apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have the little green one and it works great! It's got a charcoal filter on the top. Although mine was much cheaper than that. Unfortunately I don't remember where I got it.

I have the red one, and it's great! This solution isn't failsafe against fruit flies, however. I recommend buying Biobags to use with the little bin (I buy mine from Gardener's Supply), which work like plastic but are 100 percent cornstarch -- then the whole things goes right out and into the bin in the yard!

I have a stainless steel one from Lee Valley, though it's not exactly like the one shown. It doesn't haven't a filter component. I like it. Though it does — like all other stainless surfaces — tend to get finger prints on it as we use it. Also, we use those bags that can be composted to line the bin, so we can see the bag folded over the top of it all the time. Really not that attractive. The plastic one provided by the City was a bit too big for our space though, so that's why we got it. If I had the room under there, I'd still keep it under my sink.

I have a question for the AT community... I could probably ask Google, but that's wayyyyy too much effort. ;) I grew up composting with a big backyard; we would keep scraps in the kitchen until our bucket was full, then take them out to the compost heap, etc. I know how to compost that way perfectly well and really miss doing it as I was taught not to throw away kitchen scraps. Now I live in a third floor apartment. I have quite a substantial balcony garden (99.9% geraniums I'm afraid!) and quite a few indoor plants that I'm sure would benefit from some nice rich dirt, and I'd like to recycle the waste... but, how do I do it without a pile of dirt in the backyard? Is there an apartment-dweller friendly solution? I could keep a relatively large bucket/box of dirt out on our balcony, but it would need to be attractive (i.e., not going to piss off our neighbors), portable, easy to clean, and not expensive. I don't want to DIY this, I have too many projects already. What are my options? Thanks!

Oh, those fruit flies are driving me crazy. I tried a bio-safe all natural solution that cost about 15 bucks a quart - nuthin. I tried cutting up flypaper, sticking them on wooden skewers, and putting them in my planters. Do you know how hard it is cutting up that sticky paper? And gross, even when there aren't any flies on it. I have bottles of vinegar and soap all over the place. I'm really having a hard time convincing myself not to give in and buy a can of Raid. I realize that the ones that dig into your plants are actually fungus gnats, but why would getting rid of them be any different than fruit flies? Waiting for the cold weather to kill them off probably won't happen here in California.

The nice volunteers came around our building a few weeks ago and gave all us residents a green plastic composting bin and some of those bio bags - FREE.

OK, it's not the prettiest thing in the world - but who cares, it lives with the recycling bag in the cabinet under the kitchen sink anyway.

marie516 --

If you want your own urban composting system, sounds like you need to look into those earthworm compost farms or one of those electric composters.

we have the green one, too. while i wouldn't call it "stylish," i will say it is great with odors! we keep it under the sink with the recyclables as well.

Thanks for that info 'bepsf' I know this goes in effect next week for all SF city dwellers. Good to know volunteers are going around distributing the needed bins.

I avoid the fruit fly problem by putting all compostables in a flip-top plastic container and then into the freezer. It's worth using up some of our precious freezer space to keep the smell and fruit flies down.

We live in an apartment with no composting, so when the bucket is full I take it over to a friend's place where I help garden. Community gardens often have composts that they will allow you 'contribute' to, but check their rules as some allow only garden waste and no food waste (to prevent attracting rodents).

I just take the bowl and walk the 20 yards from the kitchen to the compost twice a day. Good for the body and mind AND I don't have to buy any of those ugly things.

You mean my empty milk carton isn't stylish?

marie516 - here are a bunch of apartment compost things, including some for doing the actual composting: http://astore.amazon.com/smart-apartment-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=16

Marie516,
here is an article from NYtimes about urban composting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/garden/19worms.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1

marie516, have you looked into vermicomposting?

My friend, who is an avid worm composter (how often do you see that phrase!?) just puts all her scraps into her blender. When it's full, she blends it up and dumps it in with the worms.

@ shantiquax: My Mom put small carnivorous plants (think venus fly trap) in the kitchen and she hasn't had any fruit flies since. They're easy to care for, look pretty, and they get rid of the insects. She actually got them at Lowes for less than 10$ a plant. It's a much better solution than pesticides in the kitchen.

i've got a bin of worms in my basement. i don't even bother putting scraps in the blender. they do a good job with big stuff. also i have a 5-gallon bucket under the sink that i fill up with everything that the worms can't handle (they can only eat so much at a time, and there are 4 of us in the house= lots of compostables). once a week i take the bucket to a garden a few blocks away where they have compost bins and drop it off. the worms are great for producing amazing fertilizer but not so much for dealing with large amounts of organic refuse.

I had the ceramic crock, but the handle posts snapped. I switched to the green plastic, much happier with it, and it can be used one-handed.

I use a thrift store ice bucket - it's attractive, easy to rinse and has a nice, tight lid.

shantiquax, fungus gnats are a little different than fruit flies, but they can be stopped. You can buy beneficial nematodes at most garden stores- you just mix with water and pour into the soil of the infected house plants. They eat the gnats' eggs & larvae so they never get airborne. If the gnats get really bad, sometimes I just repot the whole plant and get rid of as much of the old potting soil as I can.

Hope that helps!

Shantiquax - I have those little fungus gnats as well. I used some fly paper (twistie-tied to the blinds behind the plant - but be careful...the leaves can stick to the paper!), which worked for the main bulk of the flies. I still get a few here and there, so I just purchased a Cobra Lily from Trader Joe's (under $10) at the recommendation of the gardener for my office's building. She said a Cobra Lily (or any carnivorous plant, though this is one of the prettiest) will definitely help with the fungus gnats!

Renter379 - I am intrigued by these beneficial nematodes!