What are the best compost bins?

[mac1911]

Guess it depends on what you generate. I generate such small amounts I just have a small pile in the sunny part of the garden. Im lucky to get 5 gallons of any table scraps/cut offs over the year and only generate sticks and leaves in the yard. The lawn gets mulch mowed.
Anything is better than nothing

 

[Meadowlark]

Guess it depends on what you generate. ...

So true....my compost pile from winter feeding livestock is quite large compared to the typical homeowner compost pile. No need for a "bin" as it would just get in the way.

I'll turn this every couple of months until fall when it will be some of the richest compost to be found anywhere.... estimated volume at 1800 cubic ft. You can feel the heat standing next to it.

 

[mac1911]

So true....my compost pile from winter feeding livestock is quite large compared to the typical homeowner compost pile. No need for a "bin" as it would just get in the way.

I'll turn this every couple of months until fall when it will be some of the richest compost to be found anywhere.... estimated volume at 1800 cubic ft. You can feel the heat standing next to it.

View attachment 89017

You probably have more compost stuck in your boots than I generate

 

[Meadowlark]

LOL, one can never ever get enough compost!

 

[headfullofbees]

Compost piles smell bad if they are too wet. Otherwise, they don't smell at all until you start to bring out the finished compost, and then it just smells like good earth (perfume to a gardener!).
The "toss stuff in the garden" method is called sheet composting. I do that with the chicken coop cleanings on the fallow part of the garden during the winter. The grass/chicken manure mix gets turned in about a month before planting.

The "toss stuff in the garden" method is called sheet composting.

Broadcasting in the UK.

I have 4 black compost bins.
I have access to so much fouled bedding, both horse & cattle, grass cuttings, seaweed etc. that I fill them twice a year, (they are still less than half-full when it comes time to use them. I like black because it absorbs heat, speeding the process.

I used to gather binloads of leaves every autumn, and spread them & soak them.
Worms loved it & it suppressed weeds, but since I moved, leaves are less available.

 

[Wrout22]

If you want to keep it simple and cheap I was watching this video and he just made a home made wooden box to fit down the side of his house, then emptied in to bags to continue the process when the main bin gets full.

I don't have a compost bin, I've always just piled up my compost in a big pile, but obviously that isn't ideal. I was wondering what people tend to use for compost bins? What are the best things, and that are preferably pretty cheap too?