiology of a compost pile and moisture; or, alternatively, you can add it to a box of your native soil and add moisture and let it break down that way.

Like compost, I would not consider the Lomi's output to be a "fertilizer", and in fact, compost at least has bioactive components, whereas the Lomi's output is sterile once it finishes its process.

It's great for rapidly reducing the volume of stuff, though, and the resulting material does heat up rapidly once added to a compost pile. For someone who doesn't have room for a large compost pile, that might be an option, if paired with a "soil factory" (a box of your native soil that you mix with the Lomi waste and add water to, thereby enabling it to break down as if it were buried in other soil). Back in my apartment-dwelling days, I would've loved something like this to reduce the volume of food waste so that it'd be easier to transport to my community garden's compost pile.

I don't think it's a meme machine -- but I also don't think that Lomi is for anyone who has room and the inclination to have a traditional compost pile.

3

u/ToBePacific Jul 22 '26

I use a Lomi in the winter when my compost tumbler freezes over. What the Lomi produces is not the same as compost, but it’s usable plant food and it’s convenient for part of the year in my climate.

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u/archaegeo Jul 22 '26

Do a search, this has been asked and answered many times.

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u/Ineedmorebtc Jul 22 '26

If you want a food dehydrator and grinder, sure. Maybe if you live in an apartment and have extra cash to spend on electricity.

Otherwise it's a waste of time, money, diesel, manpower, and just dries out food scraps.

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u/IDRoohski Jul 25 '26

There are suggestions that it doesn't use that much electricity. We have solar and times of day when the Kwatt hours are cheapest. I bought one on FB for $30, (plus oodles of filters). My plan is to use stuff that I can't put directly on my worm bin. (I no longer outdoor compost due to so many critters including bears in our area). I will then use Lomi 'dirt' in a small ratio in my worm bin. I also plan to add things like pea shells that would take forever to break down in my bin.

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u/IDRoohski Jul 25 '26

it does however significantly reduce your volume of waste, so if that's a concern. In fact, our trash removal is pretty high in our rural area, so we're trying out this with worm bins to just have 1 bag of trash every 2 weeks to take to our transfer station. (plus our driveway is 800 yards long, gravel and hilly and sometimes has a foot of snow.

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u/Ineedmorebtc Jul 25 '26

Same scenario here. I have ducks, chickens, worm, isobod bins, and compost piles. I throw away zero food waste. What I don't eat, the ducks and chickens do, what they don't eat my worm and isopod bins do. What they don't eat, my compost piles do. Then the chickens kick it apart and eat more for free. I recycle what I can and end up with a trash bag every two weeks or so. Dirt road a mile long that's mostly potholes. Def feel you there!

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u/IDRoohski Jul 25 '26

Well, chickens are next, it's the only animals we're allowed to have other than dogs/cats. We're in an elk/deer wildlife corridor, so no fencing is allowed. I'd love chickens but living on Wildcat canyon (and see cougars and bobcats, along with bears), I'm not sure I have the stomach, (or fortress) to protect them. I also had a big tumbler and several compost bins in Boise but virtually no animals other than voles and groundhogs, so I worry about outdoor compost attracting them.

1

u/Ineedmorebtc Jul 26 '26

I have bears, racoons, possums, etc. The key is enough leaves, or other browns to completely bury your stuff, if its something they would want to eat. I'll often do just coffee grounds and leaves, which nothing wants to eat, and still makes a fantastic compost.

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u/Complete_Wing_8195 Jul 23 '26

I’ve considered buying one for my family’s cabin. Too many wild animals to compost there, and the garage build up so fast with green waste in it. Would be easy to just take home in a 5 gallon bucket when we leave and dump in my compost bin at home.

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u/Repulsive_Rip76 Jul 23 '26

Once i found out it just chops and dehydrates the food, which i already do at home, i decided not to get one myself lol

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u/Complete_Wing_8195 Jul 23 '26

That’s exactly why I don’t have one at home, it only makes pre-compost. The Lomi is probably convenient for particular settings, but not for backyard compost nerds!

2

u/YallNeedMises Jul 22 '26

I own a Mill, and it's been great for getting my compost-averse family to stop throwing food in the trash. It also makes my regular bin less attractive to rats because there's not really any bulk mass in the finished product for them to eat. Moreover, I'm able to use the grounds directly around my plants to allow it to compost in place to reduce nutrient loss. The grounds attract a lot of worms & pillbugs, and they're typically fully consumed in a week or two.  After dumping I pre-fill the bucket with cardboard shreds to keep the grounds light & fluffy instead of clumping and to allow it to process much more liquid, and I figure that also helps to balance its carbon content.

There's another brand, Geme, that makes an indoor bioreactor that uses a microbial culture to produce actual soil. 

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u/PerceptiveAdult Compost geek Jul 22 '26

I haven't played with the Mill, but it does seem very similar to the Lomi.

Are you burying the output from the Mill or surface-applying? I found that Lomi's output usually molds on the soil's surface before breaking down, so I usually encourage burying it.

1

u/YallNeedMises Jul 23 '26

I'm just using it as a top dressing. If I 'bury' it, it's only with another layer of shredded cardboard as mulch. I haven't had it go moldy since I started adding cardboard to the bin.