Hi Punks! I am wondering what would be the best option to do some eco waste recycling at home? I am living in a small flat and have a balcony where I am trying to grow some veggies and herbs. Lately I am getting targeted apps about worm farms that you can have either in your flat (because apparently they don’t smell?) Or on a balcony. Does anyone have experience with this? Or does it make more sense to simply compost? I think you can use bokashi as well to compost that has some microorganisms? I am wondering what would be the best option smell wise and suitable for smaller amounts of waste and space. If anybody has some experience to share I’d be grateful :)
I used to have one in my flat. For about two years it worked perfectly, but somehow something went wrong and I noticed too late that something was off. The pH (acidity) was wrong for some reason, which resulted in the worms dying. I bought new ones and managed to get it up and running again, only to get a real bad infestation with fungus gnats after a while, which soon were all over the flat.
When they work, worm farms are a great source if absolutely fabulous compost (for which you have to find a use - it’s way more than your balcony could handle). But you have to constantly monitor moisture, temperature, acidity, and look for any larvae of bugs you don’t want. And read up on what to do to fix any problems as early as possible.
I decided to do without after the second failure because we have curbside collection of bio waste, and the worms were just an interesting experiment. It was fun, though.
I used to compost with a bokashi bucket on my balcony because despite everybody saying they don’t smell, I think they do. They dont if they’re closed but as soon as you open them its smelly. I took mine to the balcony to open the lid an fill in the stuff. Maybe some people say it doesnt smell because they like the sour fermenting smell, i surely dont. :/
so I changed to a worm farm last year. and I’m amazed. I would never change back. they’re on my balcony still because I dont want it in my flat. I didn’t have any problems at all yet. once it’s established it runs on its own, no need to buy in things like you have to with bokashi. if you’re on a budget you can even build your own worm farm. there are tons of designs out there with plastic buckets or made from wood.
I live in a place where it gets below 0 in winter (in germany), last winter was pretty mild and there were no problems for the wormies. They are less active in the cold but can be pretty hardy. I put the worm box on some styrofoam to keep it a bit warmer. The woman i got the worms from said she had hers on her balcony all year round for ~10 years and they overwintered perfectly every year.
if you need information about worms and how to keep them look at Rhonda Sherman’s work. here is an interview with her which is an awesome introduction: https://youtu.be/i0ve39opqc4
I would always opt for worms especially if you have a small garden you can use the worm castings for. its pure gold and can help you save money on dirt and fertilizer. also I just love my little friends. :) bokashi is great for getting rid of your food waste but i read some studies that suggest that from a fertilization point of view bokashi might not be as fertile and nutrient dense as one may think. if your goal is just minimizing your food waste then bokashi is still a great option though, i think.
