Need compost bin help!

[Morgan's mama]

I want a compost bin, but I'm a little confused about what I can and cannot put in it. When I was a kid I remember my grandma throwing egg shells and other various food scraps into her bin, -along with garden clippings. Then today I read in my Seattle Tilth magazine that should not put food waste into the compost bin, I should only put food scraps into a worm bin.

I'm also curious if any of you have the type of submerged compost bins with lids. I guess they are supposed to help not attract rodents.

Thanks!

[MissMommyNiceNice]

You can put any food scraps in the compost that are not fat, meat, or grain based. That means no bread, rice, pasta, meat, bacon fat, butter, etc.

You need to layer your kitchen scraps (veggies, fruit, eggshells, coffee grounds) aka "greens" with "browns" (leaves, straw, shredded newspaper, grass clippings). The sticky at the top of the page should have more info.

I've had my bin for 5 years now and have never had a problem with rodents except for one little nest of mice this spring. Not putting the grains into the pile is supposed to keep them down. You will have bugs & birds & the occaissional possum. IMO, though, it's just recycling. As long as they're not making a big mess, who am I to care if they eat the rotton apples from the back of the fridge.

[birthgreeter]

I agree with what has already been said, but I have to say that I am not good with layering and putting green with brown...etc...
I just throw it all on and when I feel like it, I turn it. It works. Prob if I would do it the correct way, it would break down faster, but mine does ok. We just leave the pile and in a about a year -use it. We also farm, so sometimes some barn yard waste gets thrown on top too! that helps ours out to compost faster.

[Buzzer Beater]

What kind of bin are you going to get/use? We built ours with 3 compartments, throw pretty much everything into it (no meat, dairy- don't use it much anyway). We never turn it, too lazy, or worry about layers. In this case the time from start til finish works wonders, about 3 years. If you're getting a small bin you need to be more careful as PP said.

[birthgreeter]

we dont use a bin, we have piles. On a farm, 'pile' are everywhere! We just have a few out in the barn yard area...what we remove from the barn etc. then just add to those piles.. If we had a small area, and was not on a farm, then I would see where a bin would be helpful.

[Morgan's mama]

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater

What kind of bin are you going to get/use? We built ours with 3 compartments, throw pretty much everything into it (no meat, dairy- don't use it much anyway). We never turn it, too lazy, or worry about layers. In this case the time from start til finish works wonders, about 3 years. If you're getting a small bin you need to be more careful as PP said.

I've decided to get a Green Cone bin. The city of Seattle is offering compost bins(including the Cone) for only $25, -instead of $100. This will last through the end of Sept. Thanks everyone for your replies!