c/apartment-composting

Tossed a whole avocado pit in my bokashi bucket, it sprouted roots through the side 3 weeks later

I read online you could compost pretty much anything with bokashi so I just chucked a whole avocado pit in there without cutting it up. A month later I went to drain the liquid and saw this pale root thing poking out of a crack in the side of the bucket. Turns out that pit was determined to grow despite being pickled in fermenting food scraps. Has anyone else had a seed or pit go rogue in their indoor compost setup?

Overheard someone at the hardware store say you need 2 square feet for a worm bin and I'm not sure I believe it...

I've got maybe a foot of counter space in my studio and I'm trying to figure out if a tiny bokashi bucket would work better than worms for my situation. Anyone tried bokashi in a really small apartment with any luck?

Wasted $60 on a bokashi bin that just stank up my kitchen

Bought a Bokashi Living kit off Amazon three months ago thinking it would be perfect for my studio apartment. Followed the instructions exactly but after two weeks the bin smelled like rotten pickles and I found mold on the bran layer. Ended up tossing the whole thing in the dumpster and now I'm back to freezing scraps until trash day. Anyone else have better luck with a different method for small spaces?

My bokashi bucket lid broke at the worst possible time last month

Ngl, I was in the middle of layering in some veggie scraps when the lid hinge just snapped clean off. Happened around 9pm on a Tuesday in my tiny SF apartment. I had to rig it with duct tape and a bungee cord until the replacement part came in on Friday. Has anyone else had their bin hardware fail like that?

I picked bokashi over a worm bin for my tiny kitchen and here's what happened

My apartment is 500 square feet and I had to choose between a bokashi bucket and a worm bin. I went with bokashi because I read it doesn't smell as much and you can put cooked food in it. After 3 weeks of feeding it scraps like eggshells and leftover rice, I buried the fermented waste in a planter on my balcony. It broke down fast and didn't attract gnats like I worried about. Has anyone else tried bokashi in a small space and found a trick to speed up the breakdown?

My worm bin turned into a fruit fly nightclub last month

I set up a small worm bin under my kitchen sink in my studio apartment near downtown Portland. Last month I got a little too excited and added a whole mango peel and some overripe banana chunks without burying them deep enough. Two days later I opened the bin and a cloud of probably 50 fruit flies flew straight into my face while I was making coffee. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden fruit fly explosion and found a way to stop it without killing your worms?

My bokashi bin saved my kitchen scraps from turning into a science experiment

I live in a studio in Chicago and tried worm composting last summer. It worked okay for a few months but then the bin got too wet and the worms started dying off. I was about to give up on composting altogether. Then a friend told me about bokashi bins. I bought a small one with a spigot for $30 on Amazon. The trick is you layer your food scraps with the bran and press everything down tight. It ferments instead of rotting so there is no smell at all. I keep it under my sink and just drain the liquid every few days. Has anyone else tried switching from worms to bokashi in a small apartment?

Rant: My neighbor laughed at me for using a 5-gallon bucket as a compost bin

I've been apartment composting for about 6 months now with a simple bucket setup. Punch some holes, add some bedding, toss in kitchen scraps. It works fine. But last week my downstairs neighbor saw me hauling it out to the balcony and just laughed. She said 'you know they sell actual bins at the hardware store for 25 bucks, right?' and told me I was being cheap. It got me thinking though. She's got a point about the smell. My bucket does get a bit funky sometimes, even with good layering. And the holes let little fruit flies escape. But I also don't have 25 bucks to spare right now. Has anyone else had someone question their setup and make you wonder if you're doing it wrong? How bad is a bucket really compared to a real compost bin?

My countertop compost bin gave up after 6 months straight

I bought this stainless steel bin with a charcoal filter from Target back in February thinking it would solve all my fruit fly problems. Well last week the lid hinge snapped clean off when I was trying to dump coffee grounds into it. The worst part is the smell that came out because the filter stopped working like a month ago and I just didn't notice. I ended up transferring everything to an old plastic tub I had laying around but now it's sitting on my counter looking ugly and letting bugs in. I guess spending $15 on a cheap bin bit me in the butt. Has anyone found a budget friendly countertop bin that actually holds up past a year?

Stumbled on a worm farm at a friend's highrise in Chicago

I was visiting my buddy Jake at his 30th floor condo last weekend and he had this tiny worm bin in his laundry closet. It barely smelled at all and he said he's been feeding it for 6 months with zero issues. Anyone else tried setting up a worm bin in a small space like a closet or under a sink?

Finally saw my first real batch of compost after 4 months of waiting

I almost gave up when my countertop bin just smelled like rotten veggie scraps for weeks, but I kept adding shredded paper and turning it every few days. Yesterday I sifted out about 2 cups of dark, crumbly stuff that actually smelled like earth. Has anyone else had that moment where you doubted your method and then suddenly it works?

Vent: My bokashi bin got moldy after just 3 weeks in the closet

I started a bokashi system last month because everyone says it's perfect for small spaces. But by week 3, this white fuzzy mold took over the top layer. I followed the directions exactly - drained the liquid every 2 days and kept the lid sealed. Honestly, I think the pre-made bran mix I bought from a local shop in Austin was just too old. Has anyone else had a bin go bad on them even when you did everything right?

Had a neighbor knock on my door about my bokashi bin smell

She said it smelled like pickles and rotten eggs mixed together, and that was after I thought I had the lid sealed tight. Anyone else get complaints from people in close quarters about the smell even when you follow the steps?

The 3 month difference in my worm bin after I stopped feeding them citrus peels

My bokashi bin was just making stinky mush for 6 months

I got a bokashi bin from a friend and thought I was being eco-friendly. I just kept dumping all my kitchen scraps in there and draining the liquid. After 6 months I opened it up to bury the contents and it was just a slimy, smelly mess. Turns out you're supposed to layer it with bran every time and press it down hard, not just toss things in. Has anyone else had a bokashi bin fail on them before they figured out the right method?

Bokashi bucket sprung a leak after 3 weeks and stank up my whole kitchen

I started a bokashi bin in my tiny apartment back in February because I wanted to try fermentation composting. Everything was going fine until week 3 when I noticed a dark puddle under the bucket and a sour smell that just wouldn't go away. I pulled the bucket out and saw a crack along the bottom seam, must have been a defect from the factory. I ended up transferring everything into a second bucket I had for backup and added fresh bran to restart the process. Has anyone else had a bokashi container fail on them like this? What did you switch to?

Appreciation post: I kept seeing people say you need a huge bin for a balcony composter, but my 5-gallon bucket setup in my Chicago studio has been perfect for 8 months.

The key is drilling way more air holes than you think, like 30 small ones around the sides and bottom, because I tried a dozen at first and it just turned into a smelly mess until I added more.

A weird thing happened with my worm bin last week

I've had my worm bin in my Seattle apartment for about three years now. Last week, I opened it and saw a bunch of tiny white bugs crawling around the top layer. It freaked me out at first, but after checking online, I think they're just pot worms, which are harmless. I probably added too many coffee grounds last month and made things a bit too wet. I've been letting it dry out a little by adding more shredded paper. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden pot worm party in their bin?

Why does everyone think a balcony composter needs direct sun all day?

I've had my worm bin on a shaded north-facing balcony in Seattle for 8 months now and it's thriving. I keep seeing posts where folks say their compost is too dry or the worms are trying to escape, and they always have the bin in full afternoon sun. Heat kills worms and dries everything out. Mine stays in a cool corner, I add a cup of water every week, and the castings are perfect. Has anyone else had better luck with a shady spot?

Honestly, people keep saying you need a fancy bin with filters, but my setup is just two old paint buckets from Home Depot and it works fine.

My building manager in Chicago told me my balcony bin was 'attracting pests' and had to go.

He said it was a health code thing, but my neighbor with a dozen potted plants says that's nonsense. Has anyone else had their setup shut down by management?

My neighbor in 4B said my compost smelled like a dumpster

She was right, my bin was way too wet. I started adding way more shredded junk mail and cardboard. Now I keep a whole paper bag of it next to the bin. Anyone else have a good brown material source for a small space?

My worm bin turned into a fruit fly city for three whole weeks

I thought I was burying scraps deep enough, but a banana peel must have been too close to the surface. The explosion was instant, a cloud of them every time I lifted the lid. I tried vinegar traps, covering everything with dry bedding, even moving the bin to a cooler spot. Nothing worked until I stopped adding food completely for 10 days and let it dry out. Has anyone else beaten a major fruit fly invasion without starting over?

My landlord told me my compost bin smelled like a dead animal

He came by for a leak check and pointed at my countertop bin, saying 'That thing reeks, you need to empty it more.' I realized I was only adding scraps but never mixing in enough browns like torn cardboard. How often do you guys actually turn your indoor compost?

I was convinced bokashi was a gimmick until my friend in Seattle showed me her setup

She just uses two 5-gallon buckets from the hardware store, one nested inside the other with a tap on the bottom one. Every time she adds kitchen scraps, she sprinkles in the bran, presses it down, and seals the lid. After two weeks of fermenting, she buries the pre-compost in a community garden plot. No smell in her 600 sq ft apartment, not even with fish scraps. I tried it and it just works. What other methods have people used that they thought would fail but actually surprised them?