Building compost piles saves on people’s dollar

By Chris Brinson


People are looking to make differences in their communities with greener ideas, but with the threat of higher prices for greener products like organic composts, many have taken matters in to their own hands.


Custom compost piles, for some people, have become the answer to an easy and non-expensive way in their efforts towards making a greener community. Instead of purchasing 40 pound bags at $10 each, there have become many different ways to compost but doing-it-yourself is the best way to save.


“Building my own compost pile is the best thing I’ve done for my wallet and yard,” said John Austin Williams, 24, of Bartlett, and biology major at The University of Memphis. “It’s nice not having to rely on garden centers so much anymore.”


Williams built three simple boxes out of wood, nails, staples and chicken wire. The materials he used can be found at any local hardware store or lumber yard for building a low budget compost pile.


When beginning, Williams took 10 2-by-4 lumber pieces and constructed three 3-foot by 4-foot by 4-foot boxes. Next, he stapled the chicken wire around the front, back and sides of each box. He finished with attaching all three boxes together, for each step of the composting process.


Williams’ first box is for the starting pile of grass clippings and dirt layered with raw materials in the middle. Raw materials in this case are going to be food scraps like meats, fruit peels, shells, veggies but nothing metal, plastic or containing bones.


After baking in the sun for three weeks, Williams will shift the pile from one box to the next until the final product lands in the third one as organic compost. Each time he moves the pile to an empty box he sprays it down with water. Along with heat, water is another factor in breaking the raw material downs.


“The only problem I have is with the squirrels getting in to the open compost pile. I believe the stench drives them to dig through it and find food scraps or whatever they can eat,” said Williams. “I try all kinds of squirrel traps and predator urines, but I think they’re getting smarter.”


According to most garden centers, animals are the biggest pests in most people’s compost piles. Non-lethal traps are encouraged to capture the curious ones. Fox and wolf urine is also recommended to fend off rodents. It is not as effective as traps but they are popular products people use to protect their open piles from scavengers.


When these tactics aren’t enough to defend an open compost pile, covering the top becomes necessary. It is either that, or an improved method of composting would be ideal. The other method would be using a mass produced barrel composter sold at local garden centers.


Barrel composters sit off the ground and come equipped with a sliding door. These two factors give it more of an advantage of keeping cleaner compost away from roaming animals. Although space is limited with the barrel composter, it requires spinning it around on an axel instead of moving a pile from one box to the next.


“I recommend a barrel composter for quick and easy use. It disables animals from getting into the compost and it secures the fresh odor compost produces,” said Ferd Heckle, 61, owner of Dan West Garden Center. “Some barrel composters are expensive but they do pay for themselves after a full year of composting.”


- Composting can be done in any size yard, not recommended for apartment owners
- There are many different ways to build compost piles, examples can be found in garden magazines and online
- Composting is encouraged for a greener earth and yard