Composting in an apartment complex

[acannon]

I've been researching composting, and one option that frequently pops up for composting in an apartment is using worms. I know they're not the kind of worms people usually think about, but it still creeps me out. That and I don't think DP will go for having worms in the house. We do have an outdoor area outside the building. Could I work with that? I'd need some advice on where to find the green and brown material, especially if I start now, and people tend to take things that people leave outside, so that might be a problem, too. Any advice from anyone on the best way to do this?

[jackson'smama]

we got this as a gift when we first started composting and couldn't do so outside where we lived (naturemill.com). it's pricey, but works AWESOME! now, we live on four acres, have a huge garden, and we are still using it. it's nice on our laundry porch - right off the kitchen, and from what i can see hasn't affected our electricity bill one bit.

[nichole]

How long before you start to have compost for your garden? One problem I see with this is since we rent, we move often, and then what do you do with your worms when you move?

I read the article, but I'm curious how big everyone's container is?

[nichole]

bump

does anyone here use these? are they economical? as in how much did it cost for you to start?

[notwonamesalike]

We have a worm composter - ours is outdoors because it is rather large - a double ceder box - looks a little like a giant toy chest.

We love it. We've been vermicomposting for about 3 months now - and plan to use our compost when we plant our square foot garden in mid April.

[texmati]

you might check out the digging in the earth forum. They have a sticky on composting too, i think.

[monkey's mom]

Lots of worm bin threads in the Digging in the Earth forum!

We've got one and love it!

It takes about 6 months to harvest your first batch, and then every few months after that. The worms do not do well in very cold or very hot, so you may have to take them inside, depending on where you live.

But, yeah, you should go for it!

[ElsieLC]

I lived in apartments for years and always had a worm bin under the sink. No one ever knew. I used a rubbermaid container with air holes drilled in the top and upper sides. For brown material, I used shredded paper (bought a cheap shredder and filled up the bin with paper now and then). The green material is kitchen scraps. You could keep the bin outside, too, if it doesn't go below freezing very often (though if you have a small bin, the worms are less likely to survive a freeze).

Periodically I harvested the compost and put it on my houseplants. I got my first batch of worms from a gardener friend. Never needed any more after that. There's a learning curve to getting the balance of food scraps and paper to minimize smell or fruit flies.

Have you read Worms Eat My Garbage? It's a small book and fun to read.