Best Composting Bins

After you have picked a level site for your composting bin, you will need a good base for the bottom of leaves and high-quality soil. The leaves should be chopped or chipped so that no one piece is larger than two-three inches (this is a good rule of thumb for all materials added to the bin).

Once your bin and base are in place you can start to add your green food (nitrogen-rich) and your brown food (carbon-rich). The ratio that should be roughly followed is one part green for every two parts brown.

Monitor the pile every other day for moisture control and temperature. During this time you need to rotate or turn the pile to get good air flow inside the pile and to help with odors.

Once your pile is full or has finished the heat phase, let it cure. The length of curing will depend on your intended use of the finished product. To eliminate any larger pieces of organic matter that did not break down use a screen to sift them out. But if you follow the rule of not putting in anything that is larger than three inches this should not happen.

A compost humus can be ready to use in as little as 3-4 weeks with a hot composting method and maintenance to the pile on a regular schedule.

Composting is the process of converting kitchen and yard waste into valuable fertilizer. Compost is the single most important supplement you can give your garden, and most gardeners complain that they never have enough!

I use to think composting was time consuming and difficult but having a compost can either be easy or hard, depending on the way you will do things and how you will manage your time in doing so. If your in the process of buying one, I learned not all composter are created equal. After several reviews I chose the Achla Spinning Composter over several others because it stood out among the others that I looked at:

Easy assembly
Instructions were easy to read and interpret
It is easy to use
Sturdy
Large opening

Amazon Review of the Achla Designs-05 Spinning Composter:

I'm a beginner composter from a generation of gardeners. I discussed with experts on what type to get for lawn clippings, kitchen waste, and leaves. Spins with a little difficulty because of weight, but creates steaming hot compost quickly.

Set up took 2 minutes, simply connect the 6 pieces of metal pipes together, insert screw, no tools necessary. Did it myself, 5'7' 115 lb female.

Really great, I shopped everywhere. Only concern or other people is that it's a 6 or 7 cubic capacity, people may need more space..

also, does not have a handle for spinning -- but it would be too heavy to use it. Well designed and thought out.

The composter came in with all the parts inside. It was very easy to put together the legs and mount the composter. The sliding door fits well and it turns easily. The recesses in the tub part make it easy to have something to grab to turn it. It is simple but very well constructed.

I would recommend doing a little reading of the manual to review what should and should not go into the composter, additionally in winter I would place it somewhere where it gets sunlight so that it will keep from freezing (which freezed shut the door and can make it impossible to rotate)

Cons to Composting

The downside to composting is the time it takes to keep it up, the space to house a composting bin and the amount of time before your first mature compost will be ready.

Pros For Composting

For the time you invest, the space you give up in your yard and some patience you and your yard will get:

* Elimination of store bought fertilizer (saves money)
* Increased water retention in your soil.
* Improved plant growth. You will also find an increased amount of fruit or vegetables that your plants produce when using mature compost.
* Protection for your plants from diseases or pests that can destroy your vegetation

The environment also benefits from the time you invest into composting. In addition to eliminating the amount of waste that goes to the city dump. In some cases organic material makes up to 45% of the garbage that ends up in a dump - this can be greatly reduced by composting.

Like any new project or habit, composting will take some time to get used to. Once you have completed the initial start-up process the time and energy you need to maintain the pile is not a lot.

Material Carbon/Nitrogen Info:

table scraps - Nitrogen
fruit & vegetable scraps - Nitrogen
egg shells - Neutral
leaves - Carbon
grass clippings - Nitrogen
garden plants - Nitrogen
lawn & garden weeds - Nitrogen
shrub prunings - Carbon
straw or hay - Carbon
pine needles - Carbon
flowers, cuttings - Nitrogen
seaweed and kelp - Nitrogen
wood ash - Carbon
chicken manure - Nitrogen
coffee grounds -Nitrogen
tea leaves - Nitrogen
newspaper - Carbon
shredded paper (avoid using glossy paper and colored inks) - Carbon
cardboard - Carbon
corn cobs - Carbon
dryer lint - Carbon
sawdust pellets - Carbon
wood chips / pellets - Carbon

A healthy compost pile should have much more carbon than nitrogen. A simple rule of thumb is to use one-third green and two-thirds brown materials. This allows oxygen to penetrate and nourish the organisms that reside there. Too much nitrogen makes for a heavy, smelly, slowly decomposing mass. Good composting hygiene means covering fresh nitrogen-rich material, which can release odors if exposed to open air, with carbon-rich material, which often exudes a fresh, wonderful smell. If in doubt, add more carbon!