Apartment composting
Hey there, Metroblogging readers. Have I told you lately how much I like you, and how nice your hair looks? No? Funny, I’m sure I meant to.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I need your good advice and expertise. See, I’m thinking about starting some balcony composting. If I had a yard, the city of Seattle would sell me a compost cone cheap, and deliver it to my house too [.gov], but I don’t have a yard. Or a car. So what’s the easiest way for a girl to go about getting this started? Surely at least one of you has already given this a shot and can give me a little hint, right?
So far the only idea I have is to trek out to a garden supply store and then take a cab back home, which I’m more than willing to do but which seems less than efficient. And why doesn’t the city want to make it as easy for apartment-dwellers to do a little composting as it is for home owners? One would think that, with so many people living in apartments and condos, helping would be a good idea.
Samantha,
I’ve been looking into this: http://www.compostumbler.com. They have a back porch version.
-Patricia Jane
Well, free-standing composters are more expensive than in-ground ones, which is probably why the city only does the cones. Costco had a nice above-ground compost box when I was there last weekend that was relatively inexpensive.
There’s always ordering online, although that’ll probably run you $100-200 without shipping. I’ve been crushing on this one lately, but this page has possibly every composter known to mankind.
You should check out One-Change for their tips on indoor composting
Maintaining my long standing tradition of bursting balloons…
Do you generate enough green waste to compost? I think you need some minimum amount of organic matter to effectively turn a pile of leaves into soil.
Last I heard, the reason the city does not support composting for apartment dwellers is that the return isn’t high enough. There just isn’t enough clean green generated.
Or are you talking about a worm bin for food waste?
And what are you going to do with the soil you generate?
Young lady, have you really thought this through? ;)
Jim makes some good points. However, as an apartment dweller myself, I’d like to see the city publish an official stance on the issue. Like Samantha indicated, with all of the condos/apartments in Seattle (and many more to come) there should be a clearinghouse for information directed specifically for them. For once, maybe a government body can get ahead of the curve?
Jeez, Jim, always raining on my parade.
No, I’m looking to compost food scraps and suchlike, which can be supplemented with newspaper and cardboard. And the soil is for my plants, which could really use it. Also, phase two of my plan is to start using a little of my balcony space for some amount of tomatoes and herbs. I’ve got a pretty big balcony, and aside from the occasional barbeque it doesn’t get used very often.
Also, Ryan: I’ve sent them an email about it, so we’ll see if anyone answers me.
If my experience getting composting started for the community garden in my condo is any indicator, you’ll be much happier with a worm bin. The recommended carbon:nitrogen ratio is 2:1 — I ended up going to Sawdust Supply and buying a bunch of alder sawdust, because we were just not able to produce enough browns to balance out all the greens people were putting into the bin.
Worm castings are even nicer than compost for plants, so I’d encourage you to go that way.
I’m an apartment dweller in West Seattle, and I compost! I took a FREE class on it from Seattle Tilth called Composting for Apartment Dwellers. They taught us how to make these bins that are about the size of a laundry basket using parts from your local hardware store. They put the plans online here: http://www.seattletilth.org/resources/articles/otsbinplans
I put mine on my daughter’s deck. She loves checking on the worms, burying the food and digging out the castings for plants.
The worm population in the bin tends to rise and fall based on its food supply, but if you find you’re running out of compostable material, you could always put a bin up at work for food scraps and take it home in the evening!
If you have any questions, Seattle Tilth also has professional organic gardeners standing by to answer your questions! Just call them at 206-633-0224 - they’re nice (my second favorite people after librarians ;))
Good Luck!
Seattle Tilth does good work, and I never remember them. They have an annual fair with workshops or something, I think.
From what I’ve heard from people who do this, worms are better for what you want, and there can be smell issues. But I’m sure Seattle Tilth has this worked out.
Couldn’t you just get a 5-Gallon bucket and drill some holes in it? And get a garden trowel to stir it up with?
My partner and I made a worm bin out of 2 rubbermaid bins - drill holes in the bottom & top of 1 and then place inside the other - as worm bins yield liquid that needs a place to drain or else the worms will drown :( the liquid is also a good nutrient source for your soil, the marketers call it “worm tea.”