Written by: niki
Thursday, May 22, 2008

We all know that composting is an economical way to be rewarded with plenty of "brown gold" in no time.  I was a little disappointed with my initial attempts at this process and nearly threw in the "trowel" and revert back to the trusty bagged stuff.  At an outrageous price of approximately $4.99 for 20 L I stuck it out and I am glad I did because composting has allowed me to have access to beautiful compost for my garden without breaking the bank.  I initially started vegetable gardening to help in my quest to reduce our grocery bill while giving us access to produce year round by freezing, blanching and canning.  When I first built my raised garden beds I did have the initial investment of quality topsoil with some amendments such as peat moss, compost and black earth.  After that I hoped there would be minimal cost the subsequent years but the need for compost yearly would prevent that from happening.  I needed a system that would deal with our mass output of wet garbage and something more than the traditional one bin plastic unit that you can buy from your local hardware store.  My hubby kindly offered to build me a three bin box that would more than take care of my composting needs.  The bin is not complicated to build (not that I lifted a hammer to make it) and can be made with any scrap lumber that you may have lying around.  Beauty is not really key in this instance as most times it is located behind a gardening shed or baby barn and is not something you would really want to toll paint anyway.  Initially I had a lid made for this but have since left this off to allow as much rain water access to keep contents damp, which is key to the success of the break down.  The three bin system is handy because the first is for the current scraps being tossed in, the second is for that mixture that has broken down a decent amount  and the third is for ready to be added to the garden.  I took this a step further to ultimately create a 4 bin system (promise that's it though).  I now use my plastic commercial composting bin to throw in all of my kitchen scraps that I accumulate in several canisters kept under my counter.  Items such as veggie scraps, coffee grinds, or eggshells, are tossed into this bin.  In between piles of food waste my hubby alternates layers of well aged manure and brown scraps such as broken down leaves and straw.  This starts the breakdown of the contents but for the most part there is more food scraps than I would like to see in my other bin. From that bin my hubby uses those scraps to layer up the first compartment of the three bin unit.  I also keep a large pile of brown matter and some well aged manure beside the bin to layer in between the wet stuff.  I know there is an exact ratio that is needed as well as moisture level to achieve the heat required to break down the matter quickly but I have not been all that successful in this area.  I gave up trying and now layer as best I can and although it may take longer to achieve the goods I am rewarded with the end result in due time.  With the 4 bins going at once I always have access to some compost and a light layer each year on our garden is all that is required to achieve good results.

Initially there is a little work that goes into building the unit but I know that I am doing my little part for the environment and a big part on saving our family money.  The additional rewards is teaching my children how the system of composting works.  Really when you think about it, it is pretty cool.  You toss in food scraps, some straw and anything else lying around that is compostable and voila you have black earthy compost free of smell that is a natural steroid of sorts for your cucumbers.  Kids get a kick out of how this happens and is a good time to teach them about microorganisms and all that scientific stuff...actually I leave that up to my hubby and his grampy as I focus on keeping my piles cooking.Here is a great site on all things related to Backyard composting.

 

For more great frugal tips visit Biblical womanhood online

 

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