Composting- Need help?

Question

I am wanting to make a compost bin, til I can buy one.
Does my compost bin need a lid?
Can I use a plastic litter box container with a lid as my compost bin?
What do I do with the compost soil in the winter time?
What should I put at the bottom of my compost bin first?

I think thats all for now :)

what if I wanted the compost to be indoors? per say...my kitchen? is that gross? should I just leave it outside? lol

Answer 1

A plastic litter box container is not big enough. You can get small composters that you can put outside your back door, some garden catalogs carry them. (Gurney, Henry Field). It is good to put your compost in some kind of area where it can be contained, a "corral" made out of fence wire that you can get at a lumberyard is good. It should be about 4 feet across, at least, you can make a circle out of it. Best thing to start it with is a layer of small branches, this helps with air circulation. Put in grass clippings vegetable kitchen waste, egghells, etc. You should alternate with layers of fall leaves, even a bit of soil between layers helps. Think of a layered dessert, that is how you should build it. You need nitrogen, which is green stuff like grass clippings and garden waste, and the leaves provide carbon. Kind of dish it in the center so it will collect rainwater, which helps everything rot and turn to compost. It is a good idea to "turn" it, every month or so, that is, to take your wire off if it, move it over a few feet, and pile everything into again, upside down. In a few months you should have good compost that you can spread in your garden. If you don't turn it, it will still work, it will just take longer. It will actually get hot in the center of it, as it rots, and sometimes you can see it steaming, even in the winter. Leave it out all year around. I have a compost bin that is made out of hog panels, and it is 6 feet across and 4 feet high, and all my garden refuse and kitchen scraps go in it as well as fall leaves, and I pile it high with stuff. In a month or two it has shrunk down to about two feet, and I pile it up again, but I don't take my compost out only once every couple of years. Then I have about a pickup load of good compost for my garden.

Answer 2

Mandy is pretty much on target with her answer. You don't need a bin per se, you can just make a pile of your composting material right on the ground in a corner of your yard.

I don't believe you really need to add anything at all to jump start it. We've been composting leaves and grass clippings and green kitchen waste here at our house for over 20 years and have never added anything to encourage / speed up the composting process. It just kind of takes care of itself.

Yes, turning it with a pitchfork or shovel every once in a while is a good idea.

I don't think you should try composting indoors. I'm not sure if it would even work. Worms, flies and other insects are part of the composting process. You would have to introduce these into your compost pile indoors. The flies would be flying around your house. I don't think you want that.

Keep the pile outside.

Answer 3

in my experience with composting I like to use 55 gallon drums with the lid sealed and a hole cut in the middle with a hinged lid over it. I have set these on steel stands homemade so i can rotate them every couple of days. keep plenty of green stuff mixed in with brown and dead. The internal temperature of the barrel in good hot weather builds up to around 160 degrees , causing rapid decomposition Thus making good soil to mix in with your dirt and providing plenty of nitrogen and enzymes your dirt needs
The other methods suggested above work well also

Answer 4

Here's a killer website for composting. You can learn everything you need to know here. And you don't have to bin it, mine's just a couple of big piles out back.

http://www.compostguide.com/

Answer 5

well, all you really need to do is place the material on the ground where it can get some sun, add some sugars to jump start it (say a non diet soda) and turn every couple of weeks. keep adding some kitchen waste (non animal except egg shells) to keep it going. if its cold there, you may wish to place burlap or a black plastic bag over it.