Are compost bins a good idea?
“I started to build a compost bin out of old pallets and then I read that composting is difficult, takes a long time, is a lot of work, smells bad and attracts wildlife. If this is true, I won’t do it. What do you think?”
No, composting isn’t difficult, no matter what you’ve read. EVERYTHING rots, even metal! Backyard composting is made up of dead carbon-based matter, a bunch of microbes, fungi, bacteria and insects. They set up housekeeping together and it makes a bunch of heat. All the heat and housekeeping break the carbon-based matter down into smaller and smaller bits, changing its make-up back to the soil it came from.
If you think of dead, dry matter as “brown” and everything else is “green”, then this little formula will make sense. Start the pile with 3 parts “brown” and any twigs or sticks you can find. This will allow for better airflow, which is necessary for good decomposition. Now you can add a layer of “green”, such as kitchen scraps, yard or garden waste as long as it doesn’t have seed heads, etc. Some things to not add: meat scraps, dairy products, grease, pet waste. These are things that could attract critters. Continue with the 3 to 1 ratio. If the pile gets too dry, water it or add more “green”. If it has an odor, sprinkle a few handfuls of powdered lime over it. The summer heat will aid in heating the pile and speeding up the process. After awhile you should be able to see the pile shrinking which means the soil life is busy doing their jobs Keep it fed. All that waste that used to go into the garbage has become value added. Now it can feed the ground, which feeds the plants which feeds you…. amazing, isn’t it?!
One more thing…. if you want to help speed the process along, turn the pile once in a while, with a pitchfork. It gets air into the center of the pile, which revs the engine of the aerobic bacteria.
I do recommend more than one bin, so when one is about full, switch to the other one and allow the first one to completely break down so it can be used in your garden or landscape.
