A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Compost bins are expensive!!

Does anyone know of something cheaper I can buy to make compost in? I've been researching compost and all the sites say I'd need a compost bin.. well those things are expensive! Has anyone here had success making compost without one of those costly bins? What can I use? I really want to make my own compost to save the enviornment and make my garden healthier! Why does it have to be so expensive? Help!

You can build your own or even put it on the ground in a pile...just make sure it is 3x3x3 in order to get enough heat to make it work. I just have mine on the ground. I have the lumber and fence wire, but am waiting for DH to actually put mine together... Good luck to you!

Thanks for the advice, Tonya. Unfortunately I'm not good at building things and I don't have a husband who could build it for me. Also I can't keep a pile in my backyard because I live in Townhouses and they won't allow that. Could I just use any 3x3x3 bin-type thing?

Daylily.... you can use a trash barrel as well.. It has a nice clean appearance..

You definitely DO NOT need a bin. It can be done right on the ground without any bin at all. I used old pallets that I got for free to make mine.

"Daylily.... you can use a trash barrel as well.. It has a nice clean appearance.."

Thanks for letting me know that, SpringFever! I think I could get away with putting that back there. I just have to turn it upside down every so often, correct? Could anyone tell me how often I'd have to do that? Thanks so much!!

You can do it as little as every 2 weeks or as much as everyday.. depends on how fast you want your compost... I use a garden claw to turn mine.. Seems to work out well for me!

What a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!

Good luck Daylily

yup i make mine right on the ground
got a nice litte hidden corner in the yard and just make a big pile.
right now im stockpiling grass clippings so i have em when the leaves start falling

You can also use black 30 gal trash bags to compost in . I t is suposed to work real fast due to the heat build up in the trash bag.
swin

I use two old black 55 gallon plastic barrels... I just stick a pitch fork in it about every other week and kinda stir it up. Has worked well for me! I use two of them so that I dont have to fill either one of them up full... makes it easier to turn!

I use huge heavy duty cardboard boxes with holes cut in the side of them. The type that melons and cabbages etc are transported in, in bulk. As the boxes break down you can add them to the compost.

That's the reason I use a compost, "Bunny". Any vegetable scraps I have go into his cage and a little while later the BESt natural fertilizer is returned to me and goes on my plants and flower beds.

Thorn and Two Bean Bags