Composting Bin Or Compost Pile? How to Decide

When you begin composting at home for the first time, you'll be faced with the question of whether you should make compost in a simple pile, or use a compost bin.

There are pros and cons to each option.

Hard core gardeners will often swear by compost piles, because that's what they use.

A pile works best if it is relatively large: 3 feet by 3 feet, piled as high as you can go. You'll want to gather up all your materials in advance. Leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, garden debris or whatever you're going to compost.

Mix it all up into a great big pile, and it will start to heat up and break down into compost. A pile can work quickly too, within a matter of weeks if you have the right mix of materials, you keep it moist, and mix it up a couple of times per week for aeration.

But there are a few problems with this scenario.

1. Do you really have enough material to make a 3 foot by 3 foot compost pile? Most people don't, except for in the fall when they have large amounts of leaves.

2. Are you willing to do all the work of mixing up the material for this huge pile, and then keeping it stirred up a couple of times a week for several weeks?

If you're a serious gardener or composter, then you probably will because you enjoy it. But if you're a casual composter, it's starting to sound like a lot of work, isn't it?

Do you have room for a big, ugly pile of debris? And are your neighbors going to freak out if they see it?

4. What about pets or rodents getting into the pile? If you are composting kitchen scraps, they can be attracted to your pile.

A compost bin, on the other hand, neatly contains all of your materials inside of the bin. So it's often a lot nicer to look at, and it keeps pets and rodents away. Some cities require a composter and do not even allow uncovered piles.

So what are the disadvantages of using a bin?

1. The main disadvantage of using a composter is that it won't typically hold as much material as in a giant pile.

2. A manufactured bin can be expensive. Some compost tumblers cost hundreds of dollars. Even a basic bin that holds 80 or 90 gallons of material can cost $100 and up.

There are plenty of plans available online for building your own, if you're handy. But there's still the cost of materials, and the time involved with making it yourself.

If you have a lot of materials and you don't mind the work, then composting with a pile might be the way to go for you. After all, it's how the serious gardeners often do it.

But if you're just starting out and you want to start casually, a bin is probably the way to go.

Lars Handley is a Master Composter based in Dallas, Texas. Learn how you can make compost faster and more easily at his web site, Compostinstructions.com. You can ask your question about composting there, and get an answer directly from Lars.