Composting can also help gardeners save money by being able to produce their own fertilizer from organic wastes.  If you are not good at building things or simply do not want to spend the time building the compost bin, there are four types of efficient compost bins you can purchase:

1. Enclosed Bin:  Enclosed compost bins are great for growers with limited space.

They are the most popular bins, because of their neat appearance and low price.

In addition, you don’t have to turn a holding unit, making these bins low-maintenance, and the lid protects from rain and animals.

However, low maintenance comes with slower composting: composting can take any where from six months to two years.

The only way to speed up the decomposition process is to aerate the pile.

2. Rolling Bins:  This compost bin is ideal for homeowners and others with sufficient space.  Rolling bins are low maintenance and easy to use and low.

All you have to do is roll it to your yard waste, load it up, and roll it away again.  However, fully loaded bins can become heavy and difficult to roll.  On the plus side, a quick tumble every day or two mixes and aerates the pile for you, the lid protects compost from rain and animals.

3. Compost Tumblers:  If you have limited space and are looking for a compost bin that compost swiftly, compost tumblers are ideal for you.  As the name implies, compost tumblers function by turning their contents periodically.

Just like enclosed bins and rolling bins, the lid protects from rain and animals.  This energy-efficient bin supplies bacteria with the oxygen it needs, making it easy to aerate, while speeding up decomposition.

On the downside, once the compost tumbler is full and the process begins, you must wait before adding materials.

4. Worm Bins:  Worm bins work by a process called vermicomposting; red worms are used to dispose of organic material and turn it into a rich, organic soil conditioner known as worm castings.  These can be used by both homeowners and apartment dwellers with limited space, because worm bins can be placed anywhere.

For example, they can be established under the kitchen sink, outdoors, or in the garage.  Another benefit of worm bins is that they are low maintenance and can be used year round.

A drawback is that unpleasant odors can occur if the bin is overloaded.  This can be resolved by allowing the worms sufficient time to decompose the waste, before adding more.

Something else to take into consideration is the temperature, because if it is too cold, the worms will freeze.  The ideal temperature of the area should be between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

No matter which type of compost bin you decide on purchasing, each bin is guaranteed to accomplish its task efficiently.

The type of bin you choose depends partly on personal preferences and partly on the amount of organic waste you have.  Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each compost bin will help you make the perfect choice for your needs.

Many compost bins are made from recycled plastic and that may be important to you if you care about the environment. Others are made from galvanized metal or stainless steel. The black plastic models are said to increase the temperature inside the bin so decomposition takes place much quicker. Large compost bins are usually sized by cubic feet rather than gallons like the smaller units.

Whether you buy a large or small compost bin, you’ll want to make sure there is air circulation in the form of vents or screens so your compost gets adequate oxygenation. Your bin will also need a sturdy and secure door for keeping out wildlife and holding the compost in place when you turn it. The door should also be big enough so you can work the compost easily. If your bin doesn’t have a turning mechanism, you’ll have to fit a shovel or pitchfork inside to turn your pile.

Also think about how you’ll get your compost out. Some compost bins tip over so you can pour the compost out but with others, you’ll have to scoop it out with a shovel or some other implement. Consider the amount of effort you want to put into maintaining your bin. The easier it is, the more likely you will keep up with the proper maintenance and be rewarded with rich garden material.

You could pay $150 to $200 or more for a traditional compost bin or you could make your own from a big plastic or rubber trashcan. Drill air holes along the top and side of it and make sure the lid snaps tight. While it isn’t an ideal bin since you’ll have to manually turn over the compost on a regular basis, it is certainly an economical way to get started.

No matter what kind of compost bin you choose, when you start, you want to add about half soil and half garbage into the bottom of the bin. Find an ideal spot for the Envirocycle spinning compost bin in your yard or against your house where it will get a lot of sun so the temperature will get nice and warm inside. Collect food scraps from all your meals and add them to your bin on a regular basis and give it a good mix with a pitchfork or by rotating the bin, at least once a week

If you make your own bin, make sure you drill the holes in the side and not the top of your trashcan. Compost bins hold onto moisture since they are enclosed so you don’t want rainwater to seep in and drown your compost. Drilling a few holes in the bottom will help excess water to drain. Keep adding to your bin to make a nice size pile of compost. The material you put in must totally decompose. You may want to speed the process by chopping your food scraps into small pieces first and shredding the papers. In addition to food and paper scraps you can also toss in leaves, yard waste, and worms. If you do add worms, you may want to cover the holes with screens so they don’t escape through the holes in the bottom of your bin.

As you add scraps to your Soil Saver compost bin over time, try to maintain a constant balance between brown waste or leaves and paper, and green waste or food scraps. This will help maintain a dirt-like odor rather than emitting the smell of rotting food. When compost bins take on a bad smell it is usually because there are too many food scraps and not enough paper scraps to balance it out. Another thing that can contribute to a bad smelling compost bin is animal protein so you may want to omit adding milk or meat scraps to your bin.

Composting is not a quick process, especially if you don’t generate much in the way of food scraps each day. It will take a few months for your compost to get ready, so you should begin in the fall or winter and your compost will be set to go when it is time to plant a spring garden. Compost is a cheap and easy way to improve the quality of your garden soil.

It helps sandy soil hold onto water and it helps loosen clay. Because it is all natural, you don’t have to worry about adding chemicals to your garden produce, yet you’ll be able to control pests easier and produce healthier more bountiful crops. Composting is also good for the planet. It is hard to imagine but nearly 25% of our landfills are composed of materials that could be composted such as food scraps and yard waste. Although these materials decompose readily in compost bins, they can take decades to decompose in landfills due to the lack of oxygen.

Healthy compost made correctly has a dark, rich color and an earthy smell. Compost doesn’t smell bad or attract vermin if you use proper compost bins and take care of your waste correctly so it decomposes into a healthy garden additive.

Compost tumblers keep out animals, but insects, especially tiny gnats, may still get inside. Keeping your compost in a closed container also helps keep down on the odor of decomposing food that might irritate your neighbors. By mixing your compost often so air is added, you’ll be able to control the odor even better.

Compost tumblers come in many sizes from around 30 gallons up to 200 gallons. The most common are 55 gallon composters. These can be made in a variety of styles. The style and size affects the price you’ll have to pay. You can expect to pay from $70 to $250 in order to buy compost tumblers of high quality.

As the name implies, these containers tumble, or mix, the contents inside so air is added and decomposition takes place. This serves the same function as turning compost over with a pitchfork in an open compost bin. A common design is a compost bin that looks like a big barrel on its side with a crank attached. As you turn the crank, the barrel spins around so the contents inside are stirred up.

These crank operated tumblers are very easy to use. A simple turn of the crank does all the work. The doors on these are usually large and roomy so they are easy to fill. These tumblers are also usually on high legs so emptying the compost is as easy as placing a wheelbarrow underneath the container and swinging open the door.

Other compost tumblers are built closer to the ground. Rather than cranks, they may have steps so you can rotate the composter with your feet. Since they are lower to the ground, they are also more difficult to empty and require scooping to get the compost out.

A ball compost tumbler sits directly on the ground. You mix the contents by rolling it along the ground or lawn. These are more difficult to turn over and since they are on the ground, they are also more difficult to empty.

When shopping for compost tumblers, you’ll want to look for one with a wide door so it is easy to get the compost out. You’ll also want one that is easy to turn. As the container fills with compost, it will get heavier and heavier, so make sure you’ll be able to use it properly.

It takes several weeks for your compost to be ready. Using compost tumblers is usually a little quicker simply because you think to turn it more often since it is convenient to do so. The more you turn, the quicker your compost will be ready to use. You may want to invest in two tumblers so one can be decomposing while you are adding scraps to the other one. That way you’ll always have a fresh supply of compost when you need it.

Remember compost tumblers retain moisture more readily than open compost pits so you will need to water them less frequently. You should also protect your compost from rainwater. If rain is allowed to enter and collect in your tumbler, it could ruin your compost.

You may need to closely watch what you add to a Envirocycle compost tumbler since these do better with a mix of brown and green scraps. If you only add food scraps, you may end up with a rotting pile of food rather than compost. Add leaves or straw to your tumbler to prevent this. In addition, you should avoid adding foods such as milk or meat because animal protein will cause your compost to give off a foul odor as it decomposes.

Compost tumblers are tidy and for the most part they emit very little odor. For that reason, you can park them near your house so it is convenient for you to empty your food scraps on a daily basis. You can also choose stylish models so they don’t look too bad sitting in your yard. While compost tumblers all work on the same basic principal, each as its own set of operating instructions. For best results, it is a good idea to follow the manufacturer’s directions regarding the use of your bin especially regarding how often you need to roll or crank it to mix the compost.

To create the best compost, you’ll need brown waste such as straw or leaves and green waste such as produce scraps. In addition you’ll need the proper moisture level and plenty of oxygen that you create by cranking the Tumbleweed compost bin tumbler. It couldn’t be any easier to make your own compost. These garden devices are simple enough for anyone to use. Just be sure you don’t buy one with such a large capacity that you can’t rotate it because of lack of strength.

If you can’t rotate your compost tumbler, your scraps won’t mature into fertile compost and you’ll be much better off building an open pit instead. Remember though, even an open compost pit needs to be turned over and stirred up on a regular basis and doing it with a pitchfork is backbreaking labor in itself that you can avoid by using a handy compost tumbler with a crank.

While small compost buckets might be enough for a small greenhouse, a larger greenhouse along with your garden will require more compost to ensure that your fruits, vegetables, or flowers grow healthily in optimum soil conditions. You can easily use compost bins to convert most of your kitchen waste into totally natural fertilizer to help your soil regain its nutritional properties, which in turn will ensure healthy plant growth all through the year.

You can opt for ready-made compost bins that are available in a wide variety of materials such as recycled HDPE plastic, metal wire, wood, polyethylene, galvanized steel, and several other flexible porous materials to ensure that your kitchen waste turns into greenhouse soil compost within a few weeks. You can also choose between several colors that match the color of your home or greenhouse so that the bin does not mar the look of your property. Your chosen bin or bins can now turn waste vegetables, vegetable and fruit skins, eggshells, tea bags, grass cuttings, twigs, and dried leaves from your kitchen, garden, and greenhouse into totally natural fertilizer that is completely free and environmentally-friendly at the same time.

You should, however, avoid dumping meat or other processed food products into your compost bin or bins so as to avoid rats or other large scavengers from trying to get into your bin. You can also sprinkle in a little soil from your greenhouse to further accelerate the decomposing process and should also ensure that the waste is kept moist at all times. You should also place compost bins in sunlight so that the heat from the sun can speed up the process.

You can choose from a wide range of compost bins from online stores that can be found in varying shapes, colors, and sizes. You should choose a compost bin based on your compost requirements, as well as your ability to generate waste from your kitchen as well as your garden and greenhouse. If you are technically skilled then you can also make your own compact bin out of concrete blocks or wooden planks although they will certainly require more maintenance as compared to plastic ones.

You should also turn the decomposing contents in your bin at regular intervals for perfect and even decomposition, and since this could pose a problem if your bin is indeed quite large, then opting for a tumbler model that simply needs to be rotated at regular intervals would be a better, albeit costlier option. You should place your compost in any corner of your property that is not frequented at regular intervals and should also use charcoal filters to ensure that the smell of the decomposing contents does not travel back into your home or garden.

You can certainly help the environment while saving a lot of money in the process when you opt for large compost bins to rejuvenate the soil in your greenhouse or garden in a totally natural manner. You can now convert your kitchen and garden waste back into soil nutrients by using compost bins to store your wastes that will quickly turn into perfectly safe nutrients for your greenhouse and garden soil.

• The bins can be constructed using different materials and designs.
• The gardener can use old or new pallets to construct the bin.
• Compost bins can be constructed using wire mesh, a waste can and various other materials.

By using treated four to five wood pallets the gardeners can place them one on top of the other to make a large bin. The bin sizes will depend on the size of the pallets used, with pallets ranging from three feet. This is one of the cheapest ways to build a compost bin.

• The gardener just requires the pallets, a baling wire and nails.
• The pallets are attached to one another by using the nails one on top of the other.
• In the absence of pallets the gardener can use treated wood to make a wooden compost bin.
• The treated wood is good, because it can withstand changes in weather as opposed to none treated wood which will be vulnerable to termites and the weather.

Another way to make a homemade compost bin is by using wire mesh.

The person building the compost bin can use galvanized wire mesh that will not corrode when it comes in contact with water. Wire mesh can be shaped into different shapes from rectangular bins to circular bins.

• The gardener can use one wire mesh and fold it into a circular shape and tie the edges to make one of the simplest compost bins.
• One requires a heavy gauge wire to make the perimeter while using the chicken wire to tie the edges.
• The bin size will depend on the length of the heavy gauge wire which will determine the diameter of the bin and thus the holding capacity.

The gardener can also choose a site to make a snow-fenced compost bin.

• Four pillars are placed at the edges of the bin depending on the dimensions of the compost bin, each at every corner.
• The pillars can be made of steel or treated timber poles.
• Once the posts are in place the snow wire can be placed around the four pillars using pliers and the compost bin will be ready for use.

The gardener can use the rubbish cans to build a simple and affordable compost bin.

• The rubbish cans just need to be perforated to ensure that the bin has air circulation.
• This is one of the simplest ways to make compost as all one needs is the waste can and sawdust to absorb the liquids from the kitchen or garden waste.

When planning to build the compost bin one can evaluate the materials that are easily accessible to them.

• They should design the compost bin that best meets their needs depending on their source of raw material for composting.
• Those using garden materials may need bigger bins as opposed to those using kitchen waste.

The individuals constructing the bin need to budget to buy the necessary materials for the bin construction.

• Anyone looking to build a small compost bucket, would definitely have a much cheaper building price.The choice of the various designs, will depend on individual gardeners and the amount of compost one requires for their gardens.

1. Plan Out Compost Bin Materials – What materials you are going to need to use to construct the composter structure out of.
2. Estimate Budget – You will need to have a strict budget lined up on what exactly you are prepared to spend on this project and exactly what are reasonable prices for the materials and labor.
3. Homemade Composter Design Plans – Does your compost bin need to spin? Electric composters that compact materials and automatically made the soil for you. These can cut the time it takes to create compost in half, sometimes even more!
4. Time Investment – Be ready and willy to dedicate a certain amount of time to this project until you are finished, it won’t finish itself!
5. That just about does it for this post on building your own composter bin plans from scratch. I will pickup where I left off during the next post, part two, and I will even be releasing a new featured video on the subject. That’s all coming up next so stay tuned and don’t touch that dial, the master compost gardener will be right back! In the mean time, why don’t you go ahead and take a break you have been working hard!

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