Bottom on Compost Bin or No Bottom?

[Binkalette]

Should I put a bottom on my compost bin? I'm drawing up plans for my husband to build me a compost bin, and I'm not sure if it should have a bottom on it or not. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? It's going to be 3'x3'.

[Dixana]

I prefer a bottomless bin for compost. Worms and other beneficial creatures can come up and munch away on your comopost adding beneficial bacteria.

[rot]

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no bottom
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[Kisal]

I shaped a piece of 1 x 1/2" welded wire fabric to create a bottom on mine. Worms can get into it easily, but mice cannot.

[Jbest]

Mine are bottomless also but the down side is I have to put up with roots. John

[rainbowgardener]

No bottom. Mice do get into my compost, but it's a wire bin, so they could get in through the sides, even if I did have a bottom on it.

[Binkalette]

I shaped a piece of 1 x 1/2" welded wire fabric to create a bottom on mine. Worms can get into it easily, but mice cannot.

Oh that's a good idea! I think I'll have him do that.. That way, like you said, the worms can get in, and maybe it will be easier to move it if I need to.

[TFA303]

I use a barrel with no bottom and no top and a bunch of holes drilled in it. That way, when it's time to turn the compost, I can just flip it over. I don't lose much to spilling, and I get good rotation without buying an expensive store-bought roller bin.

[gixxerific]

What they said.

The ground makes the best bottom you could find.

[Garden Gal]

TFA303 I LOVE your turning idea! I'm using a plastic cylinder with no top or bottom, and filled with holes. Was wondering how to turn it easily! I CAN do that by myself! Thank you!!!!

OK I't s 2:30 am and I can't stop reading through this forum. I just love all you guys, and I'm getting to know you from your posts. Applestar, you are hilarious!:lol:

After reading up and checking out the photos on vermicomposting, I think I'm going to start a worm farm too, to help out over the winter with composting.

Hugs and Happy Gardening to each of you!

[applestar]

Garden Gal, you're sounding giddy. I think you need some sleep....
I know, though, what you're going through -- I admit I did the same thing when I first discovered this forum.

Oh, and no bottom. The packed clay ground under my compost piles get mixed with the compost and soaked with the leached compost moisture and thoroughly pulverized by earthworms and other soil denizens -- getting better each time I turn/shift the pile. I scrape up all that goodness. My 3 year old Bin#1 area is now 8~10" below grade and I have to come up with a solution to this "pit" because it hinders air circulation, and throwing a pile of sticks in there first is no longer sufficient to overcome the problem.

[speedster7926]

ok question to this question I'm also making one but where I'm at in florida I have grass that will go through anything pretty much what do I need to do with a no bottom compost bin pull up all the grass or what?

[applestar]

How about making a "staging area" with heavy duty cardboard like ones for big appliances, and building your compost pile on that? I'm saying "staging area" because I envision it to cover at least twice the surface area that the compost pile will, with the pile in the center. The cardboard should smother the grass underneath and eventually break down to combine with the decomposed sod. I think this will require extra watering because the cardboard will wick the moisture away -- oh, I guess you can wet down the cardboard and mulch it with that grass You'll essentially be sheet mulching all around your compost pile.

[Garden Gal]

Applestar you are sooooooo right! I finally dragged myself away from my puter at 4 am! I had to make myself go to bed. And here I am again. Ok . . . I DO have a life outside of gardening . . . darn it!

Love, love, love this forum!

[rot]

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Build your bottomless bin on pavers. Burrowing rodents and tree roots are out while worms and drainage are in. Sweep up the dregs after you turn.

to sense
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[Garden Gal]

do the worms actually crawl over the pavers to get under? What do you mean by pavers?

[rot]

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When I moved in I had an area where the previous owners put in some pavers on bare ground where they stacked the fire wood. After moving the fire wood I started my compost piles there.

The pavers are just brick things. Some of them are square, 12 inches on a side and about and inch and a half thick. Just made of cement. Others are interlocking bricks. No cement or mortar in between.

In the spaces between the pavers, the worms manage to crawl up into the bins. Especially during the rainy season where the compost is covered and not saturated with water compared to the rain soaked soil.

The pavers are close enough to form a floor that I can sweep up after turning the bins. Now I use the location for my cold, slow, build-as-you-go, hard to digest stuff bins. I feed the bins and water. After a while they reduce and I can just keep adding. My latest has been fed once a month for a year and half now and I'm just about ready to stop. I've topped it about 5 times this year. It will finish in about a year. I'm starting a smaller one that should go about 6 to 8 months feeding. I'm shooting to feed it for a year if the conditions are right.

For a patio or something you would layout these brick things on top of gravel and then sand. For a bin I don't think you want that for worm action. If I had to make it up I would scratch out a level patch of dirt on some level ground and just lay the pavers down.

Right now there are some ground squirrels making their home underneath and they're starting to undermine my happy platform. Still workable for now but down the line I figure I'll have to dig it up and back fill.

[Garden Gal]

got it! I thought that was what youeant but wanted to be sure. Thank you.

[speedster7926]

ok I'm starting a 3x3 compost bin sitting on thick cardboard so no roots or grass get to it now how long do I have to wait before I use it or can I use it anytime but its better to wait longer? because right now I have like 5 5 gallon buckets full of kitchen scraps and other grass clippings and misc stuff like coffee grounds I know I have to make layers like scraps then grass then scraps and so on? also I'm about also about to till under my garden cause most of my plants are done or over run like my okra ( ants are burrowing into the fruit itself and building nests inside and around it) and the leaf footed bugs (stink bugs) as I call them are all over my cherry tomatoes and I'm finally getting worms in my cucumbers they are burrowing into them and eating them from the inside out. will soap and water spray keep these guys away? sorry multi topic question

[rot]

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You can start filling the bin right away. The compost will finish faster if you fill the bin all at once but you can just keep adding over time. The longer you keep adding, the longer it will take to get finished compost. If you don't turn your compost, expect it to finish in about 6 months or so depending on conditions. You might expect a full year.

You'll need to ask others on your other questions.

Here's a link for a Florida website on composting:
https://www.compostinfo.com/

to sense
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[garden5]

Nix the bottom, but a lid is a good idea. It keeps the rain out, which can really saturate you compost and cause some nutrients to leech into the ground.

[Garden Gal]

visit the link to organic pest control in this forum for help with your pest problems.