How to start your own compost bucket

Last month I decided to try and make my own compost bucket. I had acquired a couple 5 gallon buckets from a friend and decided it would be a good idea to put them to use.

My process went like this...

1) Drill holes in the bottom of your bucket. I asked my husband to do this part for me, as I am NOT handy with electric powered tools! He used a fairly large drill bit. Some people drill holes on the sides of the bucket as well, to allow for more air. I opted not to do this, because I planned on leaving my buckets open most of the time.













2) On the bottom of the bucket, lay out a layer of food scraps. Keep in mind this is only vegetable and fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds and filter paper, and used tea bags. I made sure that the scraps were cut up into 1 inch by 1 inch pieces.

You want to make sure that your scraps are cut up in to small pieces. This will speed up the break-down process of your green waste, and it will also be much easier to mix after a couple days of leaving it in the hot sun. The small scraps also makes things less smelly.

3) I then sprinkled some potting soil onto the scraps.


























4) Next put a layer of shredded newspaper.

Repeat this process until all of the scraps are used. On the final layer, I make sure to cover with more shredded newspaper and spray it with water until the paper is shiny. You don't want to saturate the materials in your bucket.

Lastly I put my compost bucket inside of another bucket that had no holes in it. That way when the water dripped out, I could catch it, save it, and use it as compost tea. I will talk about compost tea in a different post.

My compost bucket is all set to go. I leave my bucket outside in my yard. I make sure it gets a lot of sunshine. If I know wet weather is coming, I cover my bucket so that it doesn't get too wet. You could use a regular bucket lid or wooden boards. A tarp could work too. I also like to cover it so creatures don't get into it. Bobo my dog has gotten into it and actually started taking rotting fruits or vegetables out and ate some. GROSS!! There are also some stray cats that come out at night and I want to keep them out too.

After a couple of days if letting the compost heat up and sit, I check up on it. I use a small shovel to dig through the compost and mix it up well, making sure to bring the bottom compost up to the surface to allow it to dry out. The bottom will have collected a lot of moisture, so you want to make sure you spread that around. Another method I use to mix my compost, is to cover the bucket with a lid and lay the bucket on its side. Then just roll it around the yard about ten times. It should take about 2 to 3 months for all the compost to break down, if you do not add more layers of scraps to your bucket. I still have a couple months to go because I added more. In fact I had to start a second bucket to hold more scraps!

Happy composting!