Balcony composting

By Meghan Kelly
Meghan is co-founder of the Veganic Agriculture Network, North America.

Five floors up in downtown Toronto, above the streets, traffic lights, and telephone poles, a wave of green sprawls across the balcony of vegan gardener Marco Pagliarulo. Vines grow seven feet high on a trellis. Native flowers are planted to sustain local insects. Sunflowers lean over the railing, under-sown with a groundcover of wild strawberries. Hidden amongst the plants lies an inconspicuous innovation: a veganic composter that functions on a balcony and doubles as a container garden. As a gardener without a backyard, Marco had to get creative when it came to compost. The City of Toronto does collect compostable materials and gives the compost back to residents, though their all-inclusive approach of collecting veg scraps, meat, dairy, cat litter and diapers might be less than ideal

for an organic vegan. To compost his food scraps at home and create a shorter, healthier food cycle, Marco invented a two-inone system that combines composting and container gardening. The concept is quite simple: a bottomless bucket is nestled inside a larger container. Inside the bottomless bucket, Marco adds finely-cut food scraps and brown leaves, which slowly A simple do-it-yourself design, the balcony composter has the potential to bring veganic composting to skyscrapers, rooftops, concrete surfaces and contaminated lots. break down into compost. Between the bucket and the container, soil is added and plants are grown. These plants are automatically nourished by the compost that seeps out of the bottomless bucket. A trap door is added at the bottom of the larger container, so that the composted material can be removed by hand. Marco finds that the balcony composter is large enough to handle most of his veg scraps, and the resulting compost provides fertilizer for the rest of his balcony garden and indoor plants. Aeration is important to keep the process aerobic and to speed up the decomposition, so Marco stirs the composting material with a bamboo stick when he adds more food scraps and leaves. He tops it off with a little soil from his parents garden, covering the decomposing food to keep bugs and odours to a minimum. The soil gives a boost of natural micro-organisms that aid in breaking down the food.

Marco ready to pick up his prize.

Creative with compost

In a Canadian climate, the balcony composter comes to a standstill in the winter, though starts up again naturally in the spring. After an unsuccessful and odoriferous attempt to bring it inside one winter, Marco recommends leaving it outside and finding an alternate composting solution in the sub-zero months. A simple do-it-yourself design, the balcony composter has the potential to bring veganic composting to skyscrapers, rooftops, concrete surfaces and contaminated lots. The design has already won first place in Torontos container gardening competition, and was featured in the book City Farmer: Adventures in Growing Urban Food. And Marcos next challenge? Seeing that available potting soil always contains animal products or peat, his next aim is to make a peat-free vegan potting soil to keep his urban garden thriving over the years.
30 GGI No 27 Summer 2011

Business/Employment Opportunity Wanted: a vegan partner to set up an eco-tourist establishment adjoining the Sri Lankan rainforest based on a mixed 35 acre vegan organic plantation of tea, cinnamon and coconut. To help manage a small resort that will initially accommodate up to 8 persons and serving vegan/vegetarian meals. In addition to owning the land I will invest further in its development, but expect the partner to also make a modest investment and reside on site for most of the year in a two bedroom house already built with electricity and pipe borne water. Contact: avinsa@hotmail.com. Employment and accommodation opportunity We are a 12 acre (mainly woodland) stockfree smallholding located in south west Wales requiring help! We can offer you a lovely 2 bedroomed cottage and a full time job developing our land along stockfree organic/ permaculture principles. The work would involve setting up and establishing 2 polytunnels, putting in place infrastructure, managing woodland, building paths & tracks etc. If this appeals to you please contact steve@organique.co.uk with details of your skills and experience. Volunteers needed for a vegan-organic project in Galicia Valderrodas Ecoaldea welcomes volunteers to work with us. We are felling eucalyptus and allowing the oak forest to regenerate in order to create a small nature park where children can come to learn about the indigenous animals and plants. We are also growing food vegan-organically, clearing brambles and restoring ruins and old irrigation channels. Volunteers are welcome at any time of year and we would expect you to work about 5 hours a day (weekdays) in return for vegan organic food and accommodation. Or three hours a day in return for accommodation only. The project is situated at 400m in the foothills of the Serra do Suido and we have two rivers within walking distance. One is slow and good for swimming distances. The other is fast and has natural pools, slides and Jacuzzis formed by the rocks. There are also good walks and cycle rides and we have bicycles which you can borrow. Because we are encouraging the wildlife to live near us, we do not keep pets and therefore we ask you not to bring your dog. We are a non-profit association. Please contact: ecoanarres@hotmail.com.

Convenient composting for kitchen scraps. Photo by Marco Pagliarulo

Balcony composter recipe

This is based on Marcos original model. The sizes suggested are minimums, though do experiment with the resources you have available. Begin with a large plastic container, about 45cm in diameter, with drainage holes and a tray for catching excess water. On the side of the container, near the bottom, cut a 12cm by 12cm trap door that can open and close. This is how you will later remove the finished compost. Take another container or bucket, about 27cm in diameter and at least 35cm tall. Drill holes all over the sides and lid, and then cut off the bottom of the bucket. The holes will provide passive aeration for the composting material. Marco also adds a smaller potted plant on top of the lid during the summer months, to grow more plants in a tight space and to aesthetically hide the compost bucket. Put 5-10cm of potting soil in the bottom of the large plastic container. Place the bottomless bucket in the centre. Between the two containers, fill this space with potting soil. In this ring of soil, you can grow edible plants. Marco has had good success with nasturtiums, tomatoes, dill and onion. Over time, add fruit and veg scraps, ideally in small pieces, and avoid adding oily foods. Always add the same quantity of dry leaves (remember, dry leaves can be collected in the autumn from neighbouring trees). Stir the compost well to aerate. As the scraps break down over time and leave space, continue to add more scraps. After several months, remove the maturing compost from the trap door at the bottom. If it seems like it needs more time to mature, simply leave the compost in a separate bucket for a few months until it is ready to use. For more information about Marcos garden and balcony composter, visit tinyurl.com/6ztx687 and tinyurl.com/6xatmmh.
GGI No 27 Summer 2011

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