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Here's Leah's question:
Growing up, my family always saved and composted our food scraps. But, everywhere I've lived since I left home, there's been no easy way to do this. I hate putting everything in the trash. So, when I discovered the NatureMill composter (pictured - $299) a few months ago, it seemed like the perfect solution.
What's stopping me from buying one and composting my heart out? Ironically, the compost. My husband and I live in a small condo, and have no yard of our own. The first batch could probably be spread out over our houseplants. But, after that, I'm afraid we'd quickly be overrun.
Is there anyone else who is already composting without a yard? Is there a creative solution to this problem? How can I find someone to give my compost a home?
Start composting! We have some ideas ...
First off we must admit, because Berkeley has such an awesome food scrap recycling program, we don't do our own composting in our apartment. If we did, we'd probably have a similar problem.
Here are some ideas that quickly come to mind:
1) Neighbors. Obviously fellow condo-dwellers will turn you down. But if there are any homes with yards in the neighborhood, we'd suggest checking to see if anyone could use free compost.
2) Craigslist. You could put an ad up for free compost -- although this solution might prove to be a bit too labor intensive.
3) What about guerrilla composting? Is there a pathetic-looking plot of struggling plants in a local park? Could they use a little TLC?
We're guessing that there are some readers out there with similar composting issues who can weigh in with some superior solutions? Lay 'em on us ...
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A post after my own heart!
I own the above Naturemill and have had it going for maybe under a month now. I live in a co-op in NYC, with no terrace to call my own and the tiny garden out front of our building is fiercely guarded by the building facility and definitely off-limits to me. Even just getting to soil to start up the machine was a challenge because frankly there isn't that much immediate nature around where I live!
I yearned to compost because when I wasn't a city-dweller I loved how all of my kitchen scraps could be transformed into something useful. I eat and cook lots of veggies so there's always lots of refuse to throw out. I love how with this tiny amount of composting I'm not contributing to to waste stream items that are perfectly suited to re-invigorating the environment, rather than detracting from it!
My friends ask me what am I going to do with said compost and I'm not entirely sure yet! I have a small amount of house plants sure, but after than I don't know. I'm hoping to meet maybe some other people in my building who are plant enthusiasts, and give away some to the few friends of mine who like plants as well. I shop at the Union Square farmer's market on occasion so I could bring a bag or two with me when I go. Lastly I might engage in "guerilla" fertilizing, dropping a bit of compost on a lagging tree or bush on my street when I'm casually walking around.
Composting in an apartment is the new "cat lady"! Enjoy the craziness!
I don't compost at home because of the same reason (no idea where I'd put the compost). I also live in a small studio and have no idea where I would put a composter. I save my veggie scraps in bags in the freezer and then take them to the green market at Union Square where the LESEC accepts scraps for compost. I wish there were someplace closer to me to do this, but despite having a large park with a nature center and a community garden nearby, there is no local composting.
I also live in New York and have been wanting to start composting. My question is--do you have to buy a machine like the one above to compost in apartment or is there another way to do it...the system just seems a little pricey
We live in an apartment and although we can grow plants around it, we just don't have space for a composter. Can't afford one of those systems like the Nature Mill either, so my question is: has anybody tried vermi-composting? Martha Stewart showed how to do it months ago on TV and looks easy, doesn't stink and doesn't take too much room (she even suggested it was ideal for apartment dwellers because you can do it under the kitchen sink, for example). Just wanted to know if somebody here recommends it. Here's the link from MS's website: http://tinyurl.com/5aq2wr
I experimented with vermicomposting, but then all my worms died and I'm not sure why. After talking to some other vermicomposters, I think I may have been keeping it too dry for them. I'm hesitant to buy more worms because I've sinse moved to a place with a west-facing balcony, which is the best place for me to keep the bins, and I'm afraid it'll cook my worms. But I may be able to clear a space in my utility closit... we'll see.
I did have some problems with fruit flies though. Not sure what the best way to control them would be... a really fine-mesh lid? Better burying? Sprinkling sand on a surface is supposed to deter them from reproducing, and it wouldn't be a terrible thing to add to the compost, but I'm not sure how much or how often you'd have to apply it, given that you're burying stuff in there every day or every other day.
If I try it again I may end up splurging on one of those tower-type worm bins. The big Rubbermaids were just kind of a pain for me to move. I could lift them, I just generally avoided it, which made me not really check on my worms as I probably should have, and I might have noticed some of the culture problems which led to the worms' disappearance. (I never found the bodies...)
The big thing that turns me off about the naturemill is that it's electric. OK, so it wouldn't involve cruelty to worms, but it's somewhat less green. Bokashi weirds me out a little. If I had a place to bury it I'd be more willing to try it, but I do all my gardening in containers. I'm not sure how big a bin I'd need to let it break down.
I would really suggest one of the "worm towers"- though do be warned, they are hard to move once full. (uhh, and one tipped over in my mom's car...that was *fun* and killed the worms...). Next time- or once I convince them to let me have composting again!-I'll probably put it on something with wheels so I can actually move it.
$300 for a compost bin is a bit excessive.
Step by step instructions to make an apt. worm bin (for about $20) can be found here:
http://www.nyccompost.org/how/wormbin.html