Woohoo! Compost!

I'M so excited! Another thing on my 2008 to-do list was to start composting in the back garden. I have to say I was a little bit picky about this - it couldn't be just an open heap as Basil would have a field day, and I didn't want the black plastic kind, it had to be wooden. So I shopped around locally and after being disgusted that Home Depot and Lowes (garden/DIY supply stores) neither stocked them nor, apparently, knew what I was talking about, started looking online. Here I found what I was looking for, but I didn't really like the price all too much. The irony of creating a huge carbon footprint in shipping to get a recycling product was not lost on me either. So for several months (yes, months), I've been going back and forward about ordering one vs. trying to make one. Each time I'd decide to just give up and order it, the words on one website would come back to haunt me: "Making your own compost bin is so simple even a child or granny could do it."

So I was justifiably excited to see a pile of discarded wooden pallets next to a building site. These are ideal for compost bin construction because the slatted design contains the waste while allowing air to circulate. What's more, they were free, and I was saving them from the landfill! Now do you see why I was excited? So I sent Thomas to acquire four for the walls and one for the base, and we got to work.

I have to admit it's not quite as elegant as the cedar structures I found online, but our little project was so much more satisfying. And I think the worms, lawn clippings and carrot peel will be quite thrilled in their new home. If you're jealous, bored or feeling guilty that you don't compost, here's how you can create your own.