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Composting suggestions needed

JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
in Tools and techniques
So I am thinking of taking the plonge into small scale composting, mainly kitchen waste and some garden waste. As I only have a terrace I don’t have room for anything too big, and it has to be easily installed and “easy to look at “ so I don’t get any complaints from neighbors.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions?
Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.

Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    If you are very short of space and don't want complaints from your neighbours, you can buy Potato Sacks - dark green, handles and drainage holes.
    You can start with a bit of soil and then add your raw kitchen waste, paper/cardboard and continue to layer in a similar vein.
    Once full, you can grow a tomato, a cucumber or similar and then start the process again.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited November 2021
    You could try a HotBin. Self contained, sealed, you can siphon off liquid, a tidy system. It's not 'beautiful' but you wouldn't really know it's a compost bin. Available second hand on Ebay. I'm not sure about the availability in France, but worth investigating. It would be good to have a system where you can siphon off the leachate if it's not sitting directly on earth. They maybe other systems now, similar to official HotBins, of similar, self-contained design.
  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,290
    How about a bokashi bin?
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You could also use a bog standard plastic bin of some kind, and disguise it with a simple box - making it look like a beehive is a good way.
    Simple enough to construct, and if it was against a wall, it could be three sided and you could slide it out, instead of lifting it off for access. 
    As it would probably be on hard surface, you'd need holes in the bottom, and a tray of some kind to catch any liquid coming through. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • MolamolaMolamola Posts: 105
    edited November 2021
    I have just purchased a vermicomposter, after friends highly recommended it and doing some research. 

    The bins are compact so can live on your balcony, and do not smell (according to my friend).  You get compost and worm juice that you can dilute for liquid fertiliser. 

    It's not for large amounts of garden waste, but I plan to mostly compost kitchen waste.

    Here is a website with some information that I found useful (based in France): https://plus2vers.com/en/ 
  • BraidmanBraidman Posts: 274
    .
    The simplest thing is not to bother as I doubt you will have enough kitchen and garden waste to make any reasonable amount of end product in a year!

    Buy a bag (if available) of composted farmyard manure, you will be sure of the quantity and quality of it unlike what you may make yourself.

    Cheers!
  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    Thanks everyone for the ideas. I’m definitely still interested, even if just to send a little less waste to the landfill. 🙂
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd think with the amount of plants you have, especially if you have lots annuals and perennials [which I think you do ] and your kitchen waste [if it's anything like mine!] you'd have a good amount for a small composter.  
    I made soup yesterday, which I do every week at least, and the peelings are enough to fill a pot of around 6 or 7 inches.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AthelasAthelas Posts: 946
    edited November 2021
    Eustace said:
    How about a bokashi bin?
    I used to do bokashi composting — the kit is very compact as can be expected with the practice originating in Japan. All you need are two bokashi bins (they’re fairly small and often sold two together) which I kept in the utility room under the sink, and if you have a terrace then just a large pot to bury the fermented bokashi in soil to make your final compost. 

    I did have a garden to bury the bokashi in — our gardener used to say we had the happiest acers and camellias he’d seen — but the ‘pot of gold’ method appears straightforward: https://blog.compostrevolution.com.au/bokashi-food-waste-solution/

    One of the downsides is that you have to keep buying bokashi bran — you need to continually layer the kitchen scraps with bran like a lasagne and when one bin is full you leave that to ferment a bit longer and start filling up the second bin. The county council I lived in used to sell the bokashi bran at a relatively low price (as well as the bokashi bins, other compost bins, paper bags for green waste, etc.).

    I don’t do bokashi composting anymore as we have green bins collected by the council that go into community composting, and I simply buy manure compost as needed for the garden.


    Cambridgeshire, UK
  • tinkeradrewLFpEbi5EtinkeradrewLFpEbi5E Posts: 2
    For kitchen waste this Food Cycler Platinum Indoor Food Recycler will be a great. We already using one of them and It does a great job, food waste bin no longer stinks and we have compost. It also dramatically reduces the volume of food waste leaving your kitchen.
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