Indoor Composting 101: Setting Up Your Compost

Ready for your indoor worm bin? Maybe you read my introduction to composting, and you're ready to start. Maybe you've been interested for awhile and you're ready to make the plunge. Regardless, I'm going to help you set up your indoor compost today.

Supplies

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Worms - Not just any worms will do. Red worms, or red wigglers, are the breed to get, and you can find them online at certain vendors, like Amazon. Because there's always the chance they'll arrive dead (check those reviews!), I find it best to  find a supplier that's local. In NYC, the LES Ecology Center is great, and you can pick up worms several times a week at the Greenmarket in Union Square.

Deciding how many worms to get can be a challenge. What's recommended is this: Save your food scraps for a week, then weigh them. 1 pound of food scraps = 2 pounds of worms.

If you don't want to wait and weigh your food scraps for whatever reason, then I recommend you buy either a half pound or a pound of worms because the worms have a way of sorting themselves out. They will either reproduce if more are needed or they will die off if less are needed.

Storage Bin - There are quite a few different options for setting up your worm bin. If you search online, you'll find quite a few worms bins being sold that are specifically designed for composting. Below are a few different options, but I haven't used any of them, so be sure to check out the reviews.

A simpler and cheaper option would be to go to the dollar store, or whatever store you'd like, and buy a plastic storage bin. I bought one for a few dollars and poked holes in the top with a screwdriver. Et voila, a worm bin for less than $5. 

Make sure the worm bin is deep enough for air to circulate, and make sure it's large enough to hold the worms you purchase. To be precise, allow one square foot for each pound of scrap food per week.

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Bedding - Bedding is very important for the worms since they don't like light and being exposed. A few options: shredded newspaper, shredded computer paper, and shredded cardboard.

When starting the compost, I shred the newspaper by hand, then dip it water. I squeeze the excess water out, so it's just damp. Then I set the damp newspaper at the bottom of the worm bin. Easy!

Assembly

Once you've got your supplies, it's time to put everything together.

If you bought a plastic storage bin, be sure to poke enough holes in the top for the worms to breathe. 

Add worms on top of the damp bedding.

Add damp bedding to the empty plastic bin.

Dump your worms on top of the damp bedding. They will burrow their way underneath the bedding, where they will continue to live.

You can add some food scraps* right away, but usually the stressed worms will not be hungry. To add food scraps, chop the scraps as small as you can get them (I usually process them in a blender**) and bury the food scraps underneath the bedding. Never leave food scraps on top because that attracts flies and other pests.  

*Food scraps to add: fruit and vegetable peels or waste, coffee grounds, tea leaves, bread, egg shells, and spoiled food.

Food scraps to avoid: Dairy, meat, bones, human or animal waste, or anything non-biodegradable. 

**If you don't want to blend your food scraps, it will take much longer for the worms to digest and work through them.

Put the lid (with holes!) on the storage bin and place your indoor compost somewhere dark and moderately warm, between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit. I usually keep mine in the pantry, but under the sink is also a great option.

That's it! 

Check on your worms periodically because it doesn't take long for them to die out if something happens. I'll have another article on troubleshooting tips soon, but generally it's pretty straightforward. 

Indoor Composting: An Introduction

I have an indoor compost that I just LOVE. Getting past the ick factor of having worms in your house, I think they're perfect for anyone that eats natural foods and doesn't have a yard. This is part of a 3 part series on composting. Next up are building the worm bin and harvesting the worm bin.

My happy worm bin, residing in my pantry.

Despite my joyful feelings on my worm bin, I was actually terrified and mulled over the idea of getting one for months. I didn't know anyone with whom I could consult so it seemed scary. Plus, when you search for info on the internet, many caution you against composting indoors. The best are outside, or so they say. The only reassurance to be found was my sister telling me that everyone in France has one they keep in their kitchen. 

I have no data to back that up, but it did make me feel a little more confident.

Mostly, I think I was terrified of getting bugs. And not just any bugs, though flying bugs are scary, but cockroaches. I've lived in large cities for the last 5 years, and I've managed to avoid having cockroaches in all of my apartments. I certainly didn't want to invite them in now.

Luckily, cockroaches don't really come with worm bins. Fruit flies, sometimes. Cockroaches, no.

I had extensive talks with the Lower East Ecology Center and I also attended a free class at my local library on indoor worm bins before I felt confident to purchase a pound of worms. (The Lower East Side Ecology Center also has a fantastic pdf that gives lots of helpful hints on what goes into a bin and troubleshooting problems.)

And since then, it's been pretty easy! I did have one bout of fungus gnats for 2 days, but as freaked out as I was am by bugs, all it meant was the balance in the worm bin was off. I just needed to add more browns, and poof! The gnats were gone. (And don't worry, they don't get into any other food in the pantry. They're there because they like decomposing food so your grains or oil is the least of their concern.)

Are you thinking about an indoor compost? I highly recommend it!

Why should you have a worm bin?

• It's fairly inexpensive. There is some cost upfront on the worms and the bin (I believe I paid $27 total), but maintaining it costs nothing.
• It's easy. At most, I spend maybe 20 minutes a week attending to my worm bin, but that's only because I drop in coffee grounds and tea bags frequently.
• Worm bins done correctly do NOT attract pests. If you should be unlucky and attract some, simply add more browns and the problem should go away.
• Worm bins done correctly do NOT smell. The only thing I've ever smelled out of mine was a nice "earth" scent.
• Over 30% of trash thrown out has organic material that can be composted. Instead of throwing out food scraps or rotten food you forgot to eat, you can recycle it by adding it to the worm bin. 
• If you send organic material to a landfill instead of composting, air cannot get to the organic material so it creates methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. Compost at home, and it creates oxygen.
• You'll have nutrient rich vermicompost for your garden, which saves money on fertilizer, improves plant growth and quality, reduces erosion and nutrient run-off, reduces the need for pesticides, and breaks down clay-based soils.
• If you have children or enjoy such things yourself, it's a fascinating science project since you're creating a little habitat for worms and seeing how matter is broken down.

What goes in the worm bin?

There are two categories of things that can go in the worm bin: greens and browns. The greens are predominantly the food scraps, and the browns are the dry materials like newspapers. Some prefer a 50/50 mix of greens and browns, but I find a better ratio is 40/60, just slightly more browns than greens.

Greens:

Fruit and vegetable scraps

Egg shells

Tea leaves/Tea Bags

Browns:

Nuts and shells

Coffee Grounds and Filters

Shredded Cardboard

Shredded Newspaper

Lint from dryers or vacuum cleaners

Bread

I typically throw my fruit and vegetable scraps in a bin in the freezer (very helpful for preventing fruit flies from banana peels!) and then once a week or so, I'll blend everything in a blender. It helps everything decompose MUCH faster. The worms also love the pulp leftover when I juice.

There are a few foods that you're cautioned against: onions, garlic, and broccoli. Apparently they can stink when they're decomposing. I personally have not found them to be any problem, though I do blend them before adding to my worm bin.

What DOESN'T go in the bin?

Meat

Dairy

Pet Poop

All of those things cause the worm bin to smell and/or attract bugs or larger pests. So don't do it.

Hopefully you feel safe and secure now in bringing in hundreds of worms to your home to make your life easier and the environment just slightly better. The next post in this series will be about building a worm bin!