MY NEW COMPOSTING BIN

Have you noticed how much longer the days are getting recently? Yes, the spring is coming! I love spring and even more I love summer. With the days warming up, the nature is waking up again. And guess what? This is a perfect time to start thinking about setting up your own composting system. Whether you are a beginner or you have been composting for a long time, I will do my best to create a supportive environment for all of you and make the composting even fun. I will share with you my composting experience and I hope you will share yours as well.

About a week ago I had a very productive weekend. I bought my first composting bin and I set it up in my garden. The composting bin I purchased is The Earth Machine (http://www.earthmachine.com/). I chose this particular bin mostly because of its low price and convenience as I was able to buy it at my local farm in Westchester, NY. If you are interested, check out their web site: http://www.hilltophanoverfarm.org/. Hilltop Hanover Farm is owned by the Westchester County, NY and run by Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center, Inc. The Earth Machine costs $139 on Amazon. The good news is that you can buy The Earth Machine for less than half of that price. In fact many municipalities offer Earth Machine through their municipal programs, so before you buy your composting bin online, check if The Earth Machine is being sold locally for a fraction of the cost of the composting bins available online.

I took some pictures of my new composting bin and other tools in my composting collection, as well as some pictures of organic waste that is now “cooking” in my bin. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

In the near future I am going to write a post about different composting systems and tools that will help you in your composting process. Some of you who were brave enough to take The Composting Challenge 2011 were also interested in vermicomposting and I will discuss this topic as well. I am looking forward to learn what system you chose and how it has been working for you. Let’s get composting!

Basic tools you need for composting - composting bin, small composter for your kitchen (optional) and aerator.

Greens and browns for the composting.

Kitchen waste - I collect my kitchen waste in this small kitchen composter with a filter to eliminate the odors. When you use this system you can keep your organic waste in the kitchen for several days reducing the number of trips to your garden composting bin.

Add your kitchen waste to the composting bin.

Add your yard waste such as leaves, hay, grass and plant trimmings. 

Mix everything together and you are done!