How to Compost in the Suburbs

Make compost for your plants without big, ugly piles in your yard.

Most gardeners who live in the country compost yard debris and kitchen scraps. Composting lowers the amount of household waste and makes great gardening soil. People who live in small homes in the suburbs have a harder time composting. Suburban homes are closer together, so if a compost heap starts smelling or attracts rodents it bothers neighbors. However, there are ways to work around this problem. Composting in plastic bins inside or outside the home keeps down any smell and keeps rodents out of the compost heap.

Things You'll Need

• 18-inch by 24-inch by 18-inch tall plastic bin with lid
• Hammer
• 16-penny nail
• Pan or tray that fits under the plastic box
• Vegetable oil
• Cloth
• Compost aerator
• 1 lb. red worms
• Dirt
• 4 pieces of wood that fit across the long side of the tray
• Cardboard
• Newspaper
• Food scraps

Instructions

Composting Indoors or on Patios Using Aerobic Composting

1. Remove the lid from the plastic bin. Turn the plastic bin upside down on a flat surface.

2. Put the nail against the bottom of the bin in one of the corners, and hit it with the hammer. When the nail goes through the plastic, pull it out and repeat the process on the next corner. Place a hole in each corner and the middle of the bottom of the plastic bin. Composting goes faster with air moving through it. Add more holes on the outside of the sides of the bin.

3. Pour a little bit of oil on the cloth, and wipe over the plastic bin. Make sure you go over the inside and outside. This keeps the materials in the bin from sticking to it.

4. Place the pan or tray where you want the compost boxes set up and lay the pieces of wood across the pan. The wood holds up the bin and allows drainage. Place the bin in a sunny or shady spot. It doesn't matter for this process.

5. Set the plastic bin on top of the wood on the pan. Make sure the wood doesn't block the drainage holes.

6. Fill the bottom of the bin with dry materials for composting. Dry composting materials are things like strips of newspaper, leaves, straw, cardboard, scrap paper, peat moss, sawdust, fireplace ashes or dirt.

7. Dump a thin layer of kitchen scraps on the dry layer. Put raw vegetable or fruit peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells into the bin. Don't put any cooked food, meats, cheese, milk or oil in the bin. Adding these items to the bin makes it stink as the food rots.

8. Coat the top of the kitchen scraps with another layer of dry materials. This absorbs any moisture and reduces smells from the bin.

9. Continue layering materials until the bin is full. Make sure you put a dry layer on top of every layer of kitchen scraps.

10. Mix the composted items after two weeks. Push the aerator into the bin and twist the handle. The mixture in the bin moves, creating new openings for air. The air helps the materials compost.

11. Add more dry materials if the bin has fluid running out of the bottom. Clean up any liquid immediately, or it develops a bad smell.

12. Harvest composted materials every six months, or when it makes a smooth, black soil. If it isn't composted enough, let it sit for another week or two.

Vermicomposting Indoors or on Patios

1. Remove the lid from the plastic bin. Turn the plastic bin upside down on a flat surface.

2. Put the nail against the bottom of the bin in one of the corners, and hit it with the hammer. When the nail goes through the plastic, pull it out and repeat the process on the next corner. Place a hole in each corner and the middle of the bottom of the plastic bin.

3. Punch a hole into each corner of the lid using the nail. This provides aeration from the top of the container for the worms.

4. Pour a little bit of oil on the cloth, and wipe over the plastic bin. Make sure you go over the inside and outside. This keeps the materials in the bin from sticking to it.

5. Lay the pan or tray where you want the compost boxes set up and lay the pieces of wood across the pan. The wood holds up the bin and allows drainage. Put the bin in a shady spot.

6. Set the plastic bin on top of the wood on the pan. Make sure the wood doesn't block the drainage holes.

7. Place a 2-inch layer of torn up cardboard and newspaper on the bottom of the bin. This layer allows circulation of air through the composted material.

8. Add a 1-inch layer of dirt on top of the cardboard, with a handful of ashes from a fireplace or limestone added in the dirt. Worms are like chickens because they need something gritty in their diet. It helps their digestion.

9. Pour a 1 lb. container of worms on top of the soil layer. Let the worms settle into the dirt.

10. Sprinkle the surface lightly with water. Place the lid on the container. The worms get plenty of air through the holes in the bottom and lid. Add a small amount of water anytime the soil starts looking dry. If you are in an arid area, place a trash bag over the soil before closing the lid. This holds moisture in the soil.

11. Dig a small hole in the material in the worm composter and pour kitchen scraps into the hole. Put raw vegetable or fruit peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells into the bin. Don't put any cooked food, meats, cheese, milk or oil in the bin. Adding these items to the bin makes it stink as the food rots.

12. Cover the top of the kitchen scraps with a layer of dirt. This absorbs any moisture and reduces smells from the bin. Every time food is added the worms go straight to it and eat the kitchen wastes. They produce worm castings which are highly nutritious for potted plants and gardens.

13. Harvest composted materials every four months by pushing all of the composted material on one side and filling the other side with fresh torn up newspaper, cardboard, dirt, wood ashes or limestone and a few pockets of kitchen wastes. Don't add any food to the side with the finished compost. The worms move to the new materials after a day or two. Remove the compost after three days, and spread the new material across the bottom of the composter. Watch out for the worms.

Tips & Warnings

• Vermicomposting has a slight smell that bothers some people. The best place for vermicomposting is in a shady spot on the back porch or patio.

References

• Journey to Forever: Composting Indoors
• Go Organic Gardening: The Garbage Can Compost Bin
• In the Garden Online: My Plastic Storage Bin Composter