Making a compost bin

Before a person can begin to make compost they will need to make a compost bin to house the compost. A compost bin can be any size. A person should make a bin the right size to match the size of the garden that they are making the compost for. People can purchase a compost bin from a local home and garden store, or even through the internet, or they can just make their own compost bin. If a person has a large garden, they could even make their compost heap in one of the corners of the large garden.

If a person would like to make their own compost bin they will need a hammer, nails, wood, and wire netting or wood for the walls. The person should hammer posts into the ground to close off the area for the compost bin. Then pat down the soil inside the posts to make it compact. After patting down the soil the person should put the wire netting or wooden planks around the posts to create the walls. They should leave one side that can be easily detached so that they will be able to get the compost out to put in the garden when it is finished and ready to use.

Making the compost

After choosing a site and creating a compost bin there are some things that a person needs to keep in mind as they create the compost. It is best to begin a compost heap in the spring. Instead of only mixing in a few materials, mixing a variety of materials will make the best combination compost. A person should include carbon-rich, brown material that is a little more rough as well as nitrogen-rich material that is soft and green. The person creating the compost should remember not to let any one material be the dominate material of the compost heap.

A person should put woody material near the bottom of the compost heap to encourage air circulation. Shredding larger materials can help them decompose easier and if the materials are all very dry it can help to moisten the pile a little. But the person making the compost should not soak the compost pile with water.

It is also important to mix up the material in the compost pile. Material should be added in intervals. When the compost pile is full then it will begin to heat up as it decomposes. After a few weeks it will cool down and then the person can mix it around and add more water if it seems to be drying out. If they continue to turn it regularly during the summer, the person's compost should be done at around two to four months.

What materials can go in the compost pile

People may wonder what materials can actually go in their compost bin. This is an important thing to know. Items that are green and rich in nitrogen can go in the compost bin. These items include old, cut flowers, vegetable and fruit scraps, annual plants and weeds that have not yet seeded, grass clippings, and pieces of plants that have been pruned.

Other materials that can go in a compost pile include carbon-rich material. Most of these materials are brown and include cardboard, straw, small vegetarian animal bedding, paper bags, crumpled up paper, coffee grounds, and tea bags.

There are also materials that should not be put in a compost pile. Materials such as meat and fish, diseased plants, cooked food, cat and dog litter, any type of glossy cardboard or magazines, perennial weeds, and coal ash should not be included in any compost heap. They are not the right materials to make compost.