How to: Making a compost bin for your garden for only about $20!

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One thing I forgot to add: make sure you remove any of those little plastic ID stickers on produce you toss in the bin as they are plastic and will NOT break down!

Will answer a few questions people have already asked me about this:

“Doesn’t it smell?”

Since there’s no meat or dairy in there – nope! When I open the bin all it smells like it the smell of a forest – decomposing leaves, earth, a nice clean, natural scent!

“Doesn’t it attract flies?”

House flies – no. Some fruit flies – yes. I tend to stand back after I open the bin and let the little swirl of bugs dissipate but its really not much of a bother.

“Does it attract raccoons, rats, mice?”

Make sure the garbage can you use has a lid that locks tight and none of these animals will be able to open it. I have never seen any raccoons or vermin come into my yard.

“Can you put grass clippings from the lawn in there?”

Of course! I don’t as they take up too much space. It’s also healthier for your lawn to just mulch the clipped grass as you mow.

“What about weeds, twigs, branches?”

Weeds – yes. Twigs and branches take quite awhile to break down so better to have those go with your trash or ask a neighbour if you can put them in their yard waste bin.

“Should you also use something like Miracle Grow to get your plants as healthy as the ones you have?”

I don’t use ANY products like that. My gardens are 100% organic. The only fertilizer I occasional is this one. http://amzn.to/1qTzwBp

I also do not use any pesticides on any of my plants. I do use a slug bait for the pumpkin/squash patch but it is a pet-friendly, organic product.

Updated video of the bins from May 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocxn33eZP7M
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How can trash fuel our world?

It is time to re-purpose organic waste to fight three critical and urgent battles — waste management, energy, and agriculture.

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38 thoughts on “How to: Making a compost bin for your garden for only about $20!”

  1. Is it possible to build a compost bin like this during the late fall/winter season where it does go to or below freezing occasionally (south central Illinois)?

    Reply
  2. The worms make me uneasy… don't want to come in close contact with em😖… squeamish. How do you avoid disturbing or killing them while stirring and using the compost?

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  3. Is it ok to put questionable leftovers from the refrigerator in these? My family tends to insist on saving leftovers then forgets about them till the refrigerator in jam packed.

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  4. You never know where you will get good information! I started a bin last summer, & just realized my mistake!!! I didn't add holes, it smelled awful, I mean awful. Everything was moldy inside after awhile, so I dumped it in the side yard pretty bummed and wondering why it didn't turn out as planned. The grass was so green and tall in that spot, so while it didn't work as hoped, I could see the grass still loved the mixture. I'm going to start one again. Today. Around here we have hay scraps, chicken manure, horse manure, and food scraps, I've been dying to use the resources we have here to make soil. In the winter I use pellet stove ash as fertilizer and that works good also.

    Reply
  5. I didn't know that he was chewing his gum while he was talking. I hope that the chewing gum is organic. Won't be good for his teeth and maybe synthetic chemical added as sweetening agent.

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  6. Organic material primarily filled with pesticides that stay in the ground and in the animals it is fed to and then we eat the food and poison ourselves.

    Reply
  7. Even the apartment dweller has the place and means to utilize all their biomas wastes into soil components that they or neighbors who garden in yards and containers can use direct for nutrition food.

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  8. Most newer landfills utilize the methane gas produced in the fill… so just dump your tray and it turns into methane in the end anyway. This guy just wants to make a buck on his biofuel boondoggle.

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  9. Human evolution starts with oneself, everyone is responsible for their own wellness and to continue the cycle of life.
    Above everything be good to each other.

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  10. who can afford compost. a 50×100 piece of land I own needed compost. I called a local gree recycling place, o e where all of the material they use has been donated freely, wanted $1,500 USD for some dirt. This business makes people like the man on the stage rich. No one can afford to buy the finished product. it's sold bag by bag at home depot for $10-11 a bag. All of these fuels this man is speaking of is asking to devert them to him so he can get paid.

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  11. this is a scam from ted talk. yes you can compost but they want you to pay them for your trash so they can turn it into profit from themselves. they will turn around and sell the biogas at high price and the compost also at high price and you the American pays tho pick up your organic matter. what a joke. people do it for your self instead of paying people who will turn around and sell you your own product at twice the rate you sold it.

    Reply
  12. Piecemeal broken content did not connect with each other. Did he start eating something in the middle? That was unbelievable.

    Reply

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