3 Tips for Indoor Composting - Omysa
3 Tips for Indoor Composting
Spring into compost with these easy indoor composting tips!
Composting is one of the easiest you could do to improve your plant’s soil, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, recycle nutrients, and alleviate the impact of drought. However, many of us might not practice composting outdoors due to our living situation, or maybe you just want to try composting indoors for your houseplants. Pros recommend using a worm bin to compost indoors if you’re up for keeping a few hundred worms in your space. It’s completely understandable if you’re not a fan of worms because you could set up a composting system without worms, but it would take constant monitoring and attention to make it successful.
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Containers for Composting Indoor
Five-Gallon Buckets: Gardeners prefer them because they are cheap and stackable. Drill aeration holes near the top of the bucket.
Old Wooden Dresser Drawers or Boxes: Turn an old drawer or box into an indoor composting bin. Cover the top with heavy fabric like a painter’s canvas or maybe cut out a piece of wood.
Plastic Storage Bins: Similar to five-gallon buckets, plastic storage bins are inexpensive and can be purchased easily. Drill a few aeration holes in the lid and start your indoor composting.
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Items That Are Good and Bad for Indoor Composting
Good: Start composting by adding fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee or tea bags, paper, trimmings from houseplants, and eggshells.
Bad: Avoid composting meat, dairy, or fats indoors. However, these items could be part of outdoor composting. Gardeners advise avoiding composting foul-smelling scraps, like onion peelings, as it could reek, and you may smell it in your space. Avoid watery items, too, such as squashes or melons. Of course, after a while, you would learn and eventually figure out what to add to your indoor composting bin.
Mix the Contents: Turn the contents of your indoor composting bin from time to time. This would help warm up a bit and increase microbial action. You can use a shovel or trowel to mix the contents.
Prepare a Stash of Shredded Paper or Dry Leaves: Dry leaves or shredded paper could help decrease the sogginess of your indoor compost.
Smaller Items Break Down Faster: Gardeners suggest chopping food scraps in smaller portions and shred paper or dry leaves into thin strips to make them break down quicker.
Enrich your plant’s soil, help retain moisture, and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers by trying these indoor composting guides and tips. Check out our Plant Care blog to learn more about different houseplants and tips on how to keep your plants alive and healthy.