Prepper Recon

Make Your Own Compost Bin

Many preppers who have any yard space at all are beginning to use that space for gardening. I think this is a great idea for multiple reasons. Reason number 1 is to grow your skill set. I see endless advertisements for these survival seed buckets. Seeds may indeed become a great barter item at some point in time but most people buy them with the intention of producing their own food.  Any one who thinks they are going to start their first garden the day after TEOTWAWKI is in for a surprise. Not only is there a tremendous learning curve on gardening in general, but every region has its own challenges with things that will and won’t grow there.

Reason number 2 is to eat better and get a little exercise. What you grow in your yard is going to taste so much better than what you buy in the store. You are in control of the fertilizer and the types of pesticides you chose to use. Reason number 3 is that you can save some money as opposed to purchasing all of your produce at the grocery.

Finally, reason number 4 is to develop the infrastructure you will need to grow a garden if SHTF. Just buying the seeds will leave you with many challenges if you have never grown a garden before. You will need tools. You will need some type of pest control. You will need a means of  keeping the nutrients in the soil you use, if you have any at all. I live in South FL with sandy soil that is great for coconuts, avocados and mangos. For vegetable gardens, not so much. What I do to overcome that issue is to build a raised bed garden. this allows me to keep 6″ to 8″ of good soil above the sand line in a box. The problem is, where do you get the dirt with out breaking the bank. A bag of dirt at Lowe’s can easily be $7 or $8, this can get expensive quick. Problem number 2 is Lowe’s may be the forward operating base of the local gang after it hits the fan.

So what do we do? I bet you guessed it from the post title. We make our own dirt! Most everything organic will turn back into dirt. All of your grass clippings, leaves, coffee grounds, tea bags and all vegetables and fruit  peels will make rich, nutritious dirt for your garden. All you have to do is to create an environment to help the bugs and bacteria do their job. I constructed my compost bin out of discarded decking that I picked up on bulk trash day. You could also use wood from old pallets. The size of the wood you find will determine the size of the compost bin you are able to build. Just construct a simple wood box with no bottom. Take a measurement and construct a top of the same size, but leave some space in between the boards on the lid. Also don’t get the boards to tightly together on the sides. Remember, we are trying to induce rotting. We need oxygen for that process. We also need moisture. leaving some space on the lid will let rain in but keep the sun from drying everything out. Here is what it should resemble:

It will take a while to get the decomposition process going but it will happen. Once you get it going, always leave about 1/4 of your dirt as a starter for your new material. That has all of the little micro organisms that break it down into dirt. It will break down much faster than the first round. Keep it moist by adding a little water each time you throw out some produce scraps. Once a week, mix the compost with a garden rake or shovel.  Avoid putting any meat products as this will become rancid and stink. The process will go much faster if you keep a mix of green and brown material, such as grass (green) and dead leaves (brown). You can even use cardboard for your brown material. You can put any trash from your produce and any paper product that doesn’t have a lot of ink or that is not glossy. Yard waste is the biggest contributor to my compost bin. Click here to learn more about soil microbiology.

You will be recycling and getting a lot of great nutrients for your garden. You will love having the great tasting food and saving money for other preps or to get yourself in a better financial position to weather the coming storm.

Happy prepping!