Easy Compost in Wire Bin

Make easy compost in a wire bin. There are several advantages to this system to get started composting. Sometimes it is best to start off easy and see where it all goes from there. I just finished this pile of compost. See how beautiful and black it looks. There are leaves that are still not composted because they were on the edge of the bin. But they will compost eventually.

Easy Compost in Wire Bin Advantages

There are many different ways to compost.  I want to outline what makes this method so easy:

1. A wire bin is inexpensive–less than $60.
2. No need to turn the compost–it takes longer so be patient.
3. This compost can be made from leaves and green garden waste which are both readily available.
4. Very satisfying to watch as the compost shrinks–which means it is composting and breaking down.
5. Trouble free–no food waste for critters to feed on and no turning for you to worry about.
6. When finished just lift off the wire bin.  No need to shovel out compost from inside the bin.
7. It takes about a year to break down.
8. Easy instructions to follow.

Instructions For Wire Bin Composting

Basically you have to layer greens and browns.  Greens represent things that are high in nitrogen like grass, green plants or weeds from the garden, coffee grounds (even though they are not green) and animal manure if you can get your hands on any.  Browns represent things that are high in carbon like dried leaves, straw, sawdust, peat moss and coconut coir.  Here is more information on compost ingredients.

First you would put down a layer of browns.  I use leaves.  I collect them in the fall and they last all year.  And then I put down a layer of greens.  I make the layers 3-4 inches thick.  I also sprinkle a little dirt or finished compost between the layers to add extra microorganisms.  You don’t need very much dirt.  I have a lot of greens in the spring and fall.  In the spring I clear the weeds from my garden–mostly ground ivy.  I don’t use obnoxious weeds like crab grass or English Ivy.  I throw that in the trash.  In the fall I put in vegetable plants that are ready to be cleared out.

If you bag your grass when it is cut, grass is an excellent green.  I would put in a 2 inch layer of grass because when it clumps and gets thick it doesn’t compost so well and smells really bad.

Make sure you put down some kind of weed block landscape cloth that water will go through.  And that you put your pile away from any large trees because feeder roots will be attracted to the nutrients in your pile.

If you live in a place where you are not worried about forest critters coming to eat from your compost pile you can add kitchen scraps as a green layer.  Just check out this close up of this black gold compost!  Click on the picture below to order a wire bin.

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