What is the greener option?

littlemommy1

Worm composting or using an outdoor one? My parents are thinking about getting us a composter for Christmas, but they want to know what kind we want. I don't know much about them. 

The outdoor ones are electric, right? Does worm composting smell if you do it indoors, like in a  basement?

Teach me about composting! 

CDMay2006

I've never heard of an electric compost bin.  There is a smell, regardless which type you do, but it's not overwhelming unless you stick your face in it or put the wrong things in (in the case of a worm bin).  There are indoor composters you can buy, too, that are small and pretty tidy looking (maybe that's electric?).  If the ground freezes where you are at you may want to consider the worm bin, but if you aren't worried about how fast you get usable compost out of it, then an outdoor one may still suit you.

SuperGreen

There are indoor electric composters, like this model here, but of course they take electricy to operate.  I don't know anything about worm composting unfortunately, but my limited understanding is that you have to properly care for it so the worms don't die.  If you have the yard and garden for an outdoor bin, I would recommend you go with that.

We bought a $25 composting bin from Craiglist.  If you look at the backyard photo in my bio (really outdated, sorry), it's the doghouse-looking green thing.  We scraped the grass off a segment of our yard, and placed the composter there.  The rhyme is "equal parts green and brown help to break the compost down."  So we add all our kitchen scraps (those are greens), and shredded leaves or newspaper (brown).  You can Google for other kinds of greens and browns.  We stir after every addition using our garden shovel, and add water about once a week or so.  I have a tub sitting under our patio furniture to catch rainwater, I normally empty that in the compost.  It should be moist (not wet), like a damp sponge .  We got finished compost after about 6 months, and now that it's really going (we're in year 3) I regularly take a tub of compost out of it to add to our raised beds or out front for our decorative plants.  Everything is growing like gangbusters, and we've reduced our landfill impact by a significant amount. 

 We bought this compost crock for holding scraps, I wanted something pretty.  But any sealed container will work.  Composting is easier than you think!

I wouldn't worry at all about "screwing up" your compost pile, that's not really possible unless you put something that reaallly shouldn't be in there, like meat scraps.  They smell when they decompose, and attract animals.  Really, you're just making a place for organic material to rot.  You can't really mess up letting something rot.

We add kitchen scraps pretty much every day, and a big pile of browns every once and awhile when we rake or have brown paper.  We have awesome compost.  Try not to think about it too much, it's just rotting organic matter

Ms.Jade

I have both regular compost and vermicompost systems. Both are super easy. The worm one doesn't smell at all but we keep it outside. You can't give them rotten or moldy stuff so I would imagine that keeps the smell way down. I do love the worm "tea" they produce. That stuff is magic in the garden!

toadstool

I have never seen an electric one, but I guess there could be some out there. I would say as long as yours is not electric, you're better off.

another KT

There is a link to an electric composter in the post just below "Does anyone have this composter?"

littlemommy1

Thanks ladies! I'm so excited to make use of our food scraps!!

treesapplaud

I think an electric composter might defeat the purpose.

misscarolb

I haven't composted in my house but my mom has used both worm and outdoor ones. I think it all depends on how into it you plan on getting. Outdoor or indoor composters can work very well and quickly if you know what you're doing. From my experience the worms don't smell at all (my mom kept hers in the garage) but you can kill them. Good luck!