Eleanor Hartley
Why Even a Tiny Garden Can Make Room for Compost
If you have a courtyard, a balcony, a back yard the size of a doormat, or simply a corner that never sees the sun, you might have assumed composting is for people with room to spare. It isn't. A household's worth of vegetable peelings, tea leaves and eggshells is a small-scale operation once it's set up properly, and the reward is a steady supply of crumbly, sweet-smelling compost that your pots and borders will thank you for. The secret is choosing the right system for your space, then keeping the mix balanced and just damp enough.
Two routes suit small spaces particularly well: a sealed bin and a wormery. Both cope happily with peelings, coffee grounds, eggshells and the odd collapsed houseplant. Both keep things tidy and out of reach of foxes and rats. Which you choose depends on how much waste you produce and how quickly you want results.
Sealed Bins: Slow, Steady and Almost Effort-Free
A sealed bin is the classic choice for a small garden. Look for one with a lid and a hatch at the base, roughly 200 to 300 litres, and stand it directly on bare soil or on paving slabs in a shaded spot. Sitting it on soil lets worms and beneficial microbes find their way in; if you must use slabs, put a generous layer of twiggy prunings at the bottom to help drainage and airflow.
Fill it in layers rather than tipping everything in at once. Every time you add a caddy of kitchen scraps, follow it with a couple of handfuls of torn cardboard or scrunched paper. Lid on, and leave it be. A sealed bin works more slowly than a hot heap, so expect usable compost in six to twelve months. If your bin has a tap, draw off the liquid every few weeks and dilute it one part to ten with water for a free feed for tomatoes and courgettes.
The Wormery Alternative
For a flat, a balcony or a yard with no soil at all, a wormery is hard to beat. Tiger worms live in stacked trays, eating their way upwards while leaving behind rich worm casts and a liquid feed from the sump tap. The whole thing is about the size of a small wheelie bin, and because it's sealed, it's perfectly happy in a shed, a garage or a shaded corner.
Keep it between about 15 and 25°C and protect it from frost and blazing sun. Feed little and often rather than in one enormous helping, and bury each addition in a pocket of fresh bedding so it doesn't attract flies. Go gently with citrus peel, onion skins and anything heavily spiced — worms dislike the acidity. Never add meat, fish, dairy or oily cooked food.
Getting the Greens and Browns Balance Right
This is where most small-space composters come unstuck. Greens are wet and nitrogen-rich: vegetable peelings, fruit cores, grass clippings, coffee grounds, fresh plant trimmings. Browns are dry and carbon-rich: cardboard, egg boxes, loo roll tubes, scrunched newspaper, straw, dead leaves. Aim for roughly two to three parts browns to one part greens by volume — it looks like far too much cardboard, but trust the ratio.
- Tear cardboard into pieces no bigger than a postcard so it breaks down evenly.
- Remove plastic windows from envelopes and any tape from parcels before adding card.
- Skip glossy magazines, receipts and anything plastic-coated.
- Check teabags: many still contain a plastic mesh. Tear them open and compost the leaves only.
- Keep a lidded caddy of torn browns beside the bin so adding a handful is never a chore.
Crushed eggshells are worth adding too. They don't do much for the nutrient balance, but they help keep the mix sweet and deter fruit flies.
Keep It Moist, Not Soggy
The old test is the best one: squeeze a handful of the contents. You want the feel of a wrung-out sponge — a few drops on your palm, never a stream. Too wet and the bin turns sour and slimy; too dry and nothing much happens at all.
If it's soggy, add a good double handful of torn cardboard, give the contents a turn with a fork and leave the lid off for an hour on a dry day. If it's dusty and dry, sprinkle with water from the washing-up bowl or simply add fresh peelings and stir them through. In a hot summer, small bins dry out surprisingly fast; in a wet winter, keep the lid firmly on and add extra browns with every feed.
Troubleshooting the Common Grumbles
- Sour, rotting smell: too wet and too many greens. Add browns, turn, and leave the lid ajar briefly.
- Fruit flies: food is sitting exposed. Always bury new scraps under a layer of browns and keep the lid closed.
- Rats or mice: usually a sign of cooked food, meat or an unsealed bin. Stick to raw vegetable matter and use a bin with a base hatch.
- Nothing happening in winter: perfectly normal. The bin will wake up again in spring.
- Worms climbing the walls: the tray is too wet or too acidic. Ease off the feeding, add crushed eggshells and check the sump isn't blocked.
Using the Finished Compost
You'll know it's ready when it's dark, crumbly and smells of a woodland floor rather than a bin. Sieve out any stubborn lumps and return them to the next batch. Use the finished compost as a top dressing around shrubs, mixed into potting compost for tomatoes and herbs, or spread as a thin mulch on borders. Worm casts are superb for seed sowing when mixed with a little leaf mould.
Start small, keep the balance in mind, and within a season you'll have turned a fortnight's worth of peelings into something your garden genuinely wants. There's a quiet satisfaction in that — and it costs you nothing but a little attention.
