How To Make Your Own Compost Bin

Re-Purpose a 33 gallon Trashcan

I do not use these larger trashcan for trash or garbage.  I never really have since we moved into this place that we call home.  It used to be my parent's vacation cabin.  They transferred the deed to us and I have loved it ever since. 

I love working in the soil and it give me great peace of mind and the love of nature and all that is around me.  This place and my parent's gave me this wonderful place to do so.  It is my stress reliever of sorts as when I take care of all my gardens they also in turn take care of me and it is the only thing that I think about when "playing" in the dirt.

So this 33 gallon trashcan was used as a rain barrel that I collect water in for watering my plants.  I hate to use the city water for them.  We did in stall a water softener but it used salt to filer out the muck and chlorine from the city water.  So I use Mother Nature's watering system as much as I can.  Rain is a much better option and I do use that to my advantage when I plant plant right before it is going to rain.  Collecting the water is the next best things though and we have been doing it for years.

Well my rain barrel split open and it would not hold water past 2 feet up.  My husband was going to take it to the recycling center, but I got the bright idea of re-purposing it for a compost bin.  We do now use one of the gardens as a compost of sorts as we put our kitchen scraps in it and till it once a week or less.  I want to plant something in that one and this was the perfect idea.  We have had a few other purchased compost bins and none of them were nice enough to put it where we needed it.  It needs to go right up there where my raised gardens are.  That would make the most sense anyway.  It will be between the Yellow and Pink beds.  It is in full sun and will get hot very quickly to "cook" the compost.  It will be where I can use it the most.  We did have one down on the right side of our house, but it did not get enough sun and I had to lug things there and then up to the garden beds.  

Anyway the plastic can was grey and had a grey lid.  We did have a replacement for that as we had another trashcan that was not being use.  I switched the lids with that one because I had holes frilled in the top to allow the water into the can and not the leaves or other debris that flies around these woods.

I painted the bottom black with a Outdoor Satin paint and the blue on the upper part.  Then I painted some things on the black with the other colors that are used on the raised gardens.  Voila!  Now I just need to put it up there in the middle of my garden beds and start filling it up.  The first thing will be some of that compost from the Lilac colored raised garden that we are now using as a compost of sorts.