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Composting

042308_compost.jpgDid anyone see Oprah yesterday and her Earth Day Special? We happened to catch a moment where Julia Roberts was fluffing the compost.

Composting is something we can totally get behind. Gramma always had a compost pile to help feed her enormous garden and she was strict about what went into it. Now that we have a small garden we've been thinking about adding a compost pile to help reduce the amount of food scraps that go to the landfill and to motivate us to spend more time outside. We're considering Vermi Composting with Can O Workms Household Composting System which we could also keep inside since the worms help control the odor and the box itself is pretty compact.

There's also a composting workshop happening this weekend at the Griffith Park Composting Center where you can also pick up some free compost.

Do you already compost? Do you have a small space solution or composting system that works in an apartment?

[All the Oprah info right here, image from dkhlucy flickr site]

Related Reads:
Lazy Man's Guide to Compost
Edible Indoor Miniature Garden

Comments (11)

I have two worm bins. Love them. I'm also fortunate that our scavenger company takes all green matter including dairy and meat products as well as cans, paper, and some plastics.

posted by ebrown on 2008-04-23 17:49:45
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I have a tupperware bin for compost in my tiny backyard. I just drilled many many holes into the top and sides. It works really well, and plenty of worms have found their way in. I just turn it with a hoe every couple of weeks. Very cheap and very easy.

posted by yellow studio on 2008-04-23 17:57:57
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What's on the plate in the right-hand picture? Pasta?

posted by Erika in Seattle on 2008-04-23 18:07:38
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yellow studio: how big is your bin? I went to a seminar lately and was saddened to find out that the recommended size is 1 cubic meter. Too big!!!

posted by spossberg on 2008-04-23 18:12:09
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yellowstudio, do you have pictures of your bin?

Erika, I wish I knew, but pasta is as good a guess as any!

posted by laure on 2008-04-23 19:53:19
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I just measured it. It is about 15" high, 22" long, 16" across. It's a standard big tub-shaped thing.

To start it off I put a lot of shredded newspaper and dried leaves in it, and slowly started adding the foodscraps. I also make sure to add some dried leafy things to the pile if it smells a little or if it is too wet.

I did recently add another bin, so I can rotate and let one "finish" while I add scraps to the other. I stack them and it takes up very little space. I have found it takes 6-8 months for the compost to be totally completed.

Give it a try, and if it doesn't work you can look for a small-scale manufactured composter or get a worm bin. Good luck!

posted by yellow studio on 2008-04-23 20:50:53
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i recently bought one of these -

http://www.envirocyclesystems.com/US/info.html

it is not "small" but very self-contained, and makes turning the compost super easy. plus there should be some "compost tea" after a while.

i noticed the post said the worm composter should reduce odor. but you should keep in mind compost shouldn't stink. actually, if it stinks you might need to add more brown stuff (dead leaves or grass, for instance).

posted by gypsumsatellite on 2008-04-23 23:18:12
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Laure, great post on composting. I always love talk of gardening and environmental sustainability. We compost at my community garden and have a worm bin at my work and the result is great, a bit larger scale than your working with. Here is a link to the site (with a really bad pic of me working in the manure pile)...http://www.oceanviewfarms.net/compost.html

Many local Cities also give away comnpost bins and some even have free compost days.

posted by fmktjod on 2008-04-24 00:26:15
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I have a worm compost in my coat closet. It's made out of a rubbermaid bin... aprx 40 litres (24" x 16" x 9"). It's big enough for my wormies to live off the food scraps of two people. It doesn't smell at all and I harvest the castings by adding fresh food and newspaper to one side. The worms go to the food and you can scoop out what they leave behind... but watch out for slowpokes! A google search will lead you to many great resources to get you started.

posted by wendy-rae on 2008-04-24 00:37:40
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Man I had a worm bin and it became a breeding ground for fruit flies. I was definitely doing something wrong! Then I spent so much time lamenting and trying to trap the empire of fruit flies.......yikes! Those were bad times.

posted by juliaonhamilton on 2008-05-01 11:14:47
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for apartment dwellers with little or no outdoor space---Nature Mill indoor automatic composter all the way!

http://naturemill.com

I got one a few months ago. Granted they are a bit pricey. But you only have to buy it once and you'll love it and use it forever. Now my trash is not nearly as heavy when i got to take it to the dumpster. And all that compost I just add to the "yard waste only" dumpster and it gets trucked along with people's yard clippings to the city compost heap.

posted by flyinglimegreen on 2008-05-25 12:28:48
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