Turning the Pile Vlog

Jeff opens the gate and empties the bin to help turn it. Then he puts it back in:

Compost Tools

We found that we don't need anything special to tend to the compost pile; standard yard tools work well.


A pitch fork and shovel for turning the pile ~



I'm not exactly sure what this tool is called (a spade?), but Jeff had it on hand in the shop and it works great for chopping up large amounts of food in a 5 gallon bucket ( a food processor would work for smaller amounts of food) ~
(It's not necessary to chop the food up into small pieces, but it does speed up the decomposition process.)


A watering can to keep the pile moist~


I love that we were able to use things we already had on hand!

Our Second Compost Bin

It took about two months for us to outgrow our first compost bin. We weren't anticipating the phenomenal number of apples our tree produced! This was the first time in three years that it gave good apples, so needless to say, we have a compost pile full of rotting apples.

When we saw that the first bin was filled to the rim, we decided to try the popular pallet idea. We loaded up the kids and drove around town to the garbage areas of local grocery and home improvement stores. We saw several stacked, but figured they were being recycled for future use.

There were a few next to a dumpster that looked like they were in good condition, so Jeff hopped out with Nathan and asked if we could take them. Turns out that the store earns $5 per pallet, so no, we couldn't have them. Bummer.

Then we traveled to the back of our mall and found 4 next to a dumpster. Jeff went in and they said we could have them! Woo Hoo! Free compost bin here we come!

Jeff's really handy and had this put together in what seemed like no time at all:


Three sides are fixed and the fourth is like a door that he keeps tied with the rope.

We have had some smelly days and the flies do like the pile, so Jeff put out a fly trap using my shepherd's hook!



And some fly paper right down to the center of the pile:



Now, the compost is supposed to stay damp like a sponge, but if it doesn't you'll probably end up with some mushrooms like we did! No biggie, though, just turn the pile and add some water.

Our First Compost Bin

Our first compost bin turned into a family project. Here's the original post (June 2008) from Becky's personal blog Boys Rule My Life:


This week's Unplugged Project is "Plastic". I really didn't think we were going to get a chance to work it in this week, until I walked outside and saw this:



We are turning this 45 gallon plastic garbage bin into a composting bin. I got the bin idea from here and learned more about composting here.

For more Unplugged Projects, head on over to Unplug Your Kids.