Compost Scoop

Many people living an apartment believe it is not possible to compost in a “tiny” home. Composting in an apartment is not as difficult as you might think. The process is the same and there are options just like a house with a yard. I’ve already covered a few of the apartment composting options. Now I will focus a little on Apartment Composting With Worms! Anyone can do it – Really! Just like everything else in life, a little planning will make the process as smooth as possible.

1. Figure out where you can put your worm bin. A few good places include a balcony (when it is warm), under a kitchen or bathroom sink, or in a closet. If you have some crafty expertise, you could even build a functional coffee table to hold your bins. Go ahead, get creative!
2. Measure the spot and locate a plastic bin that will fit. I personally think a plastic bin is best for indoors. When I use plastic, I always buy two bins. The second bin makes a perfect-fitting tray to catch any potential drainage.
3. Punch holes in the bottom and side of ONE bin. Punch a few holes in the lid too. I prefer to have many tiny holes in place of a few larger holes. The last bin I made has hundreds of 1/32 inch holes all over it.
4. Shred newspaper, cardboard, or find some dried leaves and place your bedding in the worm bin
5. Find a handful of sand or dirt and toss it in the bin. Your worms needs something like sand to help break down food.
6. Chop up some worm food (aka veggies, coffee, tea, pasta, etc) and place it under the bedding.
   

   Note that I did not say at the bottom of the bedding — I said under the the bedding. It is important that you keep any food buried in the bedding. This reduces the chance of flies and any smell.

7. Let your bin sit for a couple of days.
8. Add your worms and let the settle in for a couple of days.
9. Check your worms regularly (every couple of days is good, but you can go for a couple of weeks if necessary)

This was a short version of the Worm Composting – Getting Started information on WormScoop.

Worm bins do not smell if set up correctly. There are a few key items to keep in mind.

Is there enough oxygen in your worm bin? A lack of oxygen will make your worm bin smell.

Did you add to much food to your worm bin? If you have uncovered food, or too much food your bin may smell. I try to keep the food rotated in the bin. Ad food to one side at a time and add it consistently rather than all at once. If you are handy with a knife, or don’t mind “wasting” electricity chop the food up as fine as you can.

Is your worm bin too wet? Too much moisture can be a problem. If your worm bin looks wet then it probably is. A healthy worm bin should be damp — not soaking wet.

Is there some bad food in there? I remember once time a stray piece of chicken sneaked into my worm bin. I could see worms crawling out and it smelled really bad. Get the foreign food object out of your bin and your worms will snap right back.

Is your worm bin too hot? If you bin is outside and it is hot, then your worms may be hot too. Make sure it is not in direct sunlight (especially in Arizona!).

OK, so I have a problem.  What do I do now? Here are my standard steps to heal a smelly worm bin:

1. I always stop feeding the worms if there is a problem.
2. Check to see if there is too much food. If there is a lot of food in there, take some out. If you really can’t throw it in the trash, place it in the freezer. But keep in mind. You may be generating too much food for your bin if your worms are not keeping up. You may need to let your worms increase or find a second bin.
3. Make sure the whole bin is covered with bedding. Sometimes I’ll place one or two sheets of newspaper over the top to make sure the whole area is covered.
4. Don’t add any more water.
5. Step away from the bin…and give it time to come back. Check the bin for a few days to make sure the smell is gone or going away. Then let your bin sit for a good week or two. If you really must feed your worms feed them small amounts of coffee, tea, or cornmeal for a little while.

If you are still having problems, tell us about them. We’ll try to help. If you want to learn a whole lot more about worms, check out Worm Farming Secrets. Worm Farming Secrets will take your worm bin to the next level

Author: Steve Cownley

To Compost or Not to Compost

Well, there’s no doubt about it, composting is a good practice that any self-respected gardener should learn to do. But the question really is what materials we could make into a compost and which ones we cannot. We have been told that composting can be done with any organic material. Well, in theory that may be true, however, in real life it may not be always so.

There are a several organic materials that should not be included in the compost pile unless you know how to do it properly while there are other materials that should not even be attempted even by the experts. To compost or not to compost, that is indeed the question. And let’s see if we can provide the answers. (more…)

Author: Ellen Bell

Have you heard of composting, but just aren\’t sure what it means? Not sure why how compost can benefit you? If you haven\’t started composting at home yet, now is the time! Home composting is more than just a growing trend among gardeners, it\’s a great way to recycle your kitchen scraps and yard refuse into something you can use-compost!

So what is compost and why is it so beneficial? Compost is a fresh black material similar in appearance and texture to potting soil. It is produced naturally when organic material breaks down and decays (a process also known as composting). The resulting compost is rich in nutrients that plants love, making it one of the best types of fertilizer you can use. Compost, also known as black gold, can be tilled into the soil before trees, shrubs, or other plants are planted. It can also be applied to the soil around existing plants. Compost will help plants grow bigger, faster, and stronger than you ever thought possible. (more…)

Author: Douglas Hill

I hope you found my last article on composting informative but there were a few things I didn’t go through last time that I would like to touch base on now. You found out last time that there are basic needs that you need to give for a compost to be productive. Those basic needs are air, food, and water. Now that we have the basics down, and we know how to properly deliver these basics I will now get a little more in depth into what you should and shouldn’t put into your compost.

Let’s start off with what you shouldn’t put in your compost bin. This is an area I really could have used some more knowledge in my first time using a fresh batch of compost in my garden. (more…)

Author: Ellen Bell

If you have recently purchased a compost tumbler bin, let me be the first to say congratulations! You’ve just taken the first step toward aerobic composting. What is aerobic composting, you ask, and why is it so great? In this article, we’ll explain how aerobic composting works and what you need to do to get started.

There are two main types of composting, aerobic and anaerobic. Anaerobic composting basically consists of piling up a bunch of organic materials, then letting them sit and rot. Pretty gross, huh? Well truthfully, yes, it is. Anaerobic bacteria are slow and inefficient, which means that your compost pile will have to sit there for at least a year, maybe longer, before the materials at the very bottom are fully composted. Second of all, microbes that do the decaying in anaerobic composting produce methane and sulfate gasses as a byproduct, something which we humans find very offensive. If you’ve always thought of composting as a smelly and gross process, now is the time to make an important clarification: it’s anaerobic composting that’s a smelly and gross process. (more…)

Author: Ellen Bell

One of the biggest complaints people have about composting is that it smells. And in some cases, this is true. When organic materials are heaped up in a pile and left to sit, they essentially rot, and we all know that rotting food and plants are going to smell. But did you know that composting doesn’t have to stink? It’s true! In this article we’ll explain the 3 simple steps that anyone can follow to go from smelly to odor free composting.

The first step in odorless composting is to understand the two basic methods of composting: aerobic and anaerobic. As the name would suggest, aerobic composting requires air, specifically oxygen, to be successful. Anaerobic composting, on the other hand, is what occurs when the compost isn’t exposed to the air.

(more…)