In this video, I share how to make compost fast in ground in a 5 gallon bucket. Making compost can take a long time, attract pests and smell bad. This DIY composting method is odorless, keeps your compost free of pests, is hidden from view and works 5X faster than a compost pile! And, the best part is you can make this DIY composter in only 10 minutes for only $12!
This $12 in ground composter will make compost faster than expensive compost tumblers! After setting up this easy DIY compost system, you’ll never use a compost pile or a compost tumbler again! This works especially well with composting fruits that you otherwise wouldn’t want to add to a compost pile. This composter can also be used as a DIY worm farm! Your plants and worms will love this!
DIY Trash Can Composter: https://youtu.be/PA-b1rQ42vU?si=KdHtiXqQOy93zNy-
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Single 5 Gallon Bucket: https://amzn.to/4f2a9WQ
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Advantages To In Ground Composting
3:06 DIY Composting Rotten Fruits
4:18 Where To Buy The Composting Bucket
5:46 How To Make An In Ground Composter
8:20 Installing And Filling The Composter
11:53 Incredible Results After 3 Weeks!
14:51 In Ground VS Above Ground Composting
17:58 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to make compost at home, have questions about growing fruit trees or want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and “how to” garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!
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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8B
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© The Millennial Gardener
#gardening #garden #gardeningtips #compost #composting
42 Comments
If you enjoyed this video, please Like it and share it to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊 TIMESTAMPS here:
0:00 Advantages To In Ground Composting
3:06 DIY Composting Rotten Fruits
4:18 Where To Buy The Composting Bucket
5:46 How To Make An In Ground Composter
8:20 Installing And Filling The Composter
11:53 Incredible Results After 3 Weeks!
14:51 In Ground VS Above Ground Composting
17:58 Adventures With Dale
Love the raised bed vermiculture idea. Very cool. I was just thinking about building a 4×4×2 raised bed for berries.
What do you do with this in winter, especially in colder climates?
You could have set shredded cardboard or paper in the bottom to make the layers. Then add your frutis and veggies. And keep layering it like that and water a little.
I'm wondering how well it works when you get a cold winter where the ground would probably have the bucket. I've never had an issue with fruit in my compost but I have an open bottom on my composter
Thanks so much. I also use big bottles with holes that are imbedded in the middle of my raised beds, and I always fill it with kitchen waist.
I have had great results with the garbage can composter. That also was a great contribution!
I purchased a couple of little buckets with lids and handles on amazon,,,they are 3 gallon, so smaller and hole I had to dig not so deep. But this way of composting works great. I move my buckets every spring, and use them in my raised garden beds….and in them I put my kitchen waste. (no dairy/meat/onions, etc)
I have been doing in-ground vermicomposting (with worms) for years & absolutely love the results! Here is how I do mine: dig a hole or trench 2' deep. My bed is 2' deep by 2' wide by 6' long. If you can't do an in ground, you can do an above ground raised bed style by building a 4-sided frame, no bottom, with a top.
Make sure the worm bed location is not in the direct sun – they like cooler, more moderate temperatures. Sift the dirt you removed from digging the trench using a sitting screen to remove rocks & sticks. If you have an above ground bed add several bags of raised bed mix (I prefer organic but you use what you want).
Fill the trench or raised bed half-way up with soil. Add mulched leaves or other fine brown yard waste. I add coconut choir, worms love it and it makes a good bedding material.
Then add kitchen scraps. No meat, dairy or anything with oils or seasonings. I use organic green waste from my garden (must be chopped or munched into small pieces). Rind from watermelons or cantaloupe in 1 or 2 inch chunks are the wormies favorites! They do not like onions or garlic so I leave them out (dry paper skins are OK). Egg shells need to be pulverized to a fine powder, otherwise they cut the worms soft skins (they shells don't break down anyway so unless powdered, I leave them out).
Tea bags, coffee grounds, peelings (no apple cores – they will sprout), small rind pieces, leafy greens, all that kind of stuff is great.
I layer brown waste, dirt or bed mix, green waste (kitchen scraps), more dirt until the trench or bed is 3/4 full. Once you have a good 3 to 4 layers, you are ready to add worms. I order 250 red composting worms from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm online (www.unclejimswormfarm.com). Cost with shipping about $50. They will arrive in about 2 weeks. Put them in, cover them with a light layer of dirt or bed mix.
I moisten the top layer, pay some black landscape fabric over the whole thing, top with a plywood or other wood lid and leave them alone for 30 days. You can continue to add kitchen scraps and a light layer of dirt to the trench or bed but don't turn the worms just yet. They need time to adjust, breed, lay eggs, etc. I
After about 60 to 90 days, carefully turn the soil over with a shovel. Exposing the bottom layers to the top & pushing the top layers down. You should see that the bottom layers are breaking down nicely!
I turn my worm beds about once a month (after the initial establishment time has passed). Spring & fall, I sift the dirt, saving the sifted worms, and as I remove dirt, I add new organic layers, more dirt or bed mix and cover – letting the process continue for the next few months.
Every time I remove dirt, I add more dirt or bed mix plus my organic waste, this keeps the whole process working properly. There should be no obnoxious smell (it should be a nice clean dirt smell). Keep the bed moist, not wet and keep covered from pests & direct sun. If you keep feeding the worms, they will keep working & multiplying!
Every year, I start a new bed using worms from my prior beds. once you make the initial investment in worms you shouldn't need to buy more unless voles or other burrowing vermin get in. You can put screen in your trench or under your raised bed if you have vermon problems.
I put chopped straw on top of my beds before winter to give the worms insulation (they will freeze if they cannot go deep enough in the winter to get below the frost line). I also throw some burlap bags or additional black landscape fabric on top of the straw before the ground freezes.
This is by far the easiest, cheapest, most productive composting method I have used (and I have tried many)! If you can dig a hole, trench, or build a raised bed (with partial to full shade), you can do this!! The only initial investment is the red worms (no nightcrawlers), some coconut choir (or shredded newspaper works too) to get the bedding started and dirt (which is free if you dug the hole)! If you used raised bed mix you will have that initial cost but a few bags of soil will support THOUSANDS of worms!
Just keep layering, moistening the soil, feeding the worms good greens and kitchen scraps and they will stick around forever & work 'dirt' cheap!! Happy vermicomposting everyone!
Have you ever had problems with black soldier flies? They totally destroyed my compost bin before I even found out what they were.
Are you growing a Meiwa Kumquat yet? If not I HIGHLY recommend 🙂
Never mind, I was finishing watching your video & saw black soldier fly larvae, be careful they will eat everything overnight
Loved this video, so clear and helpful. I've got some in ground worm farms in my raised garden beds and they are so useful and really help in reducing the waste leaving my property. I add in shredded paper, loo roll cardboard etc too as I find that if the decomposing mix is too wet the plants growing around the bin do badly. Too much nitrogen I assume.
Used my own cold compost on a couple beds this year and I had a carpet of purslane and tomato seedlings. I mulched over them and it was fine but you would have thought I planted micro greens it was so thick.
That's cool. So I wonder if the container is food grade. What about a food grade 6 gallon bucket with a gamma lid? You've got me thinking. Some companies sell really heavy duty food grade buckets that are much better than the big box stores' buckets. I wonder if the plastics breakdown into the compost and soils?
i would have made the exposed holes to the surface a bit smaller to prevent flies from being able to get in
You have some healthy Black Soldier Fly larvae there. Those guys are always hungry and eat all the time. The adult flies look like wasps, but can't sting and don't even have mouths. I love to see soldier fly larvae in my compost barrels. They also make great food for chickens, fish, and reptiles.
Just one more reason this has become my favorite gardening channel! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Must try this. Thanks for sharing
Incorporate bokashi Composting. Pre-fermenting reduces a lot of these problems
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Genius 😂
One option would be the yellow Tidy Cat 35# litter pails. They ARE UV stable for several years, I've used them as planting pots, and soil mix holders. You MIGHT need a bungee cord to keep the lid closed after a long time, but that easily hooks onto the rim where the pail 'bail' fits in. Hope it helps!
Personally I keep any plastic out of the garden due to microplastics leaching into the soil. I probably already have enough microplastics in my system
😂 I love your videos & thank you for your info. I’m sorry to tell you, you’ve got black soldier flies🥴
This is similar to the subpod that I own, great way to compost, but you have to go outside to put scraps in, not fun if its freezing outside. I have recently started doing bokashi composting for my food scraps…that way I can just keep it indoors until the bucket is full, rather than take small quantities of kitchen scraps out to the garden every couple of days. Plus you get free liquid fertilizer! I am loving it so far! Will make a video shortly.
wow the pails you use are 176.00 for 4. slightly expensive
this is a great idea. thanks!
Those $20 trash cans are now $40.
Thanks for sharing! I have a few in ground composters throughout my yard after starting with just one a few years ago. I love them and more importantly, so does my soil, trees and other plant-life! I know you know what you're doing, but I'd recommend adding more browns to the mix when possible. I've found adding ~50% browns really speeds things up, while giving worms a good environment to lay their eggs and also reducing smell and unwanted insects. A win-win-win! It's truly amazing how fast nature takes care of things when given the opportunity. Love your videos. 30 inches of rain in less than a month. This Californian's mind is blown.
It is crazy it happened so fast. "The Nasty Scrap Composter" is 100% !
Add some cardboard Worms Will love it
Thank you! I've anxiously been waiting for this video. I'll have to make my own soon.
That's how ya do it!
I really like that container – thank you for suggesting it. The 5-gallon bucket lid is very difficult for me to remove but it does seem to be bear proof. P.S. Dale is NOT a lazy bum when it's time to take a W-A-L-K! 😉
Ask a friend with cats for their cat litter containers to make this a free project.
cool idea @The Millenial Gardener, gonna try it. In this application or any composting it would be prudent if using plastic, to use BPA-free plastic. Thanks!
The trash can composter has been a huge help for me. Thanks!
I use a valve box , from Amazon 😊
I really like your videos, but the cut in advertisements have gotten ridiculous. I leave the video when google cuts in a 1 min ad after only 30 seconds of your video. I hope you can change this. best wishes, mark
Reviews of the Craftsman 5 gallon bucket say that the lid is easily chewable by squirrels/rodents, the handle is susceptible to break if weight inside bucket is too heavy. Also this bucket is made with Polypropylene (PP). Q: What are the limitations of using Polypropylene? Answer: Polypropylene has some limitations, including its low-temperature resistance, limited UV resistance, and low flame retardancy. It can also be prone to warping during processing and may require specialized equipment to achieve optimal results. Q: What is the shelf life of Polypropylene? Answer: The shelf life of Polypropylene (PP) is influenced by various factors, including the quality of the material and the storage conditions. To ensure maximum shelf life, it's crucial to store PP in a dry, cool area, away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Proper storage can help extend PP's shelf life, with some properly stored PP having a lifespan of up to two years. (Source: Advanced Plastiform, Commonly Asked Questions about Polypropylene (PP))
Sure! Here’s the translation:
"Wow, this video is amazing! I really love how you demonstrate making quick compost without any unpleasant smell. This method truly saves time and effort. Just $12 for a DIY composting machine is such a great deal! I'm also impressed with its ability to compost fruits without worrying about pests. Looking forward to seeing more useful videos like this from you!"