I am debating wether to get an indoor compost container or an outdoor barrel that I can spin and put my yard clippings into. I have a big yard and have plenty of leaves, grass, etc., I also cook often and have a lot of food scraps. I am weary about the indoor container because of the smell and I believe I would fill it up rather quickly because I cook most of our family meals. Any suggestions or input would be helpful. I have never done composting and it is only my second year of gardening. Also, please tell me about your method and how long it takes to get compost that can be added to plants. Is there a method I can use that will help me for my veggies this spring? Thank you!

yesenia wrote:
Hi yessenia:)

To me there are two fun things you can do. Have you thought about using worms indoors to break down food scraps and a compost barrel outside? (Side note: Make sure to NEVER add fats or citrus to your worm farm or compost.)

One of our members here has been using worms to compost for many years now. Here user name on here is "streetwalker". You can private message her HERE!

I know with worms if you are doing things right there is no smell:) Using worms you will also get worm castings and that is GARDEN GOLD my friend!!


Now, composting is easy. I wrote an article here on the site the you can read over HERE! In that article I talk about methods I use:) You can also read what other members had to say about my article. They added some other ideas. Just scroll down to the bottom of the article:)


Just a reminder you can always use the search above to search all our articles and you can search the forum as well.

Search Articles...
Search Forums...

I just private messaged you some other info to help you with getting around the site and other helpful stuff so check your inbox here on the site:)

Admin Matt

Hi Yeseni,

I prefer to do all of my composting outside. I use both a medium sized spinning composter (I'll try to find a link for you) and a multi-layered worm composter, which I've reviewed elsewhere on this site. I always keep a "thank you for coming" bowl next to my cutting board and throw all cuttings except hot peppers, citrus, dairy or meat into the bowl for later transport to one of my composting solutions. I even compost paper towels.

I live in a very temperate climate, so I have no need to compost inside. I'm not sure what your weather is like, but can certainly understand wanting to compost inside if you have dire weather conditions. I've read many accounts of people composted indoors and agree with Matt that worms would be ideal. They don't have an odor as long as you leave out the meat and dairy.

I can't tell you exactly how long it takes for the worms to compost, but it's probably in the 2 month range. Beware, however that worm castings are super potent and you need to use them sparingly so you don't burn your plants.

I've produced lovely compost in my spinning composter in a month. I don't want to go on and on, if you already know about composting, so I'll leave an open invitation for you to ask questions.

Best of luck and you're definitely doing a very good thing.

I would say if you have the space and/or time do both! Then let trial and error show you what works best for you. We started w/ a compost pile, then got into vermicomposting in our basement. After four years its morphed into a 3 tray indoor bi w/ 2 5gallon overflow buckets(once you get a healthy worm population going they'll surprise you. Outside, instead of a pile we have 2 55gal. wormeries. They give us maximum area without making it unsightly for suburban neighbors. Everyone's resources and situation is specific, start small and do what works. Also try sheet mulching in winter. We shred all the leaves we can get and pile them high on the beds w/ worm castings and some extra red worms. Come summer, most of it is worked in, no tilling! Best of luck!

Funny how fast worms car break down waste and turn it into black gold!! Ha ha ha! I agree with CaseyL, if you have the room try both and see what will work best for you:)

You know your in a good spot when you walk up to your worm bins and you can hear them eating:)

Matt

I have always used large bins. We have a lot of material to go in with all the chickens and bedding we have to put in there! I little barrel just wouldn't be practical. We need a lot of compost. We have a lot of gardens!
Admin Kathy