Bokashi bins beat tumblers for small apartments and nobody wants to admit it

I tried a tumbler for 4 months in my 600 sq ft place near Austin and it was a nightmare. Every time I spun it, the smell leaked out and I had fruit flies everywhere. Switched to a bokashi bucket system in January and honestly I haven't had a single issue since. The key is layering the bran and draining the liquid every 3 days. My neighbor tried the same tumbler setup and gave up on composting entirely after 2 weeks. Has anyone else found bokashi way more reliable for tight spaces?

2 comments

2 Comments

noranguyen6d ago

Wait are you actually getting liquid out of yours every 3 days? I've been doing bokashi for about 5 months now in my Houston apartment and I swear sometimes I barely get any liquid for like a week. What kind of kitchen scraps are you putting in there? Cause I'm mostly doing veggie peels and coffee grounds with some fruit scraps mixed in and mine just stays kinda dry. Maybe I'm not adding enough moisture or something. The smell thing though is huge for me too. My neighbor tried to tell me my place would stink but the bucket just sits under my sink and nobody even knows it's there. Have you tried burying the fermented scraps directly in potted plants or do you have an outdoor spot for that?

mark_cooper6d agoRising Star

@noranguyen Is it really that big a deal though? I mean you're getting some liquid out eventually. What's the rush. It's just compost juice not a race.