Guidelines for making a good compost bin or pile

If properly made, homemade compost bins are cheap, durable, and produce good compost. Follow these guidelines for producing your own effective compost bin or pile and your garden (and the planet) will thank you.

• A bin about one metre (three feet) square will be large enough to hold the compostable waste from an average-sized city family
• In rural areas, or if you have a large vegetable garden, increase the size accordingly, or make multiple bins

• You can make the compost bin in many forms and of almost any material that will withstand the pressure of the compost. Use whatever is available at reasonable cost
• If you can get straight logs from a wood lot, you can notch these and build the sides log-cabin style
• If solid material is used, drill holes to allow air circulation. Holes three centimetres (one inch) long spaced 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) apart should be sufficient
• Cracks between logs or boards will normally admit enough air
• Plywood panels can be held together with hooks and eyes bolted through and bent around each corner, while boards can be screwed to corner posts or slotted inside angle irons driven into the soil at each corner
• Try to make the front in sections that can be added as the depth of the contents increases
• If the soil under the composter is very heavy and slow to drain, place some paving slabs in the base of the composter. Leave gaps between them to act as drainage channels, so that following heavy rain, the bottom layer will not be sitting in water

• You can build an open compost pile in a hidden corner of the garden
• Start with a 25-centimetre-thick (10-inch-thick) layer of grass clippings, hay, or leaves laid out in a square shape about two metres (six and a half feet) to a side
• Tread it down and water well
• Sprinkle on a handful of bone meal or commercial organic compost accelerator. Cover this with a five-centimetre (two-inch) layer of soil
• Continue to build the pile, adding vegetable waste as it becomes available
• Tread down and water each 25-centimetre (10-inch) layer, and cover with enriched soil, until the pile is about one metre (three feet) high
• Make the top slightly concave to catch rainwater
• Cover the finished pile with a soil layer
• Water well and keep moist, but not soggy; in a dry summer, it should be watered every two weeks

• Virtually any vegetable material can be added to the compost, although diseased plants and weeds that have gone to seed are best disposed of in the garbage
• Most kitchen wastes are easy to compost, but do not add meat or dairy products as they will attract vermin
• You can also add hair and vacuum-cleaner contents (synthetic fibres will not break down but small amounts still help to open a soil)
• Pet litter should go into the garbage as it could contain parasites
• From the garden, add lawn clippings, weeds not in seed, and flower heads
• As a rough guide, add three times as much green material as woody to produce good compost. The presence of woody material also helps to hold the material open, allowing essential air to permeate the pile
• Too much green material at one time, a thick layer of lawn clippings for example, will pack down and prevent air circulation

With a little know-how and effort you'll soon be on your way to producing good quality compost to help your garden thrive.