Compost Compost Everywhere!

I've been thinking about composting for a LOOONG time. But just never actually did anything about it. This year, knowing that our garden was going to become much more important, I thought composting might be something worth trying.

My husband was justifiably skeptical. After all, I had tried other projects only to abandon them later. But things are different now. I actually have more time on my hands to devote to something like this. And I've always wanted us to be more independent and self sufficient. Still, I understood that he didn't want to be involved with this project. It had to be something I could do on my own.

The first thing I had to figure out was HOW I was going to make a "compost bin". Then I remembered the two 32gal trash cans we have on the deck that we rarely ever use. I grabbed one and took it aside. That night I asked my husband if he would let me use his drill and 1 inch drill bit. He did (wasn't that so nice of him??).

I drilled holes all over it. And voila! My compost bin was born. Dh thought that we'd never have enough scraps to fill it. What we've been doing all these years is just throwing the scarps into the garden, randomly.

And so, my composting project began. Within a month or two, the compost bin was 2/3 full. And it was getting harder to turn because it was deep. So, I mentioned to dh that we needed a bigger compost bin, preferably 2 cubic yards. To my surprise, he chose the spot. So out I went with shovel in hand, hoping to dig out 2 cubic yards from a hill. Ha. I got some of it done, but certainly not enough. My dh finished the digging for me.

We got some cement block we had laying around and built "walls" for the bins, dividing it into 2 bins. And my husband even added rebar to keep them from leaning!

So now we have more conventional compost bins, and I'm pleased to say they are doing the job. I go out about once/week and turn the compost. And we add scraps to it all the time.