 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Composting In 12 Easy Steps
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Composting In 12 Easy Steps
 Ortho's All About the Easiest Flowers to Grow Gardening Tip: Buy fountains at OutdoorDecor.com! Buy mailboxes at OutdoorDecor.com! Huge American Flag Selection - OutdoorDecor.com Buy Teak Furniture at OutdoorDecor.com! |
1. Get a simple enclosure to hold about one cubic yard of compostables. Samples are shown below.
PICKET FENCE BIN Prefabricated picket fencing or snow fencing can be used to make an economical bin. It's simple to make and easy to move and store. To build, buy the appropriate length of prefabricated fencing and fasten 2" x 4" boards to the bottom to form a square. As with the other bins, connect the sides in such a way that they are easy to take apart. WOOD PALLET BIN Wood pallets are easy to get and use to make an easy-to-build, sturdy compost bin. Not only that, they're free! Many companies still consider wood pallets a waste material and have them hauled away with their garbage. If you see pallets at a business, ask if you can have them. Select five, four of them should be the same size to make the four sides of your bin. Connect the sides by tying them with string, rope, or wire, or by nailing them with double-headed nails. However you connect them, be sure to do it in a way that makes it easy to take apart when you want to move the pile or harvest the compost. WOVEN WIRE BIN This simple, inexpensive ($10) bin is made from an 11' length of welded fence wire (2" x 4" mesh) cut from a 36" wide roll, available at most hardware, building supply, or farm and garden stores. Join the two ends to form a hoop. Fasten with several small chain snaps, copper wire, or any other material that's handy. When you're ready to turn the pile or start a new one, undo the fasteners, pull the fence away from the completed heap, and erect it again. Now it's ready to receive the turned compost or to start a new pile. During dry weather spells, dig a depression in the top of each heap and water moderately. 2. Get a long-handled pitchfork for loading and turning compost. 3. Get a 5-gallon plastic bucket from a house painter, or sheetrock man, for carrying water and compost, or use a hose and wheelbarrow. 4. Put your bin on a flat place convenient to the kitchen and on the way to the garden. 5. Start your compost bin now, no matter what time of year. 6. Fill your bin and keep it full. Start with leaves, yard trimmings, food scraps, and wet paper towels. Turn your bin one month after starting it, then as you wish, maybe never. 7. Get a nice 5-quart stainless steel soup pot at a yard sale to collect food scraps in the kitchen. Make sure it has a matched, tight-fitting lid to discourage fruit flies. 8. Add food scraps into the center of your bin. Do not "dump and run." Use your pitchfork. Never leave food scraps showing. 9. Make compost this year, use it next year. 10. Late next fall, put your compost to bed for the winter by removing the compost from your bin, or the bin from the compost. Mound up your compost and cover it with a piece of scrap plastic bag torn open, to keep it dry over the winter. This makes your compost easy to screen in the spring. Reload your bin as shown below. 11. Start a new bin every fall. Plenty of leaves are available then. Add kitchen scraps, yard trimmings, and non-recyclable paper to your bin regularly for the whole year. You will see the material shrink continuously. Keep your bin full. Use last year's bin. Stockpile leaves to add to your bin over the next 12 months. 12. Use your finished compost in the garden next spring as a mulch or soil enricher. To make compost into potting soil, screen it and mix 2 parts screened compost with 1 part sand. Build your own screen by nailing hardware cloth onto a 28 inch square frame made of 2" x 4" boards. Happy Composting! Composting in 12 Easy Steps |
