Compost Bins Are Useful For Recycling Organic Materials

When you’re looking for a really good way to recycle much of your organic material and make it useful, you might want to consider using compost bins. This is a way that you can use all your salad greens, egg shells, coffee filters and coffee grinds and turn it into rich dirt for all your gardening needs. If you’ve never considered composting or if you aren’t familiar with the process, it’s really easy to get started.

Choosing The Right Compost Bin

What sort of composting are you planning to do? There are compost bins that can sit on your counter, or you can put them in the yard. You can find basic compost bins which contain all your yard waste and organic materials. You might have to stir the materials with a shovel or something once a week or so, or you can find compost bins that actually turn and will save you the trouble of having to stir the compost.

So, what type of compost bin are you looking for? What do you want to use a composter for? Are you a gardener who wants to supply your plants with rich nutritious soil or are you simply looking for a way to provide your house plants with potting soil? How much organic material do you consume on a daily basis? Knowing what you plan to use your compost for will help you to decide what size you should get for yourself.

Eco-Friendly Gardening

If you’re interested in having all the good soil you can use to help your garden and potted plants and you want to find a way to save money on soil, then you definitely should check out composting bins. So, where do you get these fabulous inventions that will help you to with your eco-friendly gardening and keep the world a little cleaner? You might be surprised to find that you can get compost bins almost anywhere, including many of your big box home improvement stores.

If you’re looking for a composter which is a little more complex, you may want to try looking for them in some of the specialty eco-friendly living retailers that are out there. Or, you may want to check with some of your gardening retailers, where you can often find some really good composting options.

Another alternative if you’re handy is to consider choosing to build your own compost bin. You can often find kits at the big box retailers, or you may want to consider looking for instructions on your own. You can often find these instructions online.

No matter what type of compost bin you choose to use, you can feel great knowing that you will be able to provide all of your garden with natural organic materials which you consider waste and use this fresh, nutritious dirt knowing that you’re not putting any chemicals into the ground or your plants. For an extra edge, when you are making sure to use products which are organic, you can use this new compost as soil to grow your organic veggies, too. So, what are you waiting for? Why not start your growing season with a compost bin to meet all your needs?

How To Start And Maintain A Compost Pile

Today recycling is really not an option, but a necessity and having your own home compost pile is a great activity and resources in keeping with the mandatory recycle laws. The bonuses of composting heavily outweigh any negative connotations compost piles have had to defend themselves against; mainly, the smell.

Composting food waste, when compiled properly and maintained can create rich soil that can be reused on lawns and gardens, it seems the thought of not having one is the poorer choice. We have to eat and there is inevitably an excess and waste, that it seems like a good solution to put our scraps and law clippings to good use.

To begin your project you will need a compost bin. Compost bins can be built or purchased. Before putting out any money for this project, check with your town hall to see if they sponsor a program that will provide residents with the bins. If your town doesn’t provide bins specifically for composting, you should check with local hardware or home improvement stores. These bins can also be found online or via gardening center websites or catalogs.

If none of these options pan out, a compost bin can be built with just a few materials and tools. All that is needed to build your own compost bin would be; some wood, concrete blocks, pallets, wire and maybe even a garbage can with holes poked in the bottom. The only thing to keep in mind when constructing a compost bin is to remember to incorporate a way for excess moisture to escape and a great way to do that is to be sure there are holes at the bottom of the bin but that they are not so big that little critters can climb into the bin and wreak havoc! It’s best to keep the drainage holes no more than half an inch in diameter.

Placement of the bin should be somewhere shady, where it can drain properly and where it will be fairly easy to access without being too close to become a “smelly” problem inside your home (or the home of your neighbor)!

The first level of compost should allow for air passages as well as drainage. A layer of smooth rock placed loosely on the bottom of the bin will work to do the trick.

When you start to add to your compost you should think in layers; start with the bottom layer of coarse materials to further enable the air and drainage passage, and then layer between “brown” waste and “green” waste. “Brown” waste may consist of, autumn leaves, wood chips, saw dust, pine needles, paper towels, newspaper and coffee filters and “green” waste consists of, food wastes, fruits and vegetables, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, grass clippings and weeds. Another tip is to add a layer of soil on top of each layer of waste because that will help speed up the process.

One last composting tip is to always fluff your layers as you go by using a hoe or a compost turning tool. You’ll also want to be sure to “toss” the entire pile once in the spring and again in the fall, where you turn the entire pile upside down with the bottom ending up on the top of the pile.

Enjoy your compost pile and know that with every item added it is one less item for the waste that will be left for future generations to contend with. Its not that hard when you know how to get started composting.