Since we are not using animal manure or artificial fertilizers in our garden, making compost from organic matter is a cheap and easy way for us to give back nutrients and enrich the soil.
For many years we had a two-chamber compost bin made from old scrap woods. It worked very well but this year it started to fall apart, so it was time to build a new one this weekend. We used durable Douglas fir timber and repurposed some old perforated metal sheets that we had found in the farm when we bought it.
With these materials it should last longer than the previous one. Just as the old compost bin the new one also has two chambers and the front can be opened to turn and empty the compost. Next to this new bin we have a large compost heap and two bought compost bins in the garden.
We typically fill the compost with kitchen scraps, vegetable scraps from garden, trimmings from perennial and annual plants, thin layers of grass clippings, some fall leaves (but not too many), twigs and chipped branches. Ideal is a mix of 2/3 greens (rich in nitrogen) and 1/3 browns (carbon or carbohydrate-rich). For the large amount of fall leaves we have a separate leaf cage to make leaf mould.
