Ever since we started our garden 2 years ago, it’s been a goal of mine to have a compost bin. It seemed like a good way to save our scraps while also creating compost for our garden, but I never got around to it. Keeping busy with the garden itself, pregnancies and babies, it was one of the projects I’d put off. I also avoided it because purchasing a large, turnable compost bin was expensive and I couldn’t commit to spending over $100 on one, like this one on Amazon.
I saw a Compost Bin DIY on Young House Love and was impressed/relieved to see that it was actually feasible. Oftentimes when I see DIY tutorials online they’re not exactly doable within the timeframes I have to work with having young children afoot. But this DIY I could do, especially given that I already happened to have an extra storage tub at home, soil from my garden, and only needed a drill (the one power tool I feel confident using lol).
Their tutorial was simple, broken down into 10 simple steps. Basically you find a large bin, drill holes in it, add soil, leaves and newspaper, moisten, add scraps and mix. That’s it! I was able to do this project within a half an hour—which worked perfectly for me as I could do it with Jeff while Simone napped.
Jeffy, age 4.5
Jeffy enjoyed having a project to work on with me, especially since he got to use the drill for the first time. I helped him set up each hole he drilled, but he was able to hold it independently and gained confidence through the process. I’m also glad that I had him help because I think it was important for him to go through the process of building it with me to learn about composting. I think that these moments of intentionality and sharing them with our children is so important, it’s grounding and educational all at once.
Day 1
Adding scraps 30 days later
It is a such a good, positive and tangible lesson, as Jeff is able to see the scraps decompose and become soil. Then when we work in the garden and he asks things like “what do plants eat?” It creates a dialogue between us of soil and sunlight and rain. It is a beneficial lesson in delayed gratification, while we were able to create the bin quickly, the process of creating compost takes 2-3 months. It will benefit him (us both really) to continue to work on it by adding soil and our food scraps and mixing it. It also makes for a simple and age appropriate chore for him, one he doesn’t mind doing because he is invested in the project. He is able to understand a high level of how things grow and work, while we’re also spending quality time together.
fruit/vegetable scraps are best (avoiding citrus, meat & dairy).
gardeners <3
