The New Compost Bin

I’ve been reading an old book a friend loaned me called A Practical Guide to Composting by Frank Haddon, its is all about composting in the home garden in large and small scales. After reading through it a light bulb went on and I have decided to use an existing structure in my yard as my new compost bin.

If you are looking for a book to read on composting here are two of my recommendations:

• Let it Rot!: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting (Third Edition)
• Easy Composters You Can Build

Background:
The chosen area is situated on a cement slab, and is constructed out of cinder blocks (large hollow bricks). It was previously used as a dog kennel, but after removing the tin roof I think it will be perfect for hot composting.

The structure has walls on three sides and is approximately 4m wide (lots of dogs!). I plan to build a pile in one half, let it begin to co 
mpost, then move it by garden fork across to the other side. By doing so it will aerate the mix, giving all the little microbes which break down the organic material oxygen to breathe.

Here is my starting mix:
- 2 parts mango leaves
- 2 parts dry lawn clippings
- 1 part horse manure

I have had success using a similar mix in a small 60 litre bin.

By moving the compost from side to side in the bin it will aerate the mix, giving the microbes more oxygen in which to work and generate temperatures of up to 70 degrees celcius. High temperatures such as that will kill off any weed seeds and diseases that may be living in the plant material added.

By aerating the mix it will prevent any anaerobic (live without oxygen) microbes from growing and giving off a horrible smell.

The compost I create over the next few weeks will be used on my garden to enrich the sandy soils that I have.

In an up and coming post I will detail the best uses for compost.

Tags: Compost, compost bin, build compost bin, composting method, hot composting