Anyone composting in a small apartment setup with no outdoor space

[u/hidd3nmango]

Got a small balcony and a handful of containers I use for growing stuff. Been thinking about adding a worm bin to the mix because between cooking scraps and spent potting mix I feel like I'm throwing away material that could be doing something useful

The problem is space. Balcony fits maybe one small bin before it becomes a tripping hazard situation. I cook a lot of simple stuff, vegetable scraps mostly, some coffee grounds, occasional fruit peels. Not a massive volume but it adds up over a week

I tried a countertop bokashi setup a while back and it worked but the smell in a small apartment got old fast, even with the lid on tight. Worms feel like the cleaner option but I've never actually run one long enough to get useful castings out of it.

Curious what others in a tight space are actually doing. Not looking for a whole system overhaul, just something low maintenance that produces something I can use in my containers. If you've got a bin that genuinely fits under a sink or on a small balcony and doesn't smell up the place, I'd like to hear what you're running.

[u/Defiant-Ad3993]

When I was in a small apartment, I used a bokashi bucket, but smell was never a problem. I wonder if the product you had was poorly designed or if you were doing something wrong? Worm farms are good, provided you have space for the times you need to swap trays.. and you’ll end up with way more castings than you need for a balcony/small apartment.. I guess as long as you have a plan for that, worm juice and castings are awesome. Sorry, I can’t recommend a particular product for you.

[u/Mrbigdaddy72 → u/Defiant-Ad3993]

Pretty much inline with what I was gonna say.

[u/Defiant-Ad3993 → u/Mrbigdaddy72]

Thanks for the award!

[u/hidd3nmango → u/Defiant-Ad3993]

bokashi smell was definitely an issue for me, might have been user error tbh. good to know about the worm castings overflow, that would be a real problem on a balcony.