Wisdom of using manure, compost, and humus indoors?

[emerald7]

Hi everyone. Newbie gardener here, in Houston TX. After reading books and a lot of stuff on the Internet, I am about to embark upon the challenge that is indoor container gardening in my dining room. lol.

OK. So a lot of different things I have read about container gardening, even some about indoor container gardening, say, "Yes! Using manure (well-composted/fully rotted manure) and compost and humus are grrrreat things to do for your plants! You should definitely do it!" And I have even located some "low odor fully composted manure" at Lowe's, which seems to fit this description.

Which is all well and good, but the constraints of my apartment mean that I have to do my gardening indoors in containers, and I am concerned about the wisdom of using potentially stinky things indoors... not just the smell but I don't know if it is sanitary (although obviously I could wear latex gloves when physically touching the soil mixture).

The same goes for humus & compost which also might be stinky and/or create bacteria. I have already ruled out the use of fish emulsion as fertilizer after taking the lid off and giving it a big whiff. (lol)

(I did actually take a close smell of the manure I found at Lowe's, and it did not stink in its dry form, not any more than potting soil would.)

Has anyone actually done this? Am I worrying for nothing, or is it a really bad idea.

Thanks in advance.

[Kisal]

Finished compost is no different that the stuff you find on the forest floor. It smells fresh and earthy. There should be no "stink" to it at all. Quality commercial potting soil that you buy in bags at the store usually contain compost. (Some specialized mixes might be exceptions, but a standard potting soil mix usually contains compost.)

It's usually best to use a potting mix specifically designed for container-grown plants. Garden soil is usually too heavy, and drains too slowly, although the soil where you live might be sandy. In that case, you might be able to mix it with a little compost and use it in containers. I used to mix my own potting soil, but I no longer have space to store the bags of ingredients.

One thing is that I wouldn't suggest that you try to make compost indoors, although I have seen special compost "machines" that are designed for doing just that. There is also an anerobic type of composting that is supposedly odor-free. It's called Bokashi. I know little about it, and do not do it myself. You can find some discussion of it in our [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35]Compost Forum[/url], or by using our search function to search the forum.

HTH!

[emerald7]

Finished compost is no different that the stuff you find on the forest floor. It smells fresh and earthy. There should be no "stink" to it at all. Quality commercial potting soil that you buy in bags at the store usually contain compost. (Some specialized mixes might be exceptions, but a standard potting soil mix usually contains compost.)

It's usually best to use a potting mix specifically designed for container-grown plants. Garden soil is usually too heavy, and drains too slowly, although the soil where you live might be sandy. In that case, you might be able to mix it with a little compost and use it in containers. I used to mix my own potting soil, but I no longer have space to store the bags of ingredients.

One thing is that I wouldn't suggest that you try to make compost indoors, although I have seen special compost "machines" that are designed for doing just that. There is also an anerobic type of composting that is supposedly odor-free. It's called Bokashi. I know little about it, and do not do it myself. You can find some discussion of it in our [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35]Compost Forum[/url], or by using our search function to search the forum.

HTH!

Thanks. *whew* good to know. Yes, I am making my own container plant mix, consisting of sand, potting soil, organic matter, and other things depending on what each plant likes. But those bags do take up a lot of space. I'm going to get some big plastic tubs to stack up in a closet I have some space in.

[emerald7]

One thing is that I wouldn't suggest that you try to make compost indoors, although I have seen special compost "machines" that are designed for doing just that. There is also an anerobic type of composting that is supposedly odor-free. It's called Bokashi. I know little about it, and do not do it myself. You can find some discussion of it in our [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35]Compost Forum[/url], or by using our search function to search the forum.
HTH!

I did attempt making compost one time a long time ago, but at the time I had a household of 2 people, and the amount of vegetable parings, etc. generated by 2 people wasn't enough to really get it going. I think it would be a lot easier as a community effort (or a group effort of 2-3 households) and not indoors, like you said.

[Kisal]

Mine is a single person household, and I don't even eat much in the way of veggies. Except for salad fixings that spoil before I can use them up, and a little bit of grass clippings from my yard (I've had most of my lawn removed and replace with trees, shrubs and perennials, and space for me to play with a few annuals every year), so my compost pile mostly gets egg shells, used coffee grounds, and paper and cardboard that I shred. In the fall, I hope to have a chance to rake up my leaves and add them to my compost pile, too, before the yard crew takes it all away. Actually, the crew is very nice about giving me whatever I want of the stuff. But I do keep my compost bins outdoor.

I believe Bokashi is a method of anerobic composting (outdoor composting uses aerobic bacteria), more along the lines of fermenting, and is basically odor free. It might serve your purposes quite well, as I think it just requires a covered bucket. Depending on how many plants you have space for to grow, one or two 5 gallon buckets of compost might be sufficient for your needs.

[Sage Hermit]

Get a container Put some worms in there. Put your kitchen scraps in. Bury the scraps. keep the soil moist and stir every other day. The worms will junk everywhere inside your soil. the castings are really good plant food. banana peels potato peels sweet potatoe peels shreds of carrots celery ends everything becomes worm food and soil. Vermi composting indoors is not hard or messy and it works really well.


To maximize my own composting I first get a chopstick and pile the soil to the middle right at the base of the plant ( Each pot is a compost bin) on all sides forming a mound. This should create an indented ring around the plant. Put your scraps in the outer ring and cover. Self composting pot. occasionally the worms will surface when you stir so have some mulch and cover the top layer a bit I just use straw and dead leaves.

[Kisal]

Variety is the spice of life!

I don't want worms in my indoor plant containers. Their tunneling can create air pockets among the roots, allowing parts of the roots to become overly dry.

I also don't want to find them wandering around my house ... not that my dogs would allow them to get very far. I don't fancy going into the living room to dust my new quarter-sawn oak furniture, only to find a worm or two lying around on the tables. Not the end of the world, or even any kind of problem ... just something I prefer not to have to mess with.

A worm bin out in the garage wouldn't be a bad idea, if I had enough stuff to feed them. I just don't care to include a lot of veggies or fruits in my diet. Poor little worms would end up starving to death.

[applestar]

Wow, Sage Hermit, you're going another notch further than I am. Sounds like a plan, especially for folks who don't want a major worm bin going. My motto is "an earthworm in every pot" and each of my container plants has at least one resident worm. I feed them used coffee grounds in case they run out of the organic matter originally mixed into the soil.

I don't use chemical fertilizers, and, since I've started doing this, I'm don't have to be as concerned about fertilizing, and the plants continue to look healthy. The worms rarely stray out of the containers, really.

I started a big wormbin, I guess in the late fall~early winter, but the "compost" is still not finished. Of course I didn't start with the recommended 1000~2000 worms, only about 30 or so. I think I might have done just as well with a DIY double-bucket wormbin, but I couldn't resist the going out of business sale price on a commercial vermicomposting system.

[gixxerific]

Emerald are you using the Black Kow manure at Lowe's, if so that is what I use. I have it in a bunch of stuff right now in the basement, it has little to no odor, or at least an odor I find offensive. You should have no problems.