Lazy DIY Backyard Cold Compost Bin In 5 Minutes
Why Waste Your Time? Let Mother Nature Do All Of The Hard Work!
Unless you are a hardcore gardener that needs compost right away (15-30 days), this lazy cold compost method is probably just what you're looking for. Why waste time building a fancy bin and turning your compost every day? The fact of the matter is, if you throw a bunch of food scraps and yard waste in a pile, it'll eventually create compost in about a year or so with little or no effort.
Why Not Just Throw Everything In The Garbage?
When you throw food scraps into your garbage for pickup, it is dumped into a landfill. The problem with landfills is that they are completely sealed from the outside world to prevent all of the nasty chemicals and waste people throw out from seeping back into the soil and / or water supply. When you throw food scraps into the garbage, you're essentially wasting space in the landfill and preventing all of those good nutrients from ever making their way back into the food chain. We've reduced our garbage pickup by at least 50% when we started to compost.
What You'll Need For This Build
Pick A Location
Most people will suggest that your compost needs to be in the sun, and that's just not true; however, if you do pick a sunny spot, your compost will probably be ready sooner. We own dogs and have pests in the area so I selected a spot away from the house where the dogs can't get to it but not so far away that it'll be a hassle to add kitchen scraps daily. Remember that your compost bin may stink a little so don't put it right up near your house or any place you like to sit and relax.
Unroll Chicken Wire To The Desired Size
I'd suggest that you start with something a little bigger than the bin I created in the photos. Instead of having one or two large bins, we created several small bins that are scattered around our property. Having multiple bins is good because you'll want to stop adding scraps as each becomes full. As a bonus, if you have your bins in several different locations around your garden, you never need to go far for compost once it's ready.Stake Off The Wire
You'll want to stake off the chicken wire with two or three stakes. I just so happened to have these perfect size stakes just lying around but you can use whatever is available in your garage. If you don't have stakes, don't go out and buy, just sharpen a few straight tree branches instead (they only need to last about one year).
Simply thread the stake through a few loops at the top and bottom of the chicken wire before pressing into the ground. I recommend leaving the majority of the stake on the outside of the bin to help prevent it from rotting.
Hammer In The Stakes
Once you've got the size and shape completely figured out, hammer in the stakes just enough to keep your bin in place. Be careful not to hammer them in too far or you'll have a hard time later when you want to pull up the stakes and harvest your compost.
Cut The Wire
Now just cut the wire with any sort of wire cutter. I used an old pair of tin snips because they were the first thing that I saw, but chicken wire is so thin that you can use just about anything. Once the wire is cut I like to fold the wire ends in by hand to help hold the bin together tight and to keep the sharp points from cutting people or animals.
What Can You Compost?
There are a few things that you don't want to put into your compost bin because they take much longer than a year to break down, can get pretty stinky, or are just not good for you. Take a look at this website for a more comprehensive list or just follow the guidelines below.
DO NOT Compost The Following:
- Cat and dog poop
- Fish and meat scraps (bones, oil, fat, etc.)
- Ashes from charcoal
- Treated wood (sawdust)
- Milk products (cheese, yogurt, etc.)
Feel Free To Compost:
- Yard clippings (let weeds dry out first)
- Veggie scraps
- Coffee grounds (with filter if it's 100% biodegradable)
- Egg shells
- Fruit peels (avoid limes)
- Hair (from DIY haircuts)
- Old Hay
- Leaves
- Newspaper, paper scraps, or paper towels (careful of some ink types)
- Pine needles and cones
- Used tea (be careful because some tea bags are made with a plastic lining inside)
Tips For The Lazy
I will admit that I don't lay awake many nights worrying if I have the right mix of nitrogen and carbon in my compost, but I do a few easy things that can help it along.
Add Leaves Between Layers
When I get a good layer of food scraps from the kitchen, I'll walk over to one of the bushes that I never rake under and grab a big arm full of dead leaves to throw on top. Don't worry if those leaves contain small sticks because those will actually help keep space for oxygen to circulate in your pile.
Add A Variety
Try to add a variety of things to your compost instead of just one thing. Here's a good list of what you can / cannot add and if it'll add carbon or nitrogen to your compost. If you're adding a little of this and a little of that, chances are the resulting compost will turn out just fine. Manly you want to add both fresh green (kitchen scraps) and dead brown (dead leaves or yard waste) to your compost in layers.
Consider Mixing It Up
Look long and hard at your compost bin and consider stirring it up but then never actually do it. You should consider mixing up your bin at least once a week, or daily, but then go on to do something more productive with your time. Mother Nature will sort things out for you. :-)
Add Water If Dry
If the weather is particularly dry, consider adding a little water to help your compost along, or just pour out those old mason jars from your refrigerator that you never finished. Alternatively, you can just consider watering your compost bin and then never do it. ;-)
Additional Resources
I found this webpage on the add-as-you-go method rather informative. There are plenty of websites out there that can help you along in your journey. The idea behind this page is to get as many people started, and to show that it doesn't have to be a lot of work to start making a difference in this world.
What Do You Think?
Feel free to leave any feedback that you may have in the comments section below. Please realize that this is my lazy man's cold composting guide that is meant to help people get started with minimal effort. I know that composting can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. I've simply decided not to waste a lot of my time and energy on it and have had good results thus far. Thanks for reading!
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