1. A compost bin is used when composting, which is a process in which certain types of food matter - fruit rinds, vegetable stalks, leafy greens, etc. - is mixed with healthy yard waste to create nutrient rich soil (or, in the composting parlance, "black gold").
2. Microbes develop in the compost, assisting in its breakdown. The first bunch, psychrophiles, produce amino acids responsible for compost's initial rise in temperature.
3. Once the compost passes through all stages of decomposition, it is ready to be used as nutrient-rich plant soil.
4. Do not use meat products or bones in a compost bin. Meat products attract unwanted pests and animals with their odor; proper compost should smell earthy, not rancid.
5. To further keep rodents and other animals from disturbing your compost pile, place a tight-fitting lid on a compost bin or compost tumbler.
6. After mixing compost, you must turn your kitchen compost bin regularly to inject oxygen into the material and to maintain its temperature, which is crucial to good compost.
7. Composting spares waste from landfills and allows Earth-savvy homeowners to naturally recycle.
8. Compost tea is derived from the nutrient-rich liquid runoff from compost piles.
9. Worm composting allows worms to do the ventilating and compost turning work for busy homeowners.
10. Add traditional organic material - fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, yard waste - to the compost bin; bury it and other fibrous material all around the compost bin within the bedding.
For more on rain barrels check out our Rain Barrel Tips.
