Got 10 minutes to spare? Here is how you can make a simple and easy compost bin in under 10 minutes, that actually works.
Maybe you have you been wanting to compost, but putting it off for a while. Or maybe you are lost learning of all the composting options out there.
That’s how I used to feel till I ran into this incredibly easy (and cheap for that matter) method.
Composting had been on my mind for ages. I love the idea of what started from the earth going back to the earth. It sounds so natural and instinctive (even intuitive). And I wasn’t going to let even pregnancy stand in the way of composting.
So in my first trimester, I tried my first hand at composting: after a lot of research, I had concluded that the most manageable option for me would be in a container, than burying it in the soil.
Well for one, where I used to live, digging into the soil meant needed approval from the home owners association. Second, I was pregnant and needed to hire someone to do it for me.
So I bought a metal garbage can from Home Depot, got someone to drill holes all around it for me and tried to start a bin. A few months later, my pregnancy progressed, but the pile aeration did not, so I had to leave the pile midway.
Fast fwd a few years……
A few weeks back, I happened to revisit this option. Coronavirus had us all under quarantine….Which meant enough time to pursue the things we had put off for later. (Hmmmm…makes me wanna say quarantine is like being an empty-nester with all the kids at home, what do you say?)
This time I was older (like literally) and wiser. So if it required anything I could not carry or complete myself, I was not going to do it, save a little technical help from hubby dearest (which I later found I may not have even needed). So let me let you in on this easy-peasy compost bin.
Here is what you need:
- Mesh Galvanized Hardware Cloth:
- 3 ft. x 10 ft. 23-Gauge 1/4 in. makes a good size bin
- I got this one by YARDGARD from Home Depot
- it cost me $16.60 per roll in 2020, prices may vary
- Twist ties: comes free as a wrapping around the roll
- Wire-cutters (hubby generously lent me his set).
Method:
Imagine the roll as a long rectangular sheet of wire mesh that has been tightly rolled up into a roll.
- To start, you would unwrap the roll, lay it on the ground and and unfurl the wire mesh sheet.
- You may want to place a stone or other heavy object on each short edge of the sheet and walk all over the sheet a few times to make it flatter (you don’t need it completely flat).
- While the sheet is being ‘straightened up‘, prepare the twist ties from the wrapping flexible wire: cutting it with the wire cutter into 4-5 inch long strips.
- Then you let the wire mesh stand on one edge, so it is vertical: try to bring the free vertical edges together (yes this step is like wrestling a mini-alligator, keyword being “mini” …..I’m sure you can do it)
- Once the edges are together, use the twist ties to secure the edges in place, weaving each tie through a couple of holes of each adjacent edge and out and then twisting their free ends (like the ties on a bag of bread or in the grocery aisle). You may want to use three twist ties in a vertical line for the whole bin: one tie for the top, one for the middle, and one for the bottom of the approximated edges.
Voila! Your bin is ready. It should naturally fall into a cylindrical shape. The more material you add, the better it is going to retain that shape.
My husband tried to pin it in place, so he shot screws through it into a nearby fence post, which gave us a heart shaped compost bin. Now it has been filled up more so the heart is brimming with love towards more of a cylndrical shape 😀
Happy composting!
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