Composting is a natural process in which biodegradable matter such as food waste, garden waste, and human waste are broken down into smaller molecules in the presence of oxygen by bacteria, fungi, and other microbial organisms.
It is, in fact, nature’s way of recycling the waste. Apart from the obvious advantage of handling your waste and significantly reducing it, compost manure are heavily nutritious to the soil.
Plants and trees grow very well when supplemented with compost manure. One can safely and effectively create their compost bin in your household in a few ways.
- Using worm compost
- Without using worm compost
How do you make a simple compost bin?
There are several ways to make a compost bin from scratch. Depending on your skill-level and requirement, the most common compost bins in a house are prepared using pallets. One can also use old home wood, chicken wire, and straw bales as well.
For a healthy compost bin, one also needs to carefully select the material that he/she is putting into the bin. A mix of green and brown waste material is usually preferred. For convenience, it is better to place your compost bin in the backyard, outside your house area.
What can I use for a compost bin?
Compost bins can be made using plastic (since it is non-biodegradable), cement, hollow-bricks, stones, and wood pallets.
Does a compost bin need a lid?
Though a compost bin doesn’t need to have a lid at all times, having one helps control the water (moisture) and heat content inside the bin.
Can you put banana peels in compost?
It is OK to put banana peels in compost. Though it takes more time for the matter to compost, there is fundamentally nothing wrong in adding banana peels to your compost bin. Inclusion of banana peels to compost will supplement the mix with several nutrients such as Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Sulfur, and Magnesium.
Is it OK to have maggots in my compost?
It is OK to have maggots in your compost. These little creatures help break down the complex organic compounds into simpler molecules, thereby shortening the overall process time.
Do compost bins attract rats?
The smell of raw food is bound to attract rats and other rodents to the compost bin. Therefore, it is advisable not to add cooked food waste to the compost pile.
If needed, you can make a separate compost pit to treat cooked food waste. Also, it makes sense to cover the compost pits tightly and securely to keep rodents away from the compost bin.
What is the best method of composting?
The most simple and seemingly best way to handle composting is home composting. There are multiple ways of composting such as
- In a pile
- In bins
- With worms
- In a hole under the ground
- In layers on the ground
Home composting in bins or pits is an environmentally-friendly way and reduces the waste output from your kitchen and house. This method of composting can happen throughout the year with the most optimal time being late summer to early winter as it provides better temperature.
Do I need worms to compost?
It is not mandatory to add worms in your compost artificially. However, certain earthworms significantly speed up the composting process and gives pure organic compost as the product.
3 compost bin plans
Few ideas for compost bin include
· Three bin compost bin using wood pallets
· 5-gallon bucket compost bin
· Cardboard box based compost bin
· Drum styled compost bin
1. Three-tiered worm compost bin
Source
Worms are the main agents of soil compost, with this method, you can trap worms from the soil since the bin has three tiers making it possible to have both soil and the worms. In making this you will need just minor tools since it doesn’t require much.
2. Five-gallon Bucket Compost Bin
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This is one of the easiest ways of making your compost. Made with few requirements, that is a trash can and probably a bucket. What you do is just place a mixture of food waste and some green debris. With the bucket, you can easily shake and turn them you will fasten the composition.
3. Angled compost bin
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With this compost bin, you have easy access to toss in food and other green materials and also you have easy access to it, accessing the soil in this compost is much easier. You don’t need many tools when making it.
4. Upcycled Cardboard Box Compost Bin
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You have some old boxes in your house you want to throw away, with the compost you can recycle your boxes. To make this you will need bulk boxes and the easiest way of getting some is if you visit the grocery, fruit and vegetable grocery, for the used boxes when doing some shipping. Waste food and green vegetables do have direct access to the soil.
5. Cedar Compost Bin
Source: gardeners, wikihow
This is a compost bin that is made out of cedar posts. It’s made simple to reach out and stir your compost or add more components to it.
6. Hardware cloths Compost Bin
Source
It is a simple, cheap way of making a compost bin. With the only use of wire mesh to make up a compost bin. For the top section/lid you can also use a plank of wood.
7. Kitchen compost bin
Source: instructables, finehomebuilding
Kitchen waste food is full of nutrients that are good and improves garden soil. Having the kitchen compost bin, you can compile the waste foods from the kitchen, compost them and add them to the soil.
8. Double Decker Tunable compost Bin
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This is a compost bin made out of plastic barrels and has a double tier that can rotate when mixing the compost, making the compost turn out better. In this, you can use two plastic barrels or use drums to make the compost bin.
9. DIY square Compost Bin
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This is one of the best compost bins that can be made with some easy steps. This compost bin is made from wood and wire mesh, it has few airspaces making a faster composition. These airspaces come by the use of wire mesh.
10. Repurposed Pallet Compost Bin
Source: instructables, diyprojects
The best way of reusing old pallets is by making a compost bin with it. It’s simple because the pallets are already structured, what you do is just put them together to make a square box for your compost bin. It’s the easiest and least costly DIY one can ever make.
11. Milk Crate Compost Bin
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This is a way of making a compost bin without spending much on it. By using old used milk crates you can make simple DIY home compost. The crates that are being used also make the composition process faster with the available air holes on the crate.
12. Tumbler Autoflow Compost Bin
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The tumbler auto-flow compost bin discharges the already-finished compost. It has an auto-flow design making the discharge of already-composed material flow out into the available drums. It also rotates to mix the raw components for faster decomposition.
13. DIY Indoor Compost Bin
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Space for compost bin should not be a problem since you can make an indoor compost bin. With this, you can save money from it, space-friendly and it is also customizable according to your needs.
14. Ultimate Three Bin Compost Bin
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This is easy to make a compost bin with so much space to help you create nutrients that are rich in soil. It’s possible to place it anywhere on your farm. The size should not be a problem, it’s only an advantage since you will be able to produce much more nutrients for the soil.
15. DIY Drum Style Compost Bin
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The main issue with composing is that from time to time you should be able to stir and mix the components to have the best nutrient composition for the soil. This one is easy to make and also possible to rotate to have the best mixture for the soil.
16. Willow Compost Pile
Source: instructables
17. Farmhouse Composter
Source: louiselangsner
18. Compost Bin DIY: Quick Pallet Project
Source: diyprojects
19. Pallet Compost Bin
Source: prodigalpieces
Pallet compost bins with 3 or 4 horizontal compartments, 4 tier worm compost bin, and angular pallet styled compost bins are some of the ideas that can be adopted while making compost bins from wooden pallets.
20. Double-Decker Drum Composter
Source: instructables
21. PVC Pipe
Source: desperategardener
22. DIY Compost Bin from Trash can under $20
Source: thehappyhousewife
23. Compost Bin From Hardware Cloth
Source: goodshomedesign
24. DIY Indoor Compost Bin: Milkcrate Composter
Source: instructables
Indoor compost bins can be as small as a bucket or a set of buckets attached, with each bucket specifically allotted for cooked food waste/ raw organic waste.
25. Log compost bin
Source: obsolete53ltl
26. Cardboard Compost Bin
Source: shaunsbackyard
27. Wine Barrel Compost
28. Concrete Blocks Compost Bin
Source: blueplanetgreenliving
Compost bins built using cinder blocks are more durable than their wooden counterparts. It is also one of the safest materials to build a compost bin as it will not leach chemicals or sludge onto the ground.
29. Build 3-bin Composting system
Source: theownerbuildernetwork
30. Pallet Compost Bin
Source: lovelygreens
31. DIY compost bin tumbler
The advantage of a compost bin tumbler is that it can be moved around and rotated periodically to facilitate proper mixing of the waste material. This has a positive effect on the compost preparation time.
32. DIY compost bin wood
Wooden compost bins are relatively easier to build. Attaching five wooden panes with adhesives or welds can be the perfect example of a do-it-yourself compost bin. Treated wood might last longer than untreated wood. Old-growth wood is also a good option.
Conclusion
Composting is one of the innovative ways to recycle man-made waste without harming the environment. Along with all the different ways mentioned, there are other ways to compost such as the ‘add-as-you-go’ compost pile.
This process significantly improves the soil structure, stimulates necessary microorganisms, and provides a balanced source of nutrients for the plants.
