I've tried a few methods and found varying success with them. I've used the "pile" method, where you just pile up debris and then turn it once in a while. That didn't last-piles get neglected and neglected piles get animals. I tried composting in an aluminum garbage can with holes in the bottom. That got too "hot" and it went rancid. My latest and most lasting method has been to just direct-dig kitchen waste into the garden beds and let the worms do the rest. That's actually worked quite well! This winter I saved
However, there's no good reason to not give this composting thing another go. Americans put over 700 pounds PER YEAR of waste into landfills that could be composted. That's just crazy! Especially when you consider just the coffee drinkers alone-at 2lbs of coffee per month, that's 24 pounds of waste than can easily just be sprinkled into a garden bed!
I'd been reading online about various composting methods and I wanted one that is cheap and easy. I saw a few tutorials on fashioning a tube out of heavy gauge chicken wire and then filling that tube up with your waste, grass clippings, a little soil, some shredded newspaper, etc. When it's time to turn the "pile", you simply lift the tube off, set it in a new spot, and shovel the composting waste back into it. Now how easy is that?
Brad took the "tube" idea one step further and drilled a lot of holes into an aluminum garbage can we've had forever--but it has no bottom. (from my failed "composting in an aluminum garbage can" trial several years ago). It's even better than the chicken wire tube because it has handles and a lid. Fancy! I found a great spot behind our shed so it won't get baked in the summer, but is easily accessible so we won't forget about it.
Check it out:
Here it is--minus the lid. |
You can see the holes here. Brad used a 1/2" drill bit for the holes. |
Lots of room for another can or two. |
My shabby chic picket fence hides the can from view. |
Remember, do not put meat, dairy, or bones in your bin. You want to try to keep the amounts of "brown" and "green" about even or even a bit more heavy on the "brown." Brown would be dead leaves, dirt, newspaper shreds, paper shreds, coffee grounds. Green things are the fruit/veg waste. If you get too much of one or the other, decomp will stop. Also, make sure it stays a bit damp.
Another thing that I do is when I'm weeding in my perennial beds and find a worm, I toss it into my compost. Sure, the bottom of the garbage can is missing and the worms can head underground, but as long as I keep up proper ratios and keep it damp, the worms come up out of the ground and do their thing on my waste.
2012 UPDATE-I've been successfully using this compost bin for over 1 year. I have had great success with it--as long as I remember to turn it. Because this is not a hot pile, it takes a little longer to break down, but I'm ok with that because I don't have to worry about it getting smelly.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Suggestion? Question? Ideas? I read every.single.comment!! (after I'm done removing Legos from floor vents, of course!)