Containers for composting are interesting and fun to play with but usually aren’t necessary. People who manufacture composters don’t appreciate that comment too much but it’s the truth. They also restrict the volume of compost that can be made. I’ll explain the pros and cons of various compost containers right after this.

Compost is the most important tool in gardening, farming, and any other kind of plant growing. To create healthy soil, lots of compost is needed. That’s the main reason I’m not a big proponent of compost bins. Most of these structures hold less than a half a cubic yard of raw materials. As raw organic materials turn into compost, the shrinkage is about 70%. Containers are useful if you have extremely small space, but if you have plenty of space compost containers are ill-advised. They don’t hold enough volume. Better to pile the material on the ground in a free standing stack like the commercial companies do. The only container I sometimes use at home is hay bales. Alfalfa – not bermuda. A 2 or 3 sided structure of hay bales holds the moisture in the pile and at some point rots, falls in and becomes part of the compost. If you don’t want to make compost at all – no problem – it’s available commercially in bulk and in bags.