New Adventures in Composting, Part 1

One thing I set out to accomplish this summer was to setup a second composting pit in our backyard, primarily for "wet waste," while transitioning away from our initial pit which would continue to hold overflow dry (or leaf) waste. For the past four(!) years, we have been using the pit pictured to the right, that my son and I constructed with metal posts and fencing.

Given the significant amount of leaves that find there way into our yard each fall (as seen here, it has worked well to consistently generate good compost for use in our gardens the past few years. Previously, this is also where we would deposit kitchen waste such as eggshells, fruit/vegetable skins and rinds, and compostable coffee filters, among other things. Located behind our small shed, it is tucked away behind a tree, mostly out of view... except if you live in the house backing up to the right back corner of the yard.

Thanks to fencing, tree branches and a wild vine, to this point it has not been an issue. But, last summer a young couple moved in and after removing some of the obstructive vegetation, it became semi-visible to anyone sitting in their dining room. It's not as though they came and complained (in fact, other than offering to fix the fence, they've said nothing) but my wife and I could tell that this was the case given the pit's proximity and height. This would especially be this case in winter during which time the whole area would be snow covered, except for the freshly deposited compostable materials dropped in the clean white snow every few days.

Last winter, my wife and I committed to exploring an alternate method of composting that would put the neighbors so "out." Initially, I liked the idea of the plastic tumblers that were (are?) briefly in vogue for urban composters. These, however, seemed to lack a solid construct at a sensible price. After some deliberation, my wife researched, found and bought the little beauty to the right online, a solid plastic composting bin, requiring only minimal (easy enough for me!) assembly, and best of all it has a cover and blends in nicely with our garden.

But, as with all new things, the use of the plastic cube composter raised some additional questions of it's own...