Creating a Compost Bin
Completed Compost Bin
I must first state that my original idea for a compost bin was to repurpose the Out House that I made as an installation piece for an exhibition a few years ago titled “A Pot to Pee In”. However, our urban garden space did not allow for such a grand compost bin, so I decided to save that idea for when we relocate to Palisade and start the Putnam Farm.
That being said, I still had the need for a compost bin for my urban garden oasis! The idea for a compost bin started earlier this summer when I was emptying out pots with last year’s plantings and cutting back dead plants that I’d missed last fall. Living in the city, one of the challenges is what to with garden waste (for lack of a better word) like this. Yes, I could have ordered yet another trash receptacle for compost but the downside to that would be I wouldn’t be able to rep the rewards of the compost! So instead, I started to pile my garden clippings and pots of spend dirt in an area next to my garden potting bench. Great first step but then the dogs decided that was a great foraging spot and the next thing I knew my tidy little pile was spread out all over the patio. To combat these stinkers, I then put some wire fencing I had in the garage around the compost area. This strategy worked but the little buggers still got their heads in there and made a mess. Problem not solved, yet!
So, this fall as I began cutting back the garden and bringing in the pots for winter, I asked any to make me a compost bin using the extra lumber we had in the garage. We discussed the design, and he got to work. Sadly, our extra lumber wasn’t quite long enough or sturdy enough so a trip to Home Depot had to occur. Construction began again and now I have a nifty little compost bin next to the potting bench that is totally dog resistant!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with composting and or garden compost bins and what goes in them, here is a brief explanation. To create good compost which is consider “black gold” in gardening circles, you need a combination of brown and green matter. Brown would consist of things like dried leaves, sticks, etc… while green is garden clippings. I also include spent pots of soil. To this you add water, but not too much so that it is overly soggy. You can also include kitchen waste such as coffee grounds and eggshells (not meat), but I opted not to for fear of bringing mice and or rats (totally gross) to the garden! You add these ingredients, if you will, in layers, three to six inches deep and then using a pitchfork (I’m a proud owner of a new one as of last weekend), or a shovel you rotate the mixture. You continue this process weekly, the turning part, and add new layers as you go. For my compost pile, whenever I clipped back the garden or changed out a pot I’d add to the bin. It is a great way to recycle and create rich soil additives that eventually over time you can add back to your raised beds. I’m still a relative newbie at this but I like the idea of giving back to the soil and making use of things that would otherwise be discarded. In my research, I did see where someone used old wooden pallets to create a compost bin and I kind of liked that idea as well. Perhaps when we finally have our little farm, I can try out that idea as well and have that bin or bins accompany the Out House bin! I will have more garden space, hopefully more raised beds, a larger green house, etc… so more compost will be a good thing! But until then, my little urban compost bin is the perfect addition to my garden paradise in the city!
