Indoor Composting for Outdoor Success
By Angela Chandler | The Garden Academy (www.thegardenacademy.com) | www.facebook.com/thegardenacademy
Everyone wants to compost. We all know composting is good for the garden and good for the environment.
But physical limitations, space limitations, deed restrictions, schedule, the amount of available waste, a lack of enthusiasm about turning the pile — any number of things may limit a gardener’s ability to compost.
Two ways everyone can compost – Vermicomposting and Bokashi. These methods:
- Can be used in addition to an outdoor compost pile or as stand-alone composting projects.
- Don’t take up much space, don’t require any special equipment
- Don’t emit objectionable odors and aren’t expensive, time-consuming or complicated
- Can be done by everyone, even very young children
- Can be set up in the kitchen, utility room, or shady porch.
Vermicomposting uses compost worms to process kitchen waste. These worms live in the top layers of leaf litter in nature. All they need is a 10-gallon plastic tote, darkness, a little moisture, some bedding and regular feeding to process food waste, dryer lint, paper waste, even hairbrush hair. They are quiet and produce no objectionable odors. Best of all, their castings are nutrient rich fertilizer for your plants.
Bokashi composting is a fermentation process sometimes called “pre-composting” that only requires a couple of 5-gallon buckets. Food waste is combined with a special grain product called “Bokashi Bran” which is inoculated with yeasts and bacteria similar to those found in yogurt or other fermented foods. These beneficial microbes transform food waste into something similar to pickles or sauerkraut. The finished product is rich in beneficial bacteria and nutrients to enrich garden soil and nourish plants.
Universities, restaurants, and even entire apartment buildings now use Bokashi to transform their kitchen waste. You can Bokashi foods that are often banned from the compost pile such as dairy, seafood, eggs, meat, and bones. The indoor composting movement is fun, good for the earth and good for the garden.
