Composting!

As you may know, I have a new hobby: gardening. I am so proud of my little garden. Anyway, the soil that is in the backyard is very light and not rich and full of nutrients like we would like. I have been mixing in potting mix when planting around where I am putting plants in but wanted to give it a boost so decided to start composting! It will be a while until I can start using it but in the meantime I don't have to send all my organic scraps to landfill!

I did some research on Pinterest to find out how to make my own compost bin. I bought a 60L lidded bin, two bricks and a bungee cord (ocy(?) strap) and borrowed my Dad's cordless drill.


I drilled holes all around the bin, including the lid and bottom of the bin. This is to allow it to drain and aerate. According to my Dad it is best to make small, guiding holes before making the big ones (for rookies like myself!). This worked a charm!

I then put in some strips of newspaper, potting mix and some leaves that were around the garden, as well as some egg carton and the mushroom bag I had been keeping all my scraps in. I read that it is best to layer all of these. The food scraps went in and I shook it all up!

You can put the lid on to shake it all up, or even roll it around on the ground which gives it a good mix. Put the bungee cord over the top - I attached mine to the handles of the bin itself but you could drill some extra holes if you wanted. It sits on top of the bricks so that it can drain out of the bottom.

All it needs now is some worms which I believe you can get from a nursery or a fishing shop - I haven't gotten that far yet!

This project probably only took about half an hour. It was really quick and easy, and much cheaper than any of the rotating/mixing compost bins that you can buy in the hardware store!

Meg
xx