Making Compost Bins At Home

Good materials are the key to good compost.

Making compost bins at home. Plastic storage bins are widely available and you might already have one in your home that you re willing to repurpose into a compost bin. Moisten dry materials as they are added. To make good compost you need a 50 50 mix of materials that are rich in nitrogen and carbon. Home composting is a process that uses natural decomposition to transform landscape and kitchen waste into a rich soil amendment that does wonders for a garden.

Reach your hand into the center of the pile it should be almost too hot for comfort. In fact a second lid can be helpful to catch the liquid that leaches out of the bin. Here s how to make a diy compost bin. This diy compost bin is for indoors and before you get leery of having a compost bin inside your home this one makes it odor free so there are no worries of smells wafting throughout the house.

With home compost bins or piles the way to eliminate weed seeds is twofold. Nitrogen comes from lush green material such as grass clippings. 8 16 pieces of 2 x 6 lumber again cut to 3 length. Specifically the temperature should be 130 150 degrees f.

Compost heaps can be designed to suit gardens of all sizes. You can build your own or choose from a whole range of specially designed bins available at garden centres and. Regular mixing or turning of the compost and some water will help maintain the compost. Make sure your compost is hot enough.

Cold composting simply requires collecting materials in a bin and letting them naturally decompose over the course of a year. You can make this from just about any plastic container and it is the perfect diy compost bin if you are just getting started and need to learn the. Fruit and vegetable scraps eggshells coffee grounds grass clippings dry leaves finely chopped wood shredded paper straw and sawdust from untreated wood all make great. Homemade compost is invaluable in the garden it s a great soil improver mulch and growing medium.

A compost bin gives you the satisfaction of turning kitchen and garden waste into rich crumbly compost which you can use as a mulch in the garden. It takes about 30 days at 140 degrees to kill all weed seeds. Most compost bins have spaces between the exterior boards for aeration. The bin should be no smaller than 18 gallons and it must have a lid.

Carbon comes from brown material such as woody stems and cardboard. Decomposers like bacteria fungi insects nematodes earthworms and other composting critters are a composter s best friend. 9 square foot cover preferably made of solid wood. Types of compost bin.

What s more because food and garden waste releases methane a harmful greenhouse gas when sent to landfill composting is good for the planet too. These boards will make up the walls of your compost bin.