Homemade Compost Bins - Tips and Ideas to Help You

Many people are choosing the option of homemade compost bins for their composting needs.

Why? Probably because they are less expensive than composting bins that you might buy, but also because many people are finding that they are just as effective as their much more expensive counterparts.

When you're considering a homemade compost bin, you should think about many different factors, such as which kind you will choose to make and what you will put in. Much of the effectiveness of your compost bin will depend on the things you actually put into your compost. Adding the right ingredients will help to ensure that you wind up producing the most nutritious compost out there.

What goes into the bin itself?

You can simply make a compost pile, or you can make your own bin. When you're planning homemade compost bins, consider how easy it will be to "stir" the contents. If you use a barrel or garbage can with a lid, you'll probably find that it's much easier to roll the bin around once a week to mix the contents well.

You should also make sure that it is dark in color to attract as much heat as possible. Heat helps to speed the breakdown of your compost and allows the nutrients from the ingredients of your compost to stay intact. Also, don't forget to add air holes. You can often do this by drilling many holes into a garbage can, or you can use materials such as mesh wire to meet the air needs. You want to make sure that your compost gets plenty of air or you could just turn the yard and kitchen waste into moldy mush.

Here's a strange one, but something to consider: add worms to homemade compost bins to help create richer, more nutritious compost for your gardens. You can add plenty of worms, and many will say that night crawlers will do best, but all kinds of earthworms are helpful.

What you compost matters, too

Now that you've chosen the kind of homemade compost bin you'll be using, you should also consider what you'll be composting. It takes some time to create compost, but you should be careful to maintain a good balance of ingredients so that you can have compost more quickly and that works the best for your needs.

• Don't add dirt to your compost pile. Dirt can cause things to compact and disrupt the break-down process of your compost. So, if you have clumps of dirt, try to avoid adding it to your pile.
  
  
• Add waste that has nitrogen, such as your kitchen waste from coffee grinds, produce, grass clippings and manure (yes, you can add it). This will help to ensure that your compost is a great natural fertilizer for your plants.
  
  
• Choose waste that has carbon, such as dried leaves and straw, some shredded newspaper (not too much, though).
  
  
• You will also need moisture and air in homemade compost bins. You'll fill in the air with air holes that you've added to your bin, and, when the bin has a lid, you should monitor your compost weekly to see if you need to wet it a little, but much of the time, the kitchen waste will help to produce moisture.

Composting is a great way to add rich soil to your gardens. It has lots of essential nutrition for your plants and can help to prevent problems such as rot and improper drainage.

Many people are choosing to use compost on their gardens, but many composters can be so expensive. Instead of spending money you might not have, why not use homemade compost bins to help you get the compost you'll need?

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