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any ideas on how to make one? I priced them at Home Depot and they were outrageous!

Dear Ohio,
The easiest way to make a compost bin that I can think of is to use a metal garbage can (as big as you think you may need) with a cover. Then drill some holes in it evenly around the whole can ( to allow air in the can to help the garbage to decompose). Add all your garbage, (except meat or meat products, wich will attract animales). Make sure that you add an equale amounts of "greens" and "browns', and then take the time to mix the contants at least every other day by tipping the can over and rolling it around to mix the contents well.
The other idea is to enter "Compost Bins, How to make" in your topic line on the "envierement(sp)board".
HTH,
Mary

We used a plastic barrel, food grade or something compariable...ours came from a floor cleaner who was using biodegradable cleaners (soap).
DH cut a hole on one side, drilled holes about every 4" in rows all the way around. He used the piece he cut out as a door on hinges w/closure (like a window lock)..out of brass, the others rust quickly. One end is secured with a barrel ring so we can empty it easily. He mounted it on a wooden frame w/big rollers sticking up...like desk chair rollers.
It works fine!
Metal barrels rust too!

You can also just make piles...3 seperated piles is usually best...one for new stuff, one for partially composted stuff & compost that is ready.

PS...try the gardening board...that's where most of us are that do composting.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ga.karen,

My first compost bin I got from "Freecycle" (I swear). I'm still using it, I think this is about the 3rd year. Last Sept. my town was offering compost bins for $30 so I bought one!!! That's a terrific price for one as they usually cost over $100. Haven't used it yet, prolly next year I will.
I would buy a new black plastic garbage can to use as a compost bin. (my 'real' compost bin is made of black plastic)(much cheaper than a compost bin) Drill a lot of holes in it (some on the bottom too for the worms and other insects to enter if they want to)
Turn it every week or when you put in food scraps and water it regularly and that's it.
Good luck!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Waverider ;),

When we bought our house on 10 acres, we found where the previous owners had dumped their junk - old bikes and swing sets, tires, just junk. As husband was clearing it out, he found a short roll of "chain-link" fencing. He purchased 6 metal posts and made me a 2-section compost pile. I dump in all mulched grass clippings, vegetable scraps from the house, dried mulched leaves in the fall, etc. NO meat or dairy - I don't mind feeding the wildlife, but I detest feeding the neighbors' fat dogs and do not encourage their roaming on my property...although they do...I just don't put out anything to draw them here.

As stuff is add, I just toss with a garden fork (small pitchfork). Works great to amend the red clay whenever we plant anything.

I like the idea of them very much. Unfortunately there are no "Bear safe" ones for the mountains (unless one digs a pit and padlocks a steel door over it), and that is really where we could use composting for kitchen/vegetable waste.

I think the rotating barrel ones are kind of neat, maybe you could advertise on Craig's list, as there are no doubt people who thought they were going to use one, and it ended up a not so attractive yard ornament?

Anyone do worm composting? That we could probably do in the garage.

I brought 4 wooden pallets home from work and made my own. I stood each one of them up on their ends, so they ended up looking like a cube. I used heavy duty zip ties at each corner, 4 per corner, except I left one side unattatched so I could remove it and shovel/turn when necessary. Before I assembled it I took weed block cloth and stapled it on the "inside" surface of the pallet, then took hardware cloth and stapled that over the weed block. That way the compost wont wash out between the wide gaps of the pallet. It works fantastic!

it depends on what you want to oompost.
Your local agriculture commissioner should provide advice- recyling green waste HOT, or mixed with biodegradable dry materials.
Before my city provided green waste pick up, it provided "how to recycle" workshops. Maybe if you ask yours, they too will offer a similar program


Several years ago while visiting the Wolf Rescue compound in Idaho, their eco friendly "restroom" was waterless and odorless...no flies!
no comprende why off the beaten path PARKS & recreational areas are slow to adopt similar......

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tessa89,

We've had a ComposTumbler for many years. Works great! We have a gravity composter--works.
We also have piles of grass with shredded leaves from last fall mixed in. Good stuff!
We got fencing to hold the shredded leaves (mowed and collected in bag system attached to tractor). About 25 feet of fencing. One part is open; in winter we tie on a sturdy fence gate that we have.
3/4 brown to 1/4 green (or half and half) works fine. All kitchen fruit and veg. scraps and yard items. We have a shredder and shred dead limbs, bush and tree prunings. These can go into a composter or pile. We use them for mulch.
The key to good compost is airing it regularly--every few days. It will break down.
For bear country, you'd have to have a sturdy tumbler.
Lowe's had $99 gravity composters last year. I returned to add: don't keep open compost over winter. Rodents in particular will seek a pile for warmth. We use all compost prior to cold weather.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: M-ma,

A compost bin is probably one of the easiest to do. All you need is a bin that can store your compost and a cover to make sure it won't be messed up by your pets or by pests. The key to fast compost creation is having the best compost recipe. I follow a DIY that a friend shared with me which is composed of equal parts of garden soil, finished compost, left over bones and meats, fertilizer and compost starter.

It is also best if you can place your compost in a high temperature place because it is easier to decompose with the presence of heat.

-One

This message has been edited. Last edited by: onelyn,

onelyn, Surely no bones or meat in the compost? That would immediately attract every hungry varmint or scavenger from miles away!

Possum, raccoon, skunk, coyote...whatever you might have in your area.

quote:

Originally posted by conrad:
onelyn, Surely no bones or meat in the compost? That would immediately attract every hungry varmint or scavenger from miles away!

Possum, raccoon, skunk, coyote...whatever you might have in your area.

It is possible to compost meat and bones in a LARGE COMMERCIAL COMPOST Operation. I wouldn't do it in a backyard sized compost pile. On Dirty Jobs on Discovery one time Mike went to a commercial composting operation and cleaned the tumbler they used for breaking the material down to smaller bits for faster composting. They did all kinds of things you shouldn't do in a home based compost operation. A commercial operation can take yard waste with weed seeds in it and get it to the point where the seeds are killed by the heat. You're hard pressed to do that in many home compost bins. When the crabgrass has gone to seed the lawn trimmings don't go in my compost bin. They head out into the woods where I compost stuff I don't intend on putting in my landscape.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky,

Talk about compost?

A retired couple I know, used to have a business (before selling it and retiring). It consisted of a huge Medical microwave and crematorium. They collected all the "medical trash" from hospitals in the city. Microwaved all of it to get rid of any organisms or cells of disease (ex. from operating rooms)so it could be disposed of safely. Melted down all the sharps. And burned up all the removed organs, amputations, tissue, etc. Also went to the landfill.

Didn't you wonder where all that stuff went?

TMI conrad!!!

I put no meat or dairy in my compost. That's where most of the stink comes from. Besides, it draws the neighbors' dogs and wild varmints.

We also don't put any meat or dairy into our compost. And to help it get started and to get hotter than most do...throw in some alfalfa pellets if you don't have access to manures. If you use manures, it will get hot enough to kill weed & grass seeds...or it should.