Composting indoors

[Meowmie]

Frustrated with the lack of garden supplies in the stores near me this time of year, I have started to compost indoors. I grow wheat grass for juicing, and the soil gets old. My plant food from the summer is depleted, there is no organic compost on the store shelves, and I had to do something.

I saw indoor composting bins, quite expensive, and decided to go on my own. I took a metal food prep pan (about 8" x 12") put the tired, old soil in it, ground up the remains of the last batch of grass in the blender with the scraps from an apple and a few carrot ends. I put it, along with my organic coffee grounds in the pan. I stir it each day, keep it warm, add well ground up sraps here and there and after several weeks I planted fresh wheat grass using it.

WOW did the wheat ever like it's new bed. Has anyone else ever tried something like this?

 

[Andy1982]

Nope and to be fair I would never want or need to really lol. My wife would give me a clip round the ear and with the veg peelings and whatever it would stink the place out, be messy and probably attract some house guests....No thank you.

Best of luck with it though...

 

[Pat]

I think I have to agree with Andy1982, the smell would be something I would not want in my house. Would having a worm farm be easier than composting the way you are doing? It still get you some rich soil but the smell would be reduced.

Good luck.

 

[Meowmie]

Ah, but there is no smell! My husband thinks it is simply a pan of my garden soil. I am careful to add only small amounts of food scraps at a time. My gardening bench is in the kitchen, which is where my mini compost is. I guarantee you, if it started to smell he'd notice and he wouldn't be quiet about it.

 

[Meowmie]

Update on my indoor compost pan. I fessed up to my husband what it was when he wondered if I was ever going to put the excess potting soil back in a bag or in some pots.

He was shocked to find out it was a sort of compost, and thrilled he no longer has to go outside to dump the coffee grounds. He said if it starts smelling it's going outside.

I'm not worried, it's been a almost 2 months, I'm on my third batch, and it doesn't smell one bit, I think the key is in adding only small amounts and well ground up.

This was originally started as an act of desperation because the close out Christmas decorations in my local gardening store were not going to revitalize my soil for wheat grass. But it's working so well I will probably do this every winter.

I made sure to tell him he is only allowed to put coffee grounds in there so I can control on how much composting takes place and keep it odor free. I'm glad I have my cats well trained to stay off my counter or it would really start to smell ...

 

[zigs]

I got a bucket of Leafmold in my bedroom, as an experiment really, mixed it with yeast in December.

 

[Meowmie]

So I'm not alone in my endeavors! Does the leafmold smell?

Since we become used to smells I'm relying on my husband to let me know if my compost starts to have an odor. I am in the house all day and probably wouldn't notice if it crept up slowly. HE will notice right away.

After the first 2 responses to this thread I was starting to question my sanity.

I just love trying new things, thinking outside the box.

 

[zigs]

Not noticed it smelling

 

[Hedonologist]

I assumed you were referring to a shed at first. Would that not be more pheasable? Even a garage would surely be better I would have thought. Whatever works for you thought I suppose. Not something I would personally every want to try, although that's because we live in an urban area with a very clean house. It might be plausible on a farmhouse though.

 

[Meowmie]

Why does everyone assume I live in a dirty smelly house? The only odor coming from my small pan of compost is a slight hint of coffee from the coffee grounds.

It's amazing how different this is responded to in different forums. I posted it in another one and quite a few decided to try it, nobody implied my house smelled.

I live in a clean house, 1 story brick house in a fairly well to do neighborhood with mostly doctors and dentists for neighbors. And my house does not smell. But thank you for thinking the least of me.

 

[zigs]

I didn't.

Some folk get the smell of composting confused with piles of Animal manure.

Compost smells good unless you get anerobic decomposition going on if its too wet.

 

[Meowmie]

Thank you Zigs, it seems the others didn't read my post. I stated exactly what I was putting in there and there was NO MANURE. My plants love it. They only way you can smell it is if you stick your nose in the pan, then it has a faint coffee odor.

This started out of frustration, not being able to get what I needed from the store, but it has worked so well it will be an ongoing process. Using the blender to finely grind up the apple, carrot, sprout and wheat grass scraps makes the composting fast.

Maybe I should call it "amending soil inside" I just can't keep growing nutritious wheatgrass in the same old soil, the wheatgrass doesn't have the nutrients that way and I hate adding chemical fertilizers when I can simply recycle a few kitchen scraps. Free reinvigorated soil with no cost and very little effort!

I actually thought some of the other gardeners might like this idea too if they were in a similar situation, never thought I'd get people saying it was ok for me but not for them since they had a 'clean' house!

 

[zigs]

I like anything that makes good compost

Built the soil up in my garden from almost nothing.

Now if it was making liquid plant feed inside then that would be a different kettle of fish.

In fact, the fish waste I compost (guts, heads and tails) rots down much better when soaked in urine, so that's a proper humdinger of a smell

 

[Meowmie]

Well I sure hope you don't make that in your kitchen or bedroom!

I also built my soil up. Lasagna garden style. I designed a maze like pattern in my yard, laid stacks of newspaper down, and started building layers of grass, leaves, food waste, cat fur (I had a lot of that) eggshells and coffee grounds. Anything organic.

There is something so satisfying about taking waste and turning it into rich soil for my crops.

I wanted to branch out to the front yard but my husband won't let me.

Our backyard is very small, and is a bird sanctuary. Heated birdbath, we have hummingbirds galore, cardinals, finches and some funny little things that eat the fermented crab apples and get drunk. My cats love watching them.

I cheat and buy my fish emulsion already made. I haven't been fishing in 30 years.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day I made all my paper pots for my herbs and got them started but I didn't finish my taxes today so that is put off. I'd rather garden than do taxes.

 

[zigs]

I used to have a problem with my ex nicking any form of alcohol that wasn't nailed down.

After she drank the bottle of Champagne that my Brother gave me for Christmas, I filled an empty wine bottle with Liquid Compost and hid it, knowing she'd search all the usual places for booze.

There was a glass full missing in the morning