Composting Without Bins

Composting is a great way to use organic matter to make your garden soil more fertile. Many people purchase composting bins, but there are also methods of composting without bins. You can simply dig a series of holes or a trench for composting, or use organic items like bales of straw to create an enclosure for your composting area.

Composting without bins: Trenches and holes

Trench composting is a way to make compost for your garden in an area that is not readily visible by neighbors or visitors. This can be a good choice for urban areas where the houses are packed in tightly and everyone can see into each other's backyards. Despite the name of trench composting, you can either dig one large trench or several small holes. If you are choosing the hole method, try to make a line of small holes that run along an existing bed in your home garden. As you have compostable trash like fruit and vegetable waste or coffee grounds, dump this into the holes every couple of days. The composted material will soak through the dirt at the bottom of the holes and feed the plants in your garden bed. If you have larger amounts of compostable material, like grass cuttings or tree leaves, trench composting is probably a better choice. To make your compost trench or holes more discreet, cover them with a layer of mulch or garden soil.

Composting without bins: Straw bales

You can make a natural compost enclosure out of straw bales. This is another great way to have a compost area for your garden without it being an obvious eyesore. Straw bale compost bins can also be used as a living planter box for flowers to brighten up your garden and take the viewer's attention off of the compost itself. Make a small hole in the top of each straw bale and fill it with garden soil, then plant your choice of flowers. You will need at least four bales of straw to make an enclosed compost bin. If you want to make a larger amount of compost, use more straw bales and create a rectangular shape as large as you wish. Do not stack the straw bales to make a deeper compost pile if you need more space. This will make it more difficult to turn the compost and keep it aired out and decaying evenly. At the end of each growing season, you can simply mix the old straw bales in with your compost and start again with new straw bales for the next year.