How to: Tabletop Composting

Make compost inside in a tabletop composter.

Gardeners who want to make compost year-round have the option of using a tabletop composter inside the home. An inside composter operates using electricity to create the necessary heat inside the compost container. Because the container is sealed, there are no unpleasant odors as the food scraps change from trash to a gardener's treasure. Tabletop composting can enable you to use kitchen trash throughout the year to make compost for your growing areas.

Things You'll Need

• Kitchen knife
• Sawdust
• Baking soda

Instructions

1. Find a suitable spot for the tabletop composter. While it may be placed on any horizontal surface, some prefer to place it out of sight in a cabinet or cupboard. An electrical outlet will be needed near the composter location to provide power to the composter.

2. Cut up large organic kitchen scraps into 4-inch pieces, using a kitchen knife, before adding them to the composter. Add 5 cups of food scraps at one time.

3. Open the composter and place the food scraps into the mixing chamber. Food scraps constitute green composting ingredients.

4. Measure out 1 cup sawdust and 1 tbsp. baking soda. Add these ingredients to the mixing chamber simultaneously with the the food scraps. The sawdust constitutes brown composting ingredients, and the baking soda helps to control composting odors.

5. Watch the compost machine to see the indicator light that shows the compost is ready to transfer to the bottom tray for using as compost. Depending on the design of the composter, this may take as little as 48 hours or longer.

6. Remove the compost from the bottom tray to use it.

Tips & Warnings

• Limit the amount of broccoli and citrus fruits in a tabletop composter. Differing from outside compost bins, many tabletop composters allow the addition of meats and dairy products in an inside composting bin.

References

• Nature Mill: Composter Instructions