This easy-to-assemble product will have you composting kitchen waste in minutes.
A sturdy compost bin is essential to keeping your compostables in one spot. Without one, you would likely attract myriad scavengers to enjoy a feast. My bin of choice is the GEOBIN Compost Bin, a made in the USA product.
While a compost bin might not stop animals from jumping in, it does keep the animals from scattering it all through your yard, making an enormous mess. Some gardeners fashion wire covers to keep them out, but I don’t mind sharing as long as things stay relatively neat. Circle of life.
What Is Backyard Composting?
For a home gardener, backyard composting is a method of disposing of your household’s organic waste that converts it into humus. Humus is a rich, dark brown layer with a lovely, loose texture that will encourage healthy plant growth.
Most hobbyists use aerobic composting, which attracts to your discarded materials organisms that require air to help break down the waste pile. Insects and tiny bacteria dine on your scraps throughout the conversion.
You need three types of materials to build a healthy output at the end of the breakdown process:
- Greens: Vegetable waste, fruit stems and skins, grass clippings, tea, and coffee grounds.
- Browns: Dead leaves, cut-up branches, and twigs.
- Water: You need moisture to aid in the process of converting the materials into a nutritious soil output.
Three Prevalent Compost Tools for a Home Gardener
Here are the three most usual backyard composting methods:
Compost tumblers
Many gardeners choose compost tumblers–which are excellent. You place the material into a container, add water, and give it a whirl to mix up the contents every so often. This process helps the organic materials break down faster.
Drawbacks of a compost tumbler:
The capacity is too limited for a large yard. Besides that, this is one of the costlier setups you will find. Additionally, you must find storage space for it during the off-season if you live in a harsh climate.
Trench composting
No space or cash to invest in a composter? Trench composting requires zero money–just your hard work. As the name implies, you dig a long trench, place the materials, and cover it up. This method keeps the odor to a minimum as the material degrades under the top layer of soil.
Another benefit is that it takes up zero storage space at the end of your season, unlike a tumbler or bin.
Drawbacks of trenching
Digging the trench is labor-intensive and can challenge anyone with limited movement. It’s also less attractive, and the materials take more time to convert.
Compost bin
A compost bin is a metal or plastic enclosure that forms a circular barrier. It usually measures about three or so feet in height–just enough to discourage small animals from visiting.
This bin is lightweight and easy to set up and move aroued. The holes in the sides permit airflow, helping to break down the materials.
This is easy to manage if you live in a climate that requires you to put away all your gear at the end of the season. You disassemble it, hose off any debris, let it air-dry, then roll it up for relatively compact storage.
Drawbacks of compost bins
Too tall models can be flimsy, as the plastic or metal material is usually of low quality. In addition, the wind can snatch them away–a problem easily fixed with a few tent stakes.
The GEOBIN Compost Bin
Now that we discussed a few basics about composting, here’s some information about the GEOBIN compost bin I invested in.
Let me premise this by saying I do not work for GEOBIN, nor are they compensating me in any way. My opinion is my own. However, I am an Amazon Influencer. Therefore, I receive a small compensation, at no additional cost to you, should you purchase using my links. (And so much thanks and love if you do!)
What you should know about the GEOBIN compost bin
The first thing I liked about the GEOBIN is the “made in the USA” designation. Since we are now stuck in a rut as we exit a global pandemic, I love to support other American businesses. So many of these products appear similar, but that sold me on this particular model.
GEOBIN features:
- Adjustable size allows you to set it up “skinny” for low capacity or make it large enough to hold 246 gallons of materials. At the largest size, it measures four feet.
- Perforations in the plastic allow generous airflow, keeping the bacteria and insects that will break down the waste nice and healthy.
- 36.5″ in height
- Made in the USA by Presto Products (Appleton, Wisconsin). I know I mentioned this, but you will support an American business, employing our own workers and not supporting evil regimes.
- Easy to assemble. I made you a how-to assemble your compost bin video to show you how simple the assembly really is.
- Easy to move or relocate to any area of your yard.
Benefits of the GEOBIN
- Now that you see the features, you might wonder how the GEOBIN benefits you. Here’s how it makes your gardening tasks more productive.
- The generous size means you will have plenty of space to build a nice compost pile if you have a larger garden.
- Tall sides measure just over three feet. This will deter small scavengers but is still low enough for you to comfortably add materials to the compost bin.
- The air holes will help you convert from waste to healthy humus for the garden soil in a faster time.
- You can put this compost bin together without tools in just a few minutes.
- If you ever need to move your GEOBIN, just take it apart and easily reassemble it.
One con of the GEOBIN
My only complaint about the GEOBIN was a problem I solved easily. It blew over within five minutes of setting it up. The solution was to grab some tent stakes out of the shed. I drove the stakes though the bottom air holes and it has remained in place ever since.
Long story short. Should you order the GEOBIN, be sure to add some inexpensive stakes to the cart, as well.
The Takeaway: The GEOBIN Compost Bin Offers Good Value, Supports American Workers
I chose the GEOBIN compost bin because, in a crowded space of gardening products, almost all were made overseas. When I saw the chance to purchase a gardening aid that supported American workers, I gave it a try. This product does not disappoint. I set it up a few weeks ago, and I can already see the biodiverse environment–little insects–doing their job of making my vegetable scraps into humus I will use in my garden.
Please give this compost bin a try! It’s a game-changer for your garden. Until we meet again, have a happy DIY day.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
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