Yet another thing on my long, long “to do someday” list.. a COMPOSTER!!
This has been one of those projects that I kept thinking was a good idea, but not a priority. Also, I didn’t have a great use for the soil that it would produce. Now that I’m being very intentional about this blog and it’s content, the composter and future uses for the soil (READ AS “THERE’S A GARDEN COMING!”) made more sense.
I’ve long looked at different methods for containing and turning compost, and let me tell you.. there are TONS of different methods. I came across the idea of just using a garbage can a while back and it just made perfect sense to me. The cans are cheap (mine was $12), moveable, and easy to mix (lay it down, and roll).
Here’s what you need:
- cheap garbage can some
- aluminum door screen (36″ x 84″)
- a drill & paddle bit
- a staple gun.
You’ll need a 1″ paddle bit and a staple gun.
Drill holes, but keep can strength intact.
The idea for this composter is simple. Drill big holes up and down all of the sides, making sure to not weaken the structure of the can, then cover the holes on the inside with the screen to keep critters out of the can. I also put holes in the bottom, but left them uncovered, so worms and bugs can come up through the ground to help.. they’re completely necessary to the composting process.
The only problem I came across was using the staples as a way to attach the screen. It finally worked, but took some trial and error. I’m also not entirely sure how long they’ll stay in place, so it’s possible that there’s a better long term solution (GIVE ME IDEAS IN THE COMMENT!!!) Obviously, the staple gun needs something to press against, so that the staples will bend and grab the two things you’re stapling together. I ended up holding a metal pipe on the inside of the can and using that as a backing to staple against. It mostly worked. I had to go back with some pliers and manually bend a few of the staples down. Take the time to do that, otherwise the staples will be useless.
Be sure the staples are bent to hold the screen in place.
The shape of the can that you get may be different than mine, so you may need to approach it differently, but I attached the screen starting at the bottom of the can, then moved around and up. When I got to the upper “flared” part of my can, I just used a utility knife to cut slits in the screen, essentially making tabs at the top, allowing them to only cover the area that they were needed. For good measure, I folded the top of the screen under and stapled it in place. On screen like this, the rough edges will fray just like material.
Put a bungee cord across the top to hold it in place while rolling the can.
That’s it! Quick and easy composter, for only a few dollars!
If you’ve got ideas or improvements (especially about the stapling method), please let me know in the comments!
I made something like this a few years ago. It didn’t work well for me because the compost just clumped in the bottom and didn’t mix when rolling it around. I tried using a fan blade mixer and that didn’t work either.
I also had a hard time getting it hot enough to compost. There’s some compost booster stuff I got at the garden store that helped, but it’s not a permanent fix.
Squirrels eventually chewed a hole through the lid to get at some pumpkin that was put in there after halloween one year.
Good to know! I’m curious how well it’ll actually work. We’ve only been filling it for a couple of weeks now, so not enough time to see any progress yet.
Did you ever find another composting system that worked better for you?
I still use the stuff that comes out of the garbage can, but it’s not great. We don’t really have a good place for a better compost heap. Our yard is pretty small and we’d rather look at our garden than a pile of dirt. Our neighbor has a large heap that I might see about dumping stuff on when we exceed our capacity.
Also I didn’t bother with the screen that you did and it worked out just fine. I think my holes were only ½” (maybe ¾”) though.
I’m thinking that the acidity of the material may dissolve the aluminum. Fiberglass screen may be better. After reading Matthew’s, I wonder if it might work better to turn it rightside-up to put material in and then store it upside-down and roll it, too.