Berkeley Parents Network: Composting

Berkeley Parents Network

Composting

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Charity, Donations & Recycling > Composting

Composting w/ Wriggly Wranch?
Backyard Composter
Indoor compost container
Charcoal squares for under-sink composter
See also: Food Scrap Recycling Container Insert

Composting w/ Wriggly Wranch?

Oct 2007

We were thinking of composting in our backyard with the Wriggly Wranch and I wanted to hear if others had done it. We have 2 kids and a dog. Will this be a problem? Does it really help your soil? How much time does it take to have one of these and how much work is needed to keep it up? We already are really good about putting all of our food scraps into the green (Oakland) recycling bin but thought this might be good for our garden. But I don't know anything about it and what it entails. Plus we are two working parents so want to make sure it is worth it to buy. Any advice would be great. Future composter?

Have been using a Wriggly Ranch for years. It's a rotating, 3 tier system and really simple to use. I also had the Smith & Hawkin type bin and find that the stuff just dries out so fast that nothing ever gets composted. I've had great success w/ the Wriggly Ranch and would highly recommend it. We love our little worms! -Worm lover

please give worm composting a try. Actually on two different occassions I have seen the worm farm for sale at Urban Ore. I have found that the legs that come with the standard worm farm from the city of oakland dont last, my worm farm currently sits on a sturdy wooden box I got at U.O.

Worms take very little work, and the results are nothing short of fabulous. Feed them once a week, any veg scrapes will do, I find mine eat about a pound of scraps a week, it is also important to put lots of damp newspaper on the top of your worm bedding, and to run some water through the whole thing at least once a week. The worm farm has a spigot, this is for the ''worm tea'' to come out, this stuff is worth its weight in gold and I give bottles of it to special friends. It makes orchids blume and will do amazing things to any plant.

I use scredded cocoanut for bedding, you can buy it in big slabs at the Longs on 51st (the big one) for very little money. I bought some smaller bricks at berkeley hort. but they didnt work properly, so i recommend gettting the larger amounts.

Once your worms have turned their bedding and food into compost (which you can tell by lookign at it) you must migrate them to a new tray.

To do this, first stop feeding your worms and give them some newspsper to eat then simply put a new tray (the worm box comes with three seperate trays)on top of the old one and put fresh bedding (the dampened cocoanut stuff) and veg scraps on the new bedding, the worms will ''migrate'' up to the new box, like magic!

One other piece of advice, when you add vegs to your worms, dont dump and run, get a good garden fork and mix them in.

also, you can buy good worms at spiral garden on sacramento (? I think that is the right street) I dont recommend ordering them by mail

hope you start your worm farm soon! p.s. kids love to help with this and soon lose their bug phobia if they have one.

feel free to email me if you have any other questions. alexis

Backyard Composter

Sept 2007

I'm on the market for a backyard composter to compliment our garden and not sure what to get. I'd like something that is easy to remove the finished product from. It definitely needs to be under $200 (I was looking at a few in the $100 range). We probably produce about 2L of compost a week. Any suggestions? Also, if anyone has a used one for sale, please let me know. Lisa

I got a discounted Smith & Hawken compost bin through stopwaste.org which I'm happy with so far. As long as you're an Alameda County resident you can order one online and it gets delivered to your house. Here's the link: http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=175 anon

If you live in Alameda County, you can get a composter at a subsidized price from stopwaste.org: http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=317 There are also free classes on how to compost and they are quite informative, though you could get the same information from a book like worms eat my garbage. Eric

My husband has succeeded in composting in a home-made cylinder about three feet in diameter made with flexible wire fencing (four-foot width). Not pretty, but functional. He stirs it up with a pitchfork every few days. This type of composting may be more appropriate for yard litter than for kitchen waste, given the smell factor. For kitchen waste we've started a worm farm, which is just a couple handfuls of red worms and some garbage in a wooden box; the worms came from a local nursery. He learned about these approaches mainly from judicious web-surfing and is very pleased that he hasn't used any specialized equipment. Best of luck. Kim

I saw a really great composter at Elephant Pharmacy. I think it was $179. Very easy to get stuff in and out, and the best part is that it is very compact and it ROLLS on a base to mix the contents. VERY VERY COOL. No pitchfork necessary. I think it would take 2 L a week no problem. -Thinking about buying one myself!

Indoor compost container

Oct 2004

I'm looking for a compost container that we can keep indoors - once it fills up, it will end up in our larger outdoor container. Can anyone recommend one for inside that is as odor- free as possible? We've had some problems with ants, so it really needs to be odor-free and easy-to-clean.

I have tried various methods of saving up compost indoors and the best no-stink, no-flies technique I've found is freezing it until I get around to taking it outside. Just put it into a plastic produce bag, twist it closed and throw it in the freezer. An added plus is that, after it's frozen solid, you can hurl it against the kitchen counter and it will break up into tiny frozen shards that can then be compressed to make more room for another load. Very satisfying! And, small bits will decompose faster than big pieces in your compost bin. Ginger

I use a pretty, simple, medium-size stainless steel stock pot with lid. I keep it on my counter. I don't use any filters, and I often leave the lid off; except in really hot weather, that seems to keep it drier, so less prone to smelliness. (well, except when I get lazy and leave it way too long before emptying it). Assuming you compost ONLY raw fruit and vegetable scraps, and empty it every few day, ants and odor shouldn't be a problem. Cooked cerals and animal product scraps get smelly and attract ants, and aren't recommended for urban compost piles because they attract rodents. (But you CAN include them in your food waste can if you live in Albany). One more comment about my stainless steel compost pot - It doesn't absorb smells like plastic, and it's really easy to clean, either with hot soapy water or in the dishwasher. I got it really cheap at Macy's (discontinued, or mismatched, or somethinglike that) R.K.

We got ours a few years ago through a catalogue. I'm sure you can get one on line, or even at Smith Hawkens. Ours has this filter thing on the lid (It's essentially a green square bucket with a handle and a lid). It doesn't smell and the ants don't seem to like vegies and fruit. It wasn't expensive either. We rinse it out when we empty it and now and then we put it through the dish washer. Good luck. anon

Put something in the freezer. This is working amazingly at my house. We use a cut open milk carton, but anything works. No smell, no mess, no ants. You'll be thrilled. happy composter

Indoor compost container

March 2003

I used to buy these for our small under the sink green composting bin from ''Real Goods'' behind REI (Gilman and San Pablo) but see that the store has closed up. Can anyone tell me where I can purchase the squares from now? Thanks Vivienne

I just check the website for Real Goods. You can order the filters for the green kitchen compost bin for $6.00 for a package of three. martha

I found those charcoal squares online by searching for ''compost'' or ''composter'' or something. There are a number of garden supply type places that offer this sort of thing as accessories. I can't remember how they were listed, but I bought a pack of 6 or so for a reasonable price. Compost queen

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network. Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.