Anyone with a garden wants it to grow, whether for decorative flowers or food for the household. Many people want their lawns to be lush and invite praise. Some of these people buy fertilizers that contain chemicals that can be harmful to kids - of the human and pet varieties. Others buy compost and then buy more when it runs out.
There is a better way to enhance the garden without paying for compost on a regular basis, covering the area with harmful fertilizers or dealing with shoveling out a personal compost pile.
Why compost anyway?
There are a number of advantages to using natural compost in your garden. You aren't using chemical fertilizers or compost of unknown origin. You are getting rid of household waste in an environmentally friendly way. You are using products you already have to throw away, so you're not shelling out extra dollars.
Composting is a natural way to get the job done. You'll contribute less to landfills and incinerators that pollute the air, you won't have food scraps sitting in your trash can for days and you could be preparing the next generation for the future that awaits them.
Kids and composting
Composting is a great way to teach kids about the environment. If you explain how composting helps out the world around us and enhances the garden without using harmful chemicals, they will take that information to heart and be more likely to do environmentally friendly things in the future.
Some kids will have fun with drum composters when it comes time to turn the handle and see what their leftover bologna has become. You could make it a family affair if you wanted to.
When kids inevitably have questions about how compost is made, you could show them how to look up the information and guide them through what may be their first foray into personal research. They'll learn how to find information themselves, gain a little knowledge for now, and know how to consider big questions later.
I don't have a garden, why do I want to compost?
Even if you don't plan on using your compost, you're still lessening your personal load on local landfills. You can turn composting into a neighborhood thing. Have a chat with your neighbors about your composting activities. They may want to buy your compost for their yards or get in on the action themselves. You could have a neighborhood compost conglomerate that uses what you need and then sells the remainder to others. You could donate compost to local schools for science projects.
At the very least you'd be doing something good for the environment and lessening the stinking rot that household waste would become otherwise.
OK, how can I compost?
There are several different options. A compost pile is free to set up and will make compost. The disadvantages are that you may have a smell in the area and bugs will be doing the work. For some kids this can be a fascinating thing to watch. If you plan on using the compost, you'll have to shovel it out and take it where it needs to go, or else locate your compost pile in the general area that needs the compost. Not everyone finds that attractive. If those caveats are ok with you, a compost pile is a good way to go.
If you're not interested in a compost pile and want something a little less, well, alive, there are home composters and large garden composters that will do the same work in a contained space. We'll go over some of them here.
BioBag Kitchen Composters
BioBag composters are small and nifty for one or two people. The Max Air buckets are ventilated on all sides, including the top and bottom.
BioBags breath naturally, allowing heat and moisture to escape or evaporate. This process allows food waste to dry, thus reducing the rate of bacterial build-up that causes odor. When BioBags are used with the Max Air, the consumer has a great system for food waste collection.
When full of kitchen scraps, just place the entire bag in your compost. No mess, no slime. The bags are biodegradable.
BioBag kitchen waste bags are primarily used for the collection of food scraps and other biodegradable waste for home or community composting.
Each system comes with the Max Air bucket and 25 bags. For more information, or to purchase, click here.
Bokashi Bucket Compost System
The Bokashi Bucket inoculates food waste in an airtight bucket with a dried material know as EM-1 Bokashi. The EM1-Bokashi will ferment the food waste, preventing it from rotting, and therefore eliminate the odor or the attraction to flies. After the food waste is pickled, you can add it to an existing compost pile, feed it to worms, or bury it in an existing garden bed.
It's recommended to have two of these, as the compost must ferment for one week after the bucket is full. You can then bury the compost in your garden, eight inches under so it doesn't attract animals.
The bucket also has a drain spout to allow you to extract nutrient rich liquid. It may take about a week to fill for two to three people, depending on how many scraps you have. It's best to have two so you can always have one ready to use.
The Envirocycle Composter/Compost Maker produces quality compost more quickly and more easily than conventional composters by its rolling and mixing action which keeps the ingredients well mixed and aerated.
It makes compost tea, a rich organic liquid plant food that will be a big hit with gardeners. This liquid can be collected in the unique compost maker base.
Give the drum a few turns and your compost remains well mixed. You don't have to worry about turning over a compost pile. To dump compost directly onto your soil or garden, just fasten the door latch and roll the drum off the base and into your garden; remove the door and dump the compost right where you want it. Or dump your compost into a wheel barrow, cart, tarp, or garbage bag if you want to collect it. To make potting soil, just scoop it out and add it to your mix.
This composter can collect up to five gallons at a time, allows for year-round composting and can sit on a balcony, in the garage, in the yard or in a garden. Because it takes two weeks to ferment the compost, you'll want to have two of these as well.
In this patented design kitchen scraps and garden cuttings go into the top. Once broken down top quality compost automatically exits the end of the drum when the easy to turn shaft handle is rotated. You can have it dump into a hole or take it wherever it is needed in a bucket or wheelbarrow.
Rotation is essential for the quick composting of organic materials. As the drum turns oxygen mixes with the table scraps and other organics which cause the bacteria that decomposes the waste to work through the material more quickly and thoroughly. So, in essences turning the barrel often incorporates more oxygen into the mixture which causes faster decomposition.
That depends entirely on you. The Bokashi bucket is our personal favorite for a few people because it is convenient, easy and can be done in the house. The Bokashi will not only break down the food in the bucket, it will also accelerate the breakdown of compost already in your pile or compost area. It's also one of the most affordable methods for many people.
The SunMar 400 is best for those who know they'll be making a lot of compost, either to sell it, use it, or due to having a very large family or group of people using the composter. It's also good as a neighborhood composter that everyone can use.
The Envirocycle would work well for those who don't want composting happening in their home, as it can sit in a garage, in the yard or on a balcony somewhere.
For those who just don't have a lot of scraps to throw out, the BioBag is a very affordable, effective way to go.
BioBag Kitchen Composters 
Bokashi Bucket Compost System 
EnviroCycle Yard and Garden Composter 
Sun-Mar 400 Garden Composter