Young House Love Dot Compost
Here we go again, trying to embrace our greener side. Well, actually, our browner side. Yes, we’re taking a crack at composting.
While we’re looking forward to the nutrient-rich and budget-friendly soil amendment that composting provides, our main motivation was actually to reduce our taking-out-the-trash trips. And why send stuff to a landfill when we can use it in our backyard?
Some quick research online (thanks treehugger.com) made it clear that there are lots of options when it comes to composting, some of which are very intense and definitely too hardcore for us at this point. So when we found this super simple guide to making our own backyard bin, we wasted no time getting to work. Here are the step-by-step instructions we followed:
Step 1: Recycle or buy a plastic bin with a tight fitting lid about 24 inches tall or taller (it needs a lid to keep the soil moist and to keep critters out). We picked up this Rubbermaid version at Lowe’s for $7 in hopes that the neutral color would help it blend in with our backyard.
Step 2: Use a drill to make 8 – 10 small holes in the bottom of the container for aeration purposes.
Step 3: Place some shredded newspaper or dry leaves on the bottom of your compost bin, filling it about 1/8 – 1/4 full. We went the leaves route, since we’ve got PLENTY of those lying around.
Step 4: Place dirt on top of the leaves or newspaper until the container is 1/2 full. Again, PLENTY of that.
Step 5: Now place any food scraps or paper products that you’d like to compost. Check out this list for a pretty complete run down of what you can and can’t compost. Surprisingly, things like lint and eggshells are compost friendly, while lime (too acidic) and dog “waste” (could carry disease) are off-limits. So far we only collected a couple of banana peels and a small ball of lint. Maybe this will encourage us to eat more fruits and veggies? Or do more laundry?
Step 6: Give your compost a little stir (very little, in our case) with a shovel or stick, making sure to cover your food scraps with dirt. Canine supervision is optional.
Step 7: Spray with lukewarm water until moist, but not soaking wet. (Note: too much water can be the culprit if your compost starts to smell).
Step 8: Use a drill to make 8 – 10 small holes in the lid and place it securely on top of the bin.
Step 9: Place the bin in a shady area away from the house (if you live in an apartment or have no backyard you can place your bin on the patio). Be sure that it’s not in full sun or your compost will dry out. We found the perfect spot near our garage where our bin can hide behind some shrubs – inconspicuous and convenient (since we take the garbage and recycling out this way already). Can you spot it? HINT: check the bottom right.
Step 10: Now that our compost bin is set up, we can just add food scraps when we’ve got ‘em, making sure to give things a stir each time (mixing the compost helps break everything down faster). And to aid in our collection of stuff to compost, we’ve added a special “compost” receptacle under the sink (along with our existing recycling and garbage containers). Gotta love a no-fail way to get in the compost habit.
Now we just have to wait 2 – 3 months before the compost is ready for our yard or garden. It can be used as mulch or potting soil and can also be sprinkled over grass as a lawn conditioner. Hopefully we can reap some of the composting rewards in some of our fall planting or lawn overseeding. But we have to remember to save at least 1/3 of it so we can keep the composting process going.
Seems pretty easy, right? And so far the whole thing has cost us less than $10.
We’d love some tips from all the composting experts out there (so we can make sure our efforts are fruitful). And for those of you just as green at this composting thing as us, keep us posted on your own adventures in decomposing organic matter. Yummy.
Check out a few composting updates (we love it!) here and here.
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Comments
That’s awesome! So glad it’s working so well. We’re in love with ours too!
xo,
s
Hi John & Sherry! My husband and I are ready to start composting but I have a couple of questions first. We bought a rubbermaid (36 gal) container with a tight lid (size 30x20x20). Is this too small since you recommend one that’s 24 inches tall or taller? I haven’t drilled any holes yet so if I need to exchange the bin I have now, it’s not a problem. Also, we’re from SC and have ONLY red clay. Can I use this instead of “regular” brown dirt to start the compost? Thanks so much!
Both good questions. We’d assume your container should work out just fine, but if you’d like to be safer rather than sorry you might just want to exchange it for something a bit bigger just in case. Either way you’ll probably be a-ok. As for the clay, we’re not sure if you can use that, but you could also purchase a bag or two of topsoil for a buck or two at your garden center to be sure that your compost center work like a charm. Otherwise you might be able to google around to see if red clay would work instead. Good luck!
xo,
s
We just throw all our food scraps (other than meat and dairy) in the leaf pile behind our shed. It’s pretty rancid and stinky though. Does it need to be stirred up more often? Is there some other food items that we shouldn’t be including in compost?? Oh, and of course it gets rained on all the time and dried out again with the sun. Is this not good??
Hey Darla,
Your little food scrap pile sounds like it could work, but creating an actual bin would help contain the smell and make things break down a lot better to create rich soil (since it won’t dry out from the sun or get too wet from the rain). Just take our tutorial for a spin, and follow the link in step 5 of the post to find out what food items you can and can’t add to compost. Good luck!
xo,
s
Hi! I’ve been stalking your blog and I truly appreciate your tutorials. I want to try your composting idea but am wondering a few things because of my location. I live in the midwest (Minnesota) and it gets COLD in the winter. I don’t intend to start my garden until next summer but would love a jumpstart on composting so I’ll have plenty when I start. In your opinion should I wait till the spring to start my composting or start now? If I start now, how will the compost fair during this winter? And when I say cold I mean COLD.
Any advice would be appreciated! (this weekend I plan to use your funiture painting tutorial to jazz up an antique vanity I scored. Can’t wait!)
We definitely think you should start now! You’ll gain at least a few more months of things breaking down before it gets too cold (and already establishing it now in the end of summer instead of the beginning of next spring is your best bet!). Over the winter it will probably slow down when it comes to breaking down (but still do your best to stir things a bit when you can). We can’t promise that you’ll definitely have compost that’s ready to use in the very early spring months, but by summer it should be totally ready!
xo,
s
Thanks for such a quick response. I plan to get the composting supplies this weekend! I have another question: Does the initial dirt need to be potting soil or just any ole dirt from the yard?
We think either should work just fine. Dirt from your yard (as long as it’s not clay) should be full of nutrients and bugs and maybe some worms if you’re lucky- so in some cases it can be better than potting soil!
xo,
s
Wanted to drop by this thread and let you know I started a compost bin (with your exact instructions) a couple of months ago, and it is absolutely amazing! It is working spectacularly, and definitely doing its job. I was showing my mother-in-law how it works, and we were amazed to see all the little earthworms in there doing their job! I have definitely started a trend in my family and with my friends – I am going to be helping my mother in law create her own compost bin sometime soon! The loads of trash that we normally would take out have been cut in half. Composting along with recycling is so easy – and I want to thank you for putting your instructions on how to create a bin out there for the rest of us.
Thanks!