About a month or so ago, we started to think about composting. I wanted to use some compost in our garden and it was really hard for me to find. I thought it would be a good idea to try it for ourselves. Well, the compost bins I was finding were ridiculously expensive. I found out we could get them for free as residents of our county. I went out to the recycling center and picked one up. I thought it would be a small glorified trashcan or something. I was wrong. When they gave it to me it was a roll of plastic. You assemble it yourself and it turns out to be huge! It's about 3 1/2 ft in diameter and at least that tall. Way too big to go on our patio obviously. I gave it to my dad and we kind of gave up for a while.
I had pretty much forgotten about our hopes to start composting when I was browsing one of my favorite DIY blogs one day. Then I found this post. I went to Target immediately after work to pick up one of these bins. I was totally up for a compost bin that costs less than $10!
First, we drilled some holes in the lid of the bin.
Then, we drilled some holes in the bottom of the bin, so it can drain.
Then, we added some dirt, leaves, shredded newspaper and eggshells. It's fine to start with just the dirt and leaves and add as you go.
Fortunately, we still had a little bit of the compost we bought a while back. When we opened the bag, we noticed that there were lots of worms in it. They were actually still alive, so we threw that in there too! The worms will help speed the process.
This is the compost bin sitting out back. I know it's not pretty, but it doesn't look any worse than the grill!
...and it definitely looks better than this!
We've been adding all sorts of stuff to the compost bin and things seem to be going well so far. I just have to get into the habit of putting things that I used to throw away into the compost bin. I was really surprised at all of the things you can put in there. Like hair! Between Bailey and I, we produce a LOT of hair! We can also add dryer lint, paper, fruit and veggie scraps of course, tea bags, coffee, and lots more! You can't compost anything with fats in it, so no cooking oils, meat leftovers or dairy items...they can make smelly compost.
We've got a small container we keep under our kitchen sink to collect food scraps, paper towels, etc. Our tiny little pile is starting to grow, and I'm really looking forward to being able to use our own compost in our fall garden!
First, we drilled some holes in the lid of the bin.
Then, we drilled some holes in the bottom of the bin, so it can drain.
Then, we added some dirt, leaves, shredded newspaper and eggshells. It's fine to start with just the dirt and leaves and add as you go.
Fortunately, we still had a little bit of the compost we bought a while back. When we opened the bag, we noticed that there were lots of worms in it. They were actually still alive, so we threw that in there too! The worms will help speed the process.
This is the compost bin sitting out back. I know it's not pretty, but it doesn't look any worse than the grill!
...and it definitely looks better than this!
We've been adding all sorts of stuff to the compost bin and things seem to be going well so far. I just have to get into the habit of putting things that I used to throw away into the compost bin. I was really surprised at all of the things you can put in there. Like hair! Between Bailey and I, we produce a LOT of hair! We can also add dryer lint, paper, fruit and veggie scraps of course, tea bags, coffee, and lots more! You can't compost anything with fats in it, so no cooking oils, meat leftovers or dairy items...they can make smelly compost.
We've got a small container we keep under our kitchen sink to collect food scraps, paper towels, etc. Our tiny little pile is starting to grow, and I'm really looking forward to being able to use our own compost in our fall garden!
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