I have been desiring for awhile now to get starting on composting at our house, not only for the wonderful benefits it will serve in our container garden, but also because it is such a great way of letting nothing go to waste. I hate letting all those peelings and scraps go down the disposal. Why not put it to more profitable use? My Grandma claims that using compost in her garden is what produces abundant tomatoes! That is my goal as I grow in my gardening skills. I just love the idea of composting- everything is used again to create new produce!
My dilemma is my living situation, and that is where your help is needed. We currently live in a small condo (and it will remain that way for a few more years). We really don’t have room in our garage or deck for any large composting bin, so I am looking for a smaller alternative, maybe something under the sink or such.
I would love to hear from those who have accomplished small composting in apartments or condos!
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August 27th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Have you looked into Red Worms? They are kind of fun. They eat your “garbage” (not all garbage, just kitchen scraps) - and they leave behind one of the most nutrient rich compost or “castings”.
I got a free book from our county sanitarian called “worms eat my garbage” and it was an extremely informative book. I even got some free worms from them! (they sell online for about $25 / pound)
You can check with your county sanitarian to see if they have any such programs in your area.
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August 28th, 2008 at 1:29 am
I don’t know how you could apply this but, I have my boys dig our scraps into the garden every morning between the rows. By the time they get around to the same spot-they’re gone except the egg shells, they take a bit longer.
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I was going to mention worms, too! LOL! However, there is a nifty thing called a “Can-o-worms”. Google it. I believe Territorial Seeds may carry it, too. It is a nice small worm bin that you can even keep in your kitchen. I was going to use one of those, but now we have our chickens to eat our garbage and provide manure.
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:19 am
Worm composting is awesome. If you know any horse farms around they should have tonnes in their manure pile to start with. That way you won’t have to buy them. Here is a great site.
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/
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August 28th, 2008 at 6:54 am
can’t wait to read more about this!
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August 28th, 2008 at 7:07 am
In addition to worm composting, there’s another kind that I read about when researching what I wanted to do (I finally decided since we have outside space, I wanted the old fashion kind that I don’t have to do much with LOL) I think it originated in Japan, and it involves laying the food scraps w/ layers of a special grain mixture but it can be done in the kitchen & decomposes very quickly, if I remember what it’s called I’ll let you know LOL. AND in looking for that (unsuccessfully) I came across this article that gives a couple low cost, low space options: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf000554.tip.html
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August 28th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Ah-ha found what I was looking for. Bokashi composting http://www.biome.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=105
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August 28th, 2008 at 8:05 am
One day I was watching Martha Stewart (one of the few times I was watching) and she was showing how to make an under the sink compost bin. I have not tried it but I have been wanting too. I found the link for you and it is here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/vermi-composting-?autonomy_kw=compost%20bin&rsc=header_3
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August 28th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I have been wondering about this too…. I am looking forward to reading everyone’s thoughts…
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August 28th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Worms! My mom composts with a worm bin and says it makes awesome compost. She says she is amazed at how much the worms can handle. You should be able to easily make a bin for under the sink. I might try it myself for fun.
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August 29th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Haha! My first thought when I read your post was worms also. If you look around online there is TONS of info. I don’t do worms yet but we have it in the plans. You can do it in just a large rubbermaid tote. Very easy. I know tons of people have had luck with it.
God luck!!
Heather
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September 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Hi Lindsay - Definitely use worms! They’re amazing. We’ve had really good experiences with them. The only thing I didn’t see anyone mention is that you should avoid giving them onions & garlic (or things in that family, like leeks or scallions), and citrus. The worms will try to escape the toxins and will start climbing up over the sides of the bin to escape. If they do this, it means the soil is contaminated, and you should dump the soil and put new soil in, which is a pain because you have to get all your wormies out first! If you decide to compost inside without worms, and it starts to smell and collect fruit flies, you can balance the soil by adding sawdust.
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September 4th, 2008 at 11:24 am
P.S. You need a specific kind of worms - called red worms. Shop around, because you’ll find better prices some places than others. Also, you may have good luck shopping for red worms on craigslist, since there are a lot of people into vermicompost these days.
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Nikki replied on September 27th, 2008:
Instead of keeping these containers in your house, is it possible to keep them outside? Does anyone know if the cold temperatures during the winter months would harm/kill the worms?
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