Back in 2014, I constructed a compost bin for our yard in Columbia, Missouri. Not an avid or talented carpenter, it was simply constructed with treated lumber and cedar fence slats; about 4 cubic feet in size, it has a hinged lid but no access for removing the nutrient-rich product.
Nevertheless, it has provided a convenient and environment-friendly structure for recycling yard and kitchen "waste." In concert, it has offered an up-close look at a fascinating ecosystem, from the bacteria, fungi and invertebrates that break down the vegetation to the spiders, skinks and, I suspect, wrens that feast on them. As one might expect, activity in the bin is especially intense during the hot, humid days of summer.
Of course, the bin is generally full by early spring (after several months of loading) but rapidly "empties" when the warm, wet weather returns. The fact that I have not removed any compost over the past nine years attests to the efficiency of its confined ecosystem.
