I want to start a compost pile i'm looking for some good tips on doing this and also do I have to buy a compost bin is there anything cheaper I can use or any ideas on how to make one myself?
I have seen compost piles made using chicken wire for the 'walls' or the wood pallets you see in trash piles outside of businesses all the time. http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/4 ... 03.html#L2 I found an organic garden center that buys vinegar in large 55 gal plastic drums, I have one of the drums for rain water collection and one that is still waiting for Randy to make a compost bin out of.
I just made my first compost pile too. I used 2 of the wooden palets on the sides, and since I only had 2 of those, I used 1 side rail of an old baby crib (until i find another palet or 2) and then the metal matress holder as a front light weight gate. So far so good Except im not collecting enough materials to compost yet. This may take a while! Lol
Composting You don`t have to buy a compost bin, you can use bin liners, dark coloured ones are the best ... :-o
I use four pallets tied with wire at the corners. Two bins work better as a team than any one (of any kind) singly.
I compost by just piling up the materials to be compost. What I did is that I allocated a space of about 12ft by 4ft as a compost station. The first area about 4ft by 4ft is a collection area for material to be compost. The second area of 4ft by 4ft is the actual composting area. The final part is the storage cum further composting area. It might be a little confusing to visualise what I am trying to describe, it is actually very simple. I take a couple of photos of my compost area and post it here. So Miss_Olmstead the answer from me is also no, there is no need to buy a compost bin.
Compost System ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) This is how I make compost in my mini farm. Station 1 ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) This is station 1 where all garden and kitchen waste is collected. No meat or anything that can attract undesired guest. The stick is for making a hole in the grass clippings to put the kitchen waste in. It is a bit overgrown with wees but I am not too concern with it because when I transfer some of those stuff to the composting area, I will remove those weed and put them in the center of the pile and cover with grass clipping. Actually the composting starts here. Station 2 ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) The partially composted material from station 1 is transferred here in station 2 where composting is most active. The pile is turned every now and then and is kept damp to encourage composting. Station 3 ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) From station 2 the composted material which is ready for use is transferred here for storage and further composting. The barrel is for storing excess compost which is very rare.
A friend of mine use this method: "When my compost bins are full I spread some dead twigs, foliage, grass clippings and whatever else I've got on the ground and start piling compostable material on top of it. I especially like the mix of horse dung, plant matter and dry leaves. I cover the whole thing with a tarpaulin weighed down with stones, and that's it really." She claims that she's getting lovely compost soil in less than a year, but you'll have to take her word for it.
Droopy it is possible to get compost soil in less than a year. In my case when I need compost in a hurry, I turn my composting compost in station 2 every other day and making sure that they are moist, I can get useable compost in just 4 weeks from the time I transfer from station 1 to 2. The materials from station 1 is definitely less than a year, 8 weeks top. Since the base of station 2 is just bare earth, I gets lots of help from the earthworms and insects. Since I started this mini-farm, I started the compost stations at the same time and I had never put in any kind of store bought fertilisers other than my very own compost.
Instead of buying something, you can use an old plastic garbage can, a 35gal. food safe drum-(these can be found or free), or you can keep a container under the sink with some dirt and when it is full with food scraps, mix well and then dig a few holes with a bulb digger and put a scoop in here and there. I had done mine this way for years and never had an issue with smells or animals. It works this way also but not as efficient as allowing it to cook in a larger container.
