HOW TO COMPOST KITCHEN SCRAPS IN A SMALL SPACE

We had long wanted to get into composting but were put off by the thought of stench and potentially attracting pests. Then I was inspired by my best friend who was able to successfully make compost right from the balcony of her high-rise apartment unit. This balcony, a few square feet in total and accessible only through several windows, hosts a lush garden of vegetables, herbs and ornamental plants. By far, she has the most productive garden per square foot!

If she could do it so successfully in a tiny space, I had no reason not to try it in a small patio we had at the back of the house where we grow some food in containers. After trying several methods, we found one that worked for our situation (and personal quirks).

This method is scalable. One can go for larger or smaller containers depending on how much kitchen waste is generated and how much space is available within the property. Because the compost pile is covered, pests particularly rodents cannot access it. Done correctly, composting should not cause a terrible stink.

We settled for this method because:

1. We had a paved patio and very few patches of soil around the house. This meant we had to use a container that wouldn't spill compost juice onto the concrete floor.

2. Although the Bokashi method would have allowed for more variety of food scraps (including meat and dairy), that method ultimately required burying the contents in the ground which we didn't have access to.

3. Shocking as this may sound to gardeners, I squirm at the sight of too many worms. A few here and there is fine but more than a handful in one place is enough to make me recoil no matter that I know how beneficial these are to the soil. So vermicomposting, ideal as that would have been in the property, was out of the question.

Whatever method works for anyone, the benefits will be the same. It will provide nutrient-rich compost for growing food and ornamentals. And it will help keep some kitchen waste from ending up in landfills where these will decompose and contribute to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

As a final point, many articles suggest specific ratios of greens to browns. I just roughly use 50-50, and adjust the mixture when the compost pile is either too dry or too wet.