Starting a balcony compost system
I always wanted to have a compost system set up, but I didn’t think it was either possible or practical for an upstairs apartment. I keep searching for ideas, though, and eventually I found a great site called Balcony Compost. I followed the instructions for the Simple Style Composter, and here’s how things went:
First, I bought two 5-gallon buckets with lids. At Home Depot, I paid $2.37 for each bucket, and 89¢ for each lid. These were the only materials I needed to purchase for this project, so the grand total for setting up a balcony composter came to $6.52 plus tax. I drilled holes on the bottom two-thirds of the bucket, and spaced them 4″ apart horizontally and 3″ apart vertically. A power drill with a ¼” bit worked perfectly. I also scattered holes on the bottom of the bucket and the lid, for drainage and aeration, respectively. If you don’t have a drill, you can also use a hammer and a large nail to make the holes. Just be careful on the lid and bottom, as if a crack is going to form for whatever reason, those places are going to be where it happens.
First thing into the bucket was shredded newspaper. I don’t subscribe to the newspaper, so at first I paid 75¢ for a copy specifically to compost it. It turns out, though, that I get a lot of newsprint ads and supplements in the regular mail, so I didn’t need the one I bought. So I read it and discovered a good sale on some other goodies, so it was win/win anyway
I shredded enough junk mail and newsprint pages to fill about 3″ of the bucket.
Next, in went the food scraps I’d been saving for the previous week in the kitchen. I seem to remember being told that banana peels take longer to break down, so I took a few seconds to cut them up with some kitchen sheers. Edamame pods and tangerine peels also rounded out my first batch of scraps.
Lastly, A scoop of healthy potting soil or garden soil will help get things started by introducing the beneficial microbes that you want in there.
That’s pretty much it! Every few days I dump the contents from one bucket to the other to mix it up, and I just add more food scraps as I get them from the kitchen! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes throughout the growing season.
So don’t be intimidated by composting if you don’t have a yard. You don’t need any expensive equipment to get started, and it doesn’t need much maintenance at all.
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May 7, 2010
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Betani · 
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Tags: apartment living, balcony, compost system, composter, composting, Gardening, instructions · Posted in: Gardening
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JDKnitabit on 
drMolly on 
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Go-go-go & good luck on your compost. We have ours in 3 large bins in our backyard, so I don't have to worry about any other method. Lucky me, LOL. But compost is great!! It helps our garden do so well.
Nice work on the Balcony Compost strategy. If you ever feel like you're running out of room in your buckets you might look into Vermicomposting! Cheers
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