Composting Tips for the Home

(Page 2 of 2)

May/June 2004
By Carol Steinfeld  
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Bins are easy to make out of wood, scrap pallets, wire fencing, fence boards, and barrels. These low- and no-cost composters can become attractive with the addition of finished siding. Picket and bamboo fencing make an easy composter or can enclose an existing one. Seek out fencing with hardy slats and weather-resistant wiring. Bamboo and Rattan Works (BambooAndRattan.com, (732) 370-0220) offers half-inch bamboo-slat fencing as well as others made from flexible willow, twigs, and reeds. Hay bales, mud blocks, and even bricks also can be used as composter walls.

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Another method is to insert five-foot-high branches or bamboo culms into the ground in a three- or four-foot-diameter circle. Space the branches three inches apart to let in air but hold the pile securely. Or, space them four or more inches apart and weave grapevines or willow branches through them for a more securely knit structure that hides its contents.

You can make an enclosed composter by drilling air holes in a barrel or an attractive plastic container. Remember that the ideal composter size is three or four feet high and wide; this allows for a critical mass of organics and biology. (If yours is smaller, insulate it to keep the biology cooking, and add worms.)

Flowering facade

To further beautify your composter, plant evergreens, shrubs, decorative grasses, or climbing flowers such as nasturtium around it. (Beware of using morning glory and other invasive plants that may seed your compost with plants you don’t want to spread!) You might also plant nutrient-loving vegetables and berries around the perimeter to take advantage of the liquid nutrients that leach from the bottom of the composter.

Erect trellises around your composter and train primrose up them. This also helps ward off hungry critters. You can also buy a beautiful, ready-made flowering composter. The Scrap Eater by Sun Frost (SunFrost.com, (707) 822-9095) is an oak wine barrel brimming with plants. Hidden in the middle is a composter topped with a glass dome that helps heat up the pile. In addition to the plants, the composter is insulated with an air space, assuring that the composting microbes stay warm and effective.

Composting Tips

  • In a countertop collector, place a used paper towel or half a sheet of newspaper on the bottom of the container so organics slide out easily. Newspaper and paper towels will also compost.
  • An easy way to compost is to “batch” it: Fill one composter, then use another. When the second is full, the first will likely contain completely finished compost.
  • Keep your compost moist! It should be as damp as a well-wrung sponge.
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