The Compost Bin Blog - GoodStuffAtHome

Today’s blog post is all about my former life as a garden blogger. Way back in 2006, I started the Compost Bin blog. Now this is not to be confused with WatchItRot.com (no link because I don’t own it anymore) which was started several years before that. That was way before blogging was popular so I coded that site by hand in HTML. I had the awesome idea that I was going to put a webcam on my compost bin and people could visit and watch it rot. I never did get around to setting up the webcam but I did move on to the Compost Bin blog. That’s where I started garden blogging with a focus on composting to improve your gardening.

The blog got popular in the 2006 garden blogging world and it was a lot of fun. Here’s one of my first posts from that blog and check out those comments. No spammy links, no people trying to gain backlinks for SEO, just some good compost Q&A.

From The Compost Bin Blog (http://compostbin.blogspot.com) – 8/09/2005

Compost Bin Blog Goes Live
Welcome to the Compost Bin Blog! Hi, my name is Anthony and I’m a compost addict. As far as addictions go, this one is actually pretty useful. Every year my vegetable garden does great, my trees and shrubs are healthy and strong, I don’t have to worry about the kids playing in the yard because I don’t use any herbicides or pesticides and I’m also reducing the amount of waste that’s being sent to the landfill.

I started composting shortly after I started gardening. Hauling bags and bags of top soil and composted manure from big box stores every weekend wasn’t my idea of a fun hobby so I looked into composting for my organic soil needs. Turns out it was a good move. Now all my yard waste and kitchen waste goes into my compost bins. And the compost that I make is used to keep my plants looking great.

They say that when you start blogging you should pick a topic that you enjoy. Compost was that topic for me and I haven’t looked back.

So if you want to read about one man’s take on composting and gardening, feel free to stop by and see what I’m up to. And let me add that I’m far from being a Compost Expert and I’m always looking for new things to try. If you have any compost or gardening ideas or tips be sure to send them to me at CompostMan [at] gmail [dot] com.

Here’s some of my favorite posts to get you started.
What’s Decomposing – 2006
Turkey Visitor
Six Garden Lies
Protecting Berries

And of course my favorite category is Compost Pictures because who doesn’t love pictures of compost?

12 Comments: (These are the original comments from 2006)

Anonymous said…9:43 AM

hello anthony..thanks to visit my blog www.basedesign.blogspot.com,I want to know about compost bin application to tropical climate?

Anthony said…10:30 AM

Hello Anonymous,
It’s even easier to compost in the tropics because it’s always warm. Just check out my composting posts and you’ll get a good idea of what you need to do.

Jonathan said…7:53 PM

Hey, I was just checking out your blog and I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I’m experimenting with composting right now, but I’m not sure if it’s big enough. I pretty much just got a laundry detergent bucket that was around 1.5 feet in diameter and 2 feet high. I filled it with crunched up leaves and some green material that I dried in the sun for two days before putting it in the bin. I added some water and mixed it by hand, and now it’s covered with a black plastic bag and a spare doormat in a dark corner. I’m planning to drill some holes soon.
I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m doing something wrong. What do you have to say?

Anthony said…9:21 AM

Hi Jonathan,
I think you’re going to need a bigger container and you’ll definitely need to drill those holes in it quickly before it starts to stink. Compost needs air and that’s the main reason why you have to mix it every once in a while.Maybe try using a garbage can with holes instead of a detergent bucket.Good luck with you compost. Let me know how it goes.

Anonymous said…9:12 PM

Well, I’m building raised beds for my new veggie garden tomorrow. I was surfing for ideas on design when I cam across your site (great BTW). I just bagged 3 leaf bags with yard waste (mostly grass and oak leaves and moss). I could’ve totally used this to begin composting! Now, my “to do” list will include a compost bin (3 x3 ft)and I have many things that could fill it quickly…Here’s a dumb question however…I have two dogs who frequently manufacture their own fertilizer. Could this be added to a compost bin or is that too “icky” to do? I would think it’s not any grosser than cow poo?

Anthony said…7:27 AM

Skip the dog poop because it’s very different that cow poop. Cows and other livestock eat nothing but grass or feed while your dog probably gets dog food and maybe some table scraps.

People who compost pet manure usually build a mini septic tank in the ground and don’t use the compost for over a year. Even then, it still shouldn’t go on food crops. Do a search for composting dog poop and you’ll get some good ideas. Good luck.

mruhlman said…4:25 PM

Hi anthony, Im a frequent lurker who enjoys your blog and could use some composting advice! we used to have a bin that worked great until the rat attraction (in a city) so now we have a neat off ground tumbler and i am trying my darndest to get the first batch of compost out of it. it is not cooking like the bin used to. its all nasty sludgelike, clumpy and sludgy. i stopped adding food scraps weeks ago, starting putting in “bio-activator” and flip it a lot. i also toss in shovels of dirt on occasion. arent tumblers supposed to be awesome?

Anthony said…1:16 AM

Hello Mruhlman,
That’s too bad about the rats. I’m glad you didn’t give up on compost though.Here’s a few things to remember that might help you out.Watch the green to brown ratio. It should be about 1:20ish or at least 1 part green plus 2 parts browns.

Keep it moist but not soggy.

Fill the entire bin and stop adding new ingredients. Then for about two months spin it at a few times a week.

Good luck!

Anonymous said…9:56 PM

Hi,

I recently moved into a home that already has a compost bin. Unfortunately, the previous owners stuffed the bin full of thick branches and its brimming with bugs. Do you know how I would go about cleaning out the bin? Thanks, Annie

Greg W said…2:47 PM

Hi Anthony, I have had a semi-compost pile for four years now, basically a pile of soil and veg scraps after harvest. Never have actually used it for anything.

After many times looking at it and wondering why I don’t seriously get it going properly I decided just one month ago to actually start adding kitchen waste to it. Some say I’m a bit slow to motivate. After reading your recommendations, and ‘hauling bags and bags of top soil and composted manure from big box stores every weekend’ I am going to get serious about it.

Thanks for the motivation.

Anthony said…3:07 PM

Good luck with your effort to “get serious” about composting. But remember to keep it fun too. Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said…8:30 AM

hello. i am just starting a compost pile, what tips do you have for me while starting a new compost pile?

End of Post

You gotta love those comments from a more civilized age.

So the point of revisiting this old blog was that I want to move some of that classic content to GoodStuffAtHome. I’ve been building websites since 2002 and blogging since 2006. So I’m going to move some of that old content and backdate it. This way readers will get the whole picture and I’ll have all my content under one roof.