This is my new composting bin. It is made up of two 80 liter storage bins and one lid. The inside bin has holes along the side to let in air and holes along the bottom for drainage. I can collect excess liquid in the bottom.
To work effectively, this compost needs alternating layers of carbon and nitrogen based products. The best carbon is dry leaves but I can't start collecting those until the fall (although there are some places with oak leaves which have fallen recently). I am substituting shredded newspaper for now (unfortunately the newsprint has jammed up my paper shredder!). And, I have just learned that dryer lint is a good carbon substitute as well. There is cardboard, but how does one easily shred it.
For the nitrogen component, I am using most of my fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells. The exceptions are orange, grapefruit and lemon peels. If I can find one of those old hand grinders, I might start grinding these up for the compost but in the normal state they will not decompose very quickly.
Originally, I was planning on having two bins but I think they will take up too much room on my deck. I think I will dump the bin every three of four months onto a sheet of plastic, remove the soil that can be used and put the rest back to start the next cycle.
And, the best part of all of this is that I no longer feel bad about disposing of my over-ripe bananas!
I'm still having trouble with composting with bins. What I ended up doing is dig a long trench,about one foot deep and and pile kitchen scraps and dirt and dry leaves and newspapers. I do not shred, just lay it down and cover with dirt. It becomes a lasagna-like layer. They are the same trenches that will become my vegetable patches. I then plant right in it with the addition of another layer of soil and go over with my curltivator.
ReplyDeleteLet us know if your two bin set works without trouble.
I will. It should be ready to use in August. I will know then if this was worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom used to wrap the kitchen scraps in newspaper which went directly on the compost heap.
Your trench has the right mix of nitrogen and carbon and soil, so as long as there is air and moisture your method is probably the best.