Of course you can! Nature's been composting stuff that way for what, three billion years now? Bins and boxes and such are mostly for neatness' sake, but there's nothing wrong with the old-fashioned compost "heap". Just find yourself an appropriate place (look for someplace warm but not directly exposed to sun and wind, which will dry out your pile) and start building your pile. Then you can scavenge materials to build a container system at your leisure.

Good luck!

I have made compost this way even though compost was not even my goal.

Absolutely you can. The only reason for bins is to keep the pile contained, but "open" composting works quite well. A good tutorial on composting can be found at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Composting Online

Chao Xuan! mạnh khá»e, không?

I hope it's easier for you to enter tieng Viet on the computer than it is for me. I was copying and pasting a letter at a time.

When I was growing up, we always had a compost pile in the corner of the yard.

There is also a method of gardening called lasagna gardening, where people create layers of different materials and plant directly in the compost. If you search the forum on lasagna, you should find more information on it.

If you create a compost pile, it should be easy for you to get compost pretty quickly in your weather. What part of Vietnam are you in? I know it's pretty warm and humid in the south, but that some areas (especially mountain areas) get much cooler.

Xin chà o bpgreen, (sorry about our Vietnamese, other GW-ers!), mình gá» tiếng Viá»t rất dá» dà ng vì dùng Unicode! Nếu bạn muá»n sá»­ dụng Unicode, mình có thá» send the file for you to use.

It's so good having someone who can "talk" your language here on Gardenweb.
Yes, I, too, remember the same thing about the old days compost piles. What I don't remember (or know, rather) is how it works to get everything broken down! So I was worrying that if I leave things exposed to the elements they would not decompose but rather they would dry out due to the heat. Now, thanks to your inputs, I know I'm wrong.
bpgreen, I live and work in Saigon but have a place for gardening in Dalat. I plant mostly flowers, no vegetables. I'm a "regular lurker" in the Cottage Garden forum. Do you often return to Vietnam for visits?

Xuân

I learned Vietnamese in the US, and I've never been to VietNam (I want to go there some day). My Vietnamese is very rusty, but if I understood correctly, please send the file to me (click on my username link and send an email).

I don't get many chances to practice Vietnamese, so if the other GW members will forgive us, I'd like to have some conversations in your language. I haven't used Vietnamese regularly for many years and when I did, I spoke mot chut bac, mot chut nam, va mot chut sai (a little north, a little south, and a little wrong).

Since your English is so good, maybe we can converse in Vietnamese with English translations.

If I'm not mistaken, Da Lat is at a higher elevation than Saigon--not really in the mountains, but not as low as Saigon. Is that right? Also a bit north of Saigon, right?

Is the spoken Vietnamese in Da Lat Tieng Chung? (I'm sure that's spelled wrong, but I mean central dialect).

Lots of people compost directly on the ground, right in their garden.

If you live in a hot dry area, drying out might be a problem, but it can be compensated for by covering your compost with thicker layer of brown material (mulch) on the top. The layer of browns can help keep moisture under neath and also helps moderate the temperatures...keeping it cooler in warm weather and warmer in cool weather.

I have a shed that I have a hard time from stopping its composting. Have to redo it.

Compost is what happens to organic matter when you don't prevent it from happening (at least in these parts).

Thanks again for more info. I'm so exciting about this composting thing. I will have a chance to work at the pile again tomorrow and will follow your advice to cover the pile with brown. Hope that I will have compost after some time.

Xuân (first time composter!)

Xuan, create a bowl shaped area on the top of the pile to allow the water to collect instead of running off during dry periods and mound it up so it will run off during the rainy season. There should be enough moisture to make a ball but not enough to have it squirt out like a wet rag.
Mike

I have a small compost pile going directly on the ground in the back yard that is breaking down quite well. I just keep adding stuff to it...no animal stuff though. I will probably buy compost this year though to have enough for some really large beds we are going to build. Good luck with your "on ground" compost pile Xuan!

You might use a huge cardboard box, like an appliance box, with the top & bottom cut out, as a bin to help conserve moisture.

I like your idea of appliance box, Sylvia, 'cause I actually have one in the home now. I will do what you said to make compost.

Xuân