Garden composting bins are a modern way of recycling organic material to make compost. This is great news for your garden because with a little patience and practice, you can provide your plants with rich nutrients every 4 to 6 weeks during the growing season. In recent years, people have become more concerned about the environment as well as their wallets, making composting an appealing alternative to buying those expensive bags of humus at the local garden center.
So just what is composting and why should you compost? Composting is a process whereby humus is made from organic material under certain conditions. The natural process is sped up by using a variety of organic materials mixed together under optimum conditions. This then permits thousands of micro-organisms to live and convert the organic material into humus. When you add this to your soil, it will make it lighter and more porous. It makes the naturally occurring minerals in the soil more accessible to your flowers and vegetables. The result is healthier, more disease resistant, and longer living vegetation. The why is answered in two ways, first was the obvious, that it provides a great alternative to buy commercial fertilizers that disrupt the natural balance in the soil. But secondly, you can lower by about 30 percent your household waste by composting it. This is a win-win situation any way you look at it.
1. How does a compost bin work? Most models are made of hard plastic with a lid attached that can be fastened. You just add the waste materials on a daily basis, then rotate what is in the container 3 or 4 times a week. A lot of the bins are actually tumblers that you can just turn making it easy to keep your compost actively decaying.
2. How do I know when my compost is fully matured and ready to use? This question cannot be answered exactly because it depends on how often you turn or rotate the materials in the bin and also how large the scraps and waste are. The smaller the ingredients and the more you turn, the quicker you will have fully matured compost. It is a good idea to plan on compost every 6 weeks, so at the end of the 5th week, stop adding new waste. Let it remain in the bin for 5 days, then you can empty it out and start over.
3. Should I use some type of chemicals to speed up the process? That is not necessary, the first cycle in the composting bin may take longer since it is all new material. After that, save out a shovelful of the previous batch of compost and leave it in the bin. This will speed up the decomp process of your next compost cycle.
4. Do I need to add water to the waste materials in the bin? These modern plastic bins do not need any water or moisture added because they can retain natural moisture from the waste and scraps being added.
5. Can I compost during the cold winter months? Composting is definitely slowed way down, but still takes place. Materials can still be added but you will not want to fill it more than 3/4 of the way full.
6. What types of materials can I add to the bin? You need a combination of what is considered "wet" or "green" materials and "dry" or "brown" materials. Examples of wet/green are garden waste, fruit and vegetable peels, egg shells, coffee grinds, tea bags, and peanut shells. Dry/brown materials are things like sawdust, twigs, straw, dried grass, tissue, and newspaper.
If you would like to check out reviews on some of the top garden composting bins, just click here.
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