Easy Home Compost Bin
Introduction: Easy Home Compost Bin
Being an avid gardener, I have always wanted to have a composting system for my home. Using leftover materials I had from previous projects and experiments I decided to make a compost bin and try it out to turn kitchen and garden waste into food for my plants.
I hope you enjoy this Instructable and feel free to leave your comments and feedback in the comment section below.
Supplies
For this project I used a piece of PVC pipe from my PVC Ram Pump and an old trash can that I used as an experiment for growing potatoes (It was not a successful experiment btw).
The pipe is 3" in diameter and had the perfect height to fit inside the trash can with the lid on top of it.
Apart from the trash can and the pipe I used a drill and two drill bits: A step drill bit to drill the holes in the trash can and a 3/8" drill bit for the holes on the pipe.
Step 1: Bin Preparation
For the preparation of the compost bin what you will need to do is drill holes in the bottom of the bin for worms and beneficial fungi to enter and help in the composting process.
Additionally, you will need to drill holes in the sides of the bin and throughout the pipe for airflow, as you do not want the system to be anaerobic (without the presence of oxygen) as it will start to ferment and smell, and nobody likes smelly compost.
Make sure to clean the holes properly as you do not want plastic shavings in your composting process.
Step 2: How to Use It
To assemble and use your new compost bin what you need to do is position your pipe in the middle of the trash can and start filling the donut shape around the pipe with garden soil. The better the garden soil the less time it will take your bin to start working because your garden soil is where the worms and beneficial microorganisms come from.
After putting the initial layer of soil, you can start filling your bin with green materials such as garden and kitchen scraps and then filling with newspaper or leaves or other type of brown material. By adding these layers in your compost you will generate a balanced ecosystem and avoid any anaerobic fermentation or smells.
Make sure not to fill the inside of the tube as this will be crucial in maintaining airflow throughout your bin!
Step 3: Finished Compost Bin
Once finished you can put your compost bin on top of your garden so that it fills up with worms and other beneficial microorganisms, in my garden when it rains worms tend to crawl up to the surface (to avoid drowning I suppose), so by putting the compost bin on top of the garden as a dryer place for them to live an eat I guess will be a great situation.
When your compost starts to break down you can add more greens and browns and any compost tea can directly fertilize the spot in your garden where the compost bin is located, so no need to put anything to collect it as it goes directly into the soil.
I hope you enjoyed my easy home compost bin build and make one for your home so you can be greener and make proper use of your compostable scraps. 727