Would it stink?

Below is a link that is pricey. It comes with a bucket and proper microbrials.

Here is a link that might be useful: Indoor composting

I would put a carbon filter in the lid to keep smells down. :)

Kathy, think what a compost is...a bunch of garbage that is rotting and finally turning into what enriches the soil.
The under-the-sink pail is a good idea to store the leftovers and cuttings from what you make dinner with.
But it isn't supposed to be there for long periods, its supposed to be taken out to the composter where, over time, it becomes the finished product.

Even in winter, you can dispose of the waste even though its not working. After all, its better there than throwing it out.
Later, when the weather improves it will start percolating and, depending on where it is, how big it is, how you feed it and how long you wait for the finished product, it will provide what can help your soil.

If the idea of not building one cuz its late in the season, then put off putting the stuff under the sink--it will stink and invite bugs...you don't want bugs eating in your kitchen.
Next spring, begin the building and adding all sorts of things to it to break down.

If its the just the two of you and you don't garden in any sizable fashion, then I recommend you forget about starting a composting bin and just buy some compost when you have need of it.

Hi Kath,

You could make Bokashi -fermented compost. I'll include a link on how to make your own from the US distributor of EM-1.

I have fermented green om in a 32 gallon plastic barrel without the use of bran, sawdust, or the like. I just sprinkled the om with Activated EM-1 as the material was put in the container and let it do its thing.

Making the dry Bokashi and adding it would help soak up liquids in the kitchen waste, but I don't know if that would be necessary. The microorganisms eliminate orders as they work, though you may detect a slight fermented 'odor' that I do not find unpleasant.

Terran

P.S. URL for EM-1 Activation process.

http://www.teraganix.com/Activated_EM_1_s/261.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Bokashi Recipe

I vote for starting an 'informal' pile in the yard with your kitchen scraps. When spring comes, you will have a head start on composting in whatever bin you decide on. I find that a shovel full of bagged fertilizer over the top of my scraps keeps my compost pile from becoming a "varmit-feeding-station" .... and good luck! You'll soon be a compost whacko like the rest of us.

Hi Borderbarb,

what exactly do you mean by bagged fertilizer? I have been composting for a while and now and then my pile becomes "varmit-feeding station"!

Sapota, composting is what happens to material when its exposed to air--rust is metal that is composting.
When material breaks down it uses nitrogen.
As material breaks down using the nitrogen, it can lose effectiveness if the nitrogen is removed and not replaced.
So, throwing a handful of fertilizer into the bin can raise the level of nitrogen.
The easiest sources of nitrogen for the homeowner is that bag of fertilizer we toss on our lawns.

>>> The easiest sources of nitrogen for the homeowner is that bag of fertilizer we toss on our lawns. Or keep a bag of chicken manure next to the pile, and add when things cool off. Toss and it's hot again. Worm friendly and easiest for this city dweller. Alfalfa meal, alfalfa pellets, or cottonseed meal are other options, but a little more expensive. All are easy and local here in my area of the city.

I just got a couple new bags of chicken poop yesterday and it must be "good stuff". That whole side of the house has a definite fragrance today. = :-o

During the cold of winter mice will find a way into the dry, bottom sides of my pile,looking for a place to stay dry. The pile then becomes a cat feeding station in the evening, for our neighborhood working cats (different than spoiled house cats that go out to play during the day and cause problems with the birds. BTW).
Integrated pest management !

Sapota .. I mean the el-cheapo bags of fertilizer from Lowes, etc. [$.98]

Open sack next to compost pile ... when I add from my bucket of kitchen scraps, cover it with a shovel of fertilizer. Do the same with UCG when I have them. I think a shovel full of soil would do as well.

I cold compost ... just pile it up and let nature take its course. Working on my 3rd good sized pile this year. Next spring, the one I started this spring will be ready for harvesting. Some times when things get ahead of me, I just dig a hole and bury the bucket of scraps.

Vegetarian-only kitchen wastes, chopped fine or blended, plus 1) shredded dried leaves or 2) sawdust plus a handful of "living soil" or 3) wheat bran plus lactic acid serum or 4) fresh, never-before-used coir can all work. And I'm sure there are other formulations, as well.

But indoor compost requires more attention than an outdoor pile, and a gallon container is very small; you'd probably end up with several of them cooking at once, all of them needing near-daily mixing and monitoring against moisture build-up, with probably the need to add more carbon at least a few times once you think they're done. Other problems include heat-transmission from the metal, rust as mentioned above, and the fact that any imbalance can be stinky and messy.

If you'd still like to try it, I recommend adding a reservoir to your container--it's a lot harder to maintain a proper moisture balance without one, though that, too, is possible--and if you're using a sterile carbon-source, you might look into rhodobacters.

[Obligatory disclaimer: I play with bokashi. Not always the retail version, though it is reliable and, if approached correctly, not expensive. (Also, bokashi fermentation allows me to reclaim nutrients from meats and dairies as well as more traditional compostables.) Rhodobacters are in EM, though there are other ways to acquire them. Dried leaves that have fallen on healthy soil, for example.]

Good luck!

DSF

I think that some of GW's Vermicomposting people do some composting inside. I don't study what sorts of set-ups they use.

I compost in three basket type buckets (no holes) indoors. The fresh materials are added in small amounts to finished compost, mixed and allowed to slowly cool compost as long as needed (Usually about two to three weeks). I then mix all of the fresh and finished compost together and use this as my base worm food.

"...composting is what happens to material when its exposed to air--rust is metal that is composting."

While appreciating that individuals have a unique mental image of what a definition attempts to describe, parameters too broad can be misleading or non-factual.

Rust is not composted metal nor is its formation due to composting.

Since this forum titluary discusses composting, "rotting" seems in the description as in "IALBTC" or "cold composting". As the process requires time and soil life interaction, I'm certain I wouldn't want something rotting under my sink or in my house.

Concern with Carbon/Nitrogen ratios implies a hoped for thermal reaction producing humus. As dsfoxx so ably states, production as per OP's scenario could be difficult.

In case no one mentioned it, in winter if you're too lazy or the weather is nasty to go outside, keep a 5-gal bucket with lid (and brick on top if you have dawgs/varmints around) next to the back door. When the kitchen bucket gets full, open the door, dump into the big bucket, go back inside and have some more coffee. When it gets full and/or the weather is a little nicer, dump it into the main pile. Saves a few trips in the mud and the cold and dark.

If you are intent on doing it inside I would also recommend looking into Bokashi.