Diy Composting: How to Make a Compost Bucket at Home Donna Larson, August 4, 2024August 4, 2024 Making an entire cubic yard of compost seems overwhelming to most home gardeners, and they never seem to finish the composting process. What if you could finish small batches of compost? Let’s go over how to make a compost bucket at home. Why You Should Know How to Make a Compost Bucket This is a simple way that you can reduce waste on your homestead and simultaneously feed your garden. You’ll be able to turn the organic materials that you already have into usable fertilizer for your flower bed or vegetable garden, and it’s all free. Homesteaders are notorious for keeping old buckets around. You can put one to good use creating this little project for no out-of-pocket expense. Even if you have to buy a bucket, a new one is relatively inexpensive from your local farm and garden store. Project Materials 5-gallon bucket with tight-fitting lid 1/8″ drill bit and drill green and brown materials Building Your Bucket Drill holes all the way around the bottom half of your plastic bucket. The holes are necessary for air flow and drainage. Too much moisture is a common problem for many compost systems; however, your small bucket system will dry easier with drainage holes. Make sure that you drill holes in the bottom of the bucket and the lid as well. Drill each hole a couple of inches apart. This should total around 15 holes in the bucket, 15 holes in the lid, and 15 holes in the bottom. Layer your compost materials by alternating brown and green waste. You can add a little native soil or finished compost between the layers to boost the composting process. Finish the top layer with soil. How to Make a Compost Bucket Work Secure the lid, and let it sit for two to three days. Open the bucket to check the composting activity happening and the moisture level. Add a little moisture if needed, and turn the materials with a shovel to mix it up. Continue letting it sit for a couple of days, and then stirring it up until the contents have broken down. It will seem like the organic matter is disappearing. When your bucket is only 3/4 of the way full, let it sit for about a week to really cook. Check the bucket again, and if there is still a lot of recognizable scraps in the bucket, resume stirring every couple of days, making sure the compost is well-moistened but not wet. After an average of five weeks, you should have some finished compost to use. What Materials Can Be Composted Okay, now let’s talk greens and browns. These are the two different kinds of organic matter that will break down in your compost bucket. It’s not as simple as looking at the colors “green” and “brown.” Greens Green materials are high in nitrogen and water. These are usually easier to source for your compost bin. Some ideas are: grass clippings coffee grounds vegetable scraps other kitchen scraps yard waste used tea bags manures and urine blood ground egg shells Browns Brown materials are high in carbon-rich material. They are usually dry and can be more difficult to source in bulk. Some ideas include: dry leaves small twigs untreated wood chips waste from straw bales shredded cardboard newspaper dryer lint What to Avoid Truly all organic materials are compostable. However, you may find that some of these items take too long for your small bucket system, and some of them invite pests. greasy food waste oils from kitchen waste dairy products (although a little raw milk or way can be good) meat food scraps Closing the Loop With a Sustainable Resource Now that you know how to make a compost bucket at home, let’s talk more about the benefits of using what you’ve got. Creating your own compost in small batches at home is a powerful way to close the loop in sustainable living. By recycling kitchen scraps and yard waste, you reduce landfill contributions and enrich your garden with nutrient-dense soil. This process not only minimizes waste but also decreases your carbon footprint by reducing the need for commercial fertilizers. Moreover, homemade compost fosters a healthier ecosystem, promoting biodiversity in your backyard. Composting at home saves money by reducing the need to purchase commercial fertilizers and soil conditioners. By learning how to make a compost bucket at home, you’ll make a simple yet impactful step toward a more sustainable lifestyle. How Composting Works Composting works by breaking down organic materials through the natural process of aerobic decomposition. Microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, break down kitchen scraps, yard waste, and other organic matter into a rich, dark substance called humus. This process requires a balanced mix of green materials and brown materials, and aeration to create the ideal environment for these decomposers. Stirring the materials creates the necessary aeration. Over time, these organisms convert the organic waste into nutrient-rich compost, which can be used to enrich garden soil. The Kitchen Compost Bin You could keep this small system under your kitchen sink as long as it’s not too wet and smelly. Personally, the one time that I tried this, we invited ants into the kitchen. That was no fun at all. Alternatively, keep a small counter top bin for collecting materials to carry out to your bigger composting bin in batches. If you still don’t like that idea, you can freeze fruit scraps or other kitchen materials in a bag until you have enough to use in your bucket. How to Make a Compost Bucket In the Ground You can bury your bucket in the ground, leaving the top couple of inches above the surface. This will allow worms and other invertebrates into the bucket, where they can happily help decompose your food waste. This will leave you with added worm castings in your bucket at no extra charge. If you choose the in-ground method, make a few of your holes a little larger. One-quarter inch drilled holes should do it. This option is a good idea if you find your bucket drying out too quickly. Be sure that you don’t bury it in a place that holds too much water. You could also permanently bury one of these in your garden beds and just continually add compostable materials for your plants to feed from. What About Worms? If you’d like to add some red wigglers to your bucket, just put them on the top of the last bit of waste and cover them with a little soil. Just make certain that your bucket never dries out or the worms will die. The worms will help eat up the materials faster so that you’ll be able to access that black gold you’re looking for a little sooner. This is very much like creating a worm farm at home to feed your garden. Setting Up a Larger System in Containers If you liked this, but found yourself wanting more compost, looking into following these same basic steps with a larger bin. Plastic boxes or totes with lids work just as well, but may take a little bit longer than your 5-gallon bucket. I’m personally working on keeping a few of these bins going at a time so that I have different stages of compost to use in the garden. You could even do this with large garbage cans if you wanted. Just remember to drill small holes every couple of inches apart all over the can. Maybe I’ll get brave enough to try this one day. When is Your Compost Ready to Use? Last, you’ll know your compost is ready to use when it has turned into a dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling material. The original materials should be unrecognizable, with the exception of some small, woody pieces which can take longer to break down. The compost should feel slightly moist, not too wet or too dry. Additionally, the contents should no longer generate heat, indicating that the active decomposition process has finished. Using Your Compost You can use small batches of compost in a few different ways. Side dressing your plants will use it up quickly, but your compost will last for a while in the beds. Alternatively, you could water it down to make it stretch, “fertigating” your garden beds or making a foliar spray with compost tea. Troubleshooting How to Make a Compost Bucket When composting in a 5-gallon bucket, some common problems you might encounter include: Foul Odor: This usually indicates an imbalance of green and brown materials, or that the compost is too wet. Add more dry, brown materials (like shredded paper or leaves) and ensure the bucket has proper drainage and aeration. Too Dry: If the compost is dry and not breaking down, add water to moisten it. The compost should be as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Slow Decomposition: This can happen if the materials are too large or if there’s a lack of nitrogen-rich greens. Chop up larger pieces and add more green materials like fruit and vegetable scraps. Pests: If pests are an issue, make sure the bucket is securely covered and only add vegetable scraps, avoiding meat, dairy, or oily foods. Also, bury new additions under a layer of existing compost. Compaction: If the compost becomes too compacted, it can limit airflow and slow down decomposition. Stir the compost regularly to maintain good aeration. Conclusion of How to Make a Compost Bucket at Home If composting at home has seemed scary and daunting, I have no doubt that you’ll feel like you’ve conquered compost with this small system. Before you know it, you’ll be teaching all of your garden friends how to make a compost bucket at home too. Happy Composting! Donna @ Hazel Belle Farm Donna and her family have been homesteading for most of their 20+ years together in some shape or fashion. She currently lives on their 20 acre farm where they grow as much food as possible. What started as a just a few laying hens, has grown into large gardens, pastured poultry, pork, and lamb. They are continuously evolving their small farm to not suit their family’s needs, but also providing to their local community. Donna’s favorite part of the family farm is her self-built micro-dairy, where she gets to love on dairy cows while serving her local community. Milking, cheesemaking, and processing dairy have become the soul of their homestead and the center of their farm. Composting Homesteading