A Composting Bin Guide: All you need to know

* All fruit & vegetable trimmings
* Coffee grounds & filters
* Tea bags
* Citrus rinds
* Rinsed-out, crushed eggshells
* Used paper towels
* Soft green plant trimmings
* Most types of sawdust
* Chopped woody prunings
* Pine needles
* Fallen leaves
* Lawn clippings & young weeds
* Herbivore manures

Don't Compost

* Meat, bone, fish
* Dairy products & grease
* Grains, beans & breads
* Dog, cat & bird feces
* Sawdust from plywood or treated wood
* Wood prunings
* Diseased plants

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Sizes
The greatest benefit of a stationary compost bin is that it can hold a larger amount of material than a compost tumbler. Depending on size, most static bins can hold anywhere from 100 to 800 gallons worth of material. This bigger size works really well if you need more room for leaves and grass clippings, which can take up a lot of space fast.

Shapes
One benefit of a round or cylindrical compost bins is that there are no corners, so there are no hard to reach spots for materials to dry out or not get mixed up.

One benefit of a square or rectangular shaped compost bin is that it is easy to put right up against a wall or a fence line, since they have flat sides.

Materials
Most compost bins are made from plastic, recycled plastic, metal or wood.

Metal is a good choice if you are worried about animals, but plastic and wood are also effective at keeping wildlife out of your compost.

Do turn your aerobic bin regularly. Once every 6-7 days is ideal, but it can be done as seldom as once a month. This will insure that air is supplied to all parts of the pile, and that all the material gets composted. When turning the pile, put the material from the middle of the pile outside, and vice versa, so that all the material will be composted.

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The main benefit of a compost tumbler is that they often make compost faster. Even though they don't hold as much as a larger stationary bin, a large amount of material can be put through a tumbler, possibly in different batches as you can empty the bin and refill it more often. . Most compost tumbler models hold around 50 to 80 gallons of material, which is a respectable amount.

Some people assume that a tumbler would be hard to turn but they are designed to be easily operated by one person.

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Do water your compost pile regularly - every 1-3 days in the summer, less often in the winter. Compost should be as moist as a wrung out sponge. If it gets too wet, air will not be able to get through the pile, and foul odors may arise. Likewise, if the pile gets too dry, decomposition will stop.

Photo Credit: Ray Lustig/ Washington Post

The Compost Bin Smells Bad:

The most common cause of a smelly compost bin is an overabundance of materials high in nitrogen. Without an adequate amount of carbon-rich material, such as dead leaves, to balance the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the pile, anaerobic bacteria can multiply. These bacteria produce ammonia and other sulfurous gases that have a characteristic sour odor.

Mix in shredded leaves or sawdust with a pitchfork to introduce oxygen and lower the acidity of the pile so that aerobic bacteria can thrive.

The Compost Pile is too Wet:

Compost piles need moisture to decompose, but a soggy pile won't support the activity of beneficial microbes. Many slimy compost piles suffer from a lack of carbon-rich materials, but some organic gardeners who live in areas with high rainfall amounts may need to exclude excessive rain from their piles.

The Compost Pile is too Dry:

The compost pile should have a moisture content that resembles a wrung-out sponge. Gardeners who live in areas with watering restrictions needn't use this precious resource on a mere compost bin. Stale coffee, cooking water from pasta or vegetables, and a bucket of grey water from the morning's shower are fine sources of moisture for the compost bin.

Fill up this caddy with food scraps and other biodegradable materials, and then take one trip to your compost bin instead of 20. This durable container is made of 100% recycled plastic resin and features a tight-fitting lid and a handle that makes carrying easier. The lid features an activated charcoal filter that neutralizes odors. That means you can keep the caddy right in your kitchen without causing a stench. The filter will provide odor protection for up to four months.

Compost starter and compost accelerator are great ways to get your compost going quickly, and they work well with both tumblers and stationary compost bins. You don't necessarily need a compost starter or a compost activator for composting, but a lot of people like it so that they can get their compost a little "hotter" a little faster.

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It also changes the soil microflora and fauna in such a way as to encourage disease suppressing conditions . The anti-oxidizing effects of the microorganisms pass directly to the soil or indirectly to plants. This process increases the humus content of the soil, making it able to support improved plant growth and food production.