As I mentioned earlier, P. Allen Smith inspired me to start my own composting pile. Here’s the link to HIS version of this: http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/trash-can-compost-bin

After I saw this on his show, my husband went out to the shed to see if we had an old trash can to “re-cycle.” Lucky me we did! I immediately went and got out his drill so he could get started drilling. That process was fairly painless. It is a bit more difficult to drill into plastic than it is wood due to the instability of plastic and it took us about 10 minutes to get the holes in it. I found a place to park it and eureka, I was ready to go.

Of course, I didn’t have anything to put in the compost pile so I had to go dig out the weeds from the flower bed. I had been putting this off for some time and I’m positive my husband was glad to see me cleaning it out–regardless of the reason.

It also jump started me to hit up the produce section in the store. After all, it takes both brown and green to make compost.

The photo with the lid on it is the finished compost can and the red bucket is what I’ve been using to haul the weeds and grass clipping around the yard. I originally was carrying the clippings and things in my arms; however, I must have developed some serious allergies to pollen because I was sneezing and my eyes were swelling shut so badly that I had to find a new way to haul the clippings.

This is a photo after I have gotten some compost going. I roll the can about once per week and frequently check to make sure it is heating up. It took several days for me to feel heat. I finally had to water it with the hose to make it jump start itself.

Composting is a slow process. I have much more respect for the city compost center than I previously had. Shoveling compost may be smelly but it sure makes it to my plants quicker than my own homemade stash!

Oh, I almost forgot. I do not like to walk to the compost pile every time I have a few veggie scraps to put inside. At first, I was putting these scraps into an ice cream bucket. Every time I opened the bucket there by the sink, the stench would make me gag. I kept thinking about how to prevent the smell and I didn’t want to spend the $50 on the inside stainless steel compost container. One night while sleeping (that’s when I get my best ideas) I had an epiphany. I now line the ice cream bucket with a couple of pages from the newspaper. The newspaper absorbs the smell and any liquids and I can place it directly into the compost pile when I dump out my bucket. You can see part of the newspaper on the top of the pile in photo. It’s a miracle!

In addition to composting, we have started making manure tea and are using it to fertilize our garden. It’s fairly easy and much more healthy than commercial fertilizers. You should try it….get a 5 gallon bucket, an old pillow case, a bag of cured manure from your local co-op and start brewing!