How about a compost bin/garden bench? Looks nice and most folks won't know its anything but a bench. About $1100.00, the one I saw online.

If your other is handy, he could make one cheaper, no doubt.

Reminds me of the tool forum, when someone wants to know what the best line trimmer is. When told Shin-die-wa (spelling) and $500, the reply is, after a few seconds, whats the next best trimmer?

What is attractive is a matter of taste but it sounds like you need a bin (or several bins depending on volume) to keep the compost out of sight and out of mind. The solution mentioned above sounds nice. There are several types of bins and tumblers that are commercially available and also plans for build-your-own bins are easily found online. FYI, on the other end of the spectrum from your dh are gardeners who make sure to prominently display their compost piles (eco-fashion of a sort).

A painted wooden picket fence around a bin looks real nice. There are a lot of ornamental fence sections that could serve as compost bins or at least conceal them. Lowes or Home Depot may have a good selection. I intend to place some potted plants around my compost area this summer.
Bill Hill

robertz6, i thought you joking and discovered you were not - that composter you're referring to is listed for $2295! who would compost for that price?!

the concept is a good one though, so i'll see of hubby is interested in putting his table saw to good use. ;)

Bill.....I love your set up. Wish I had something like that. I do pretty well with my bin and my tumbler, but yours looks like a great system!

Hi engk916! I'm in NW NJ :)

Here's my 2 c addition to the comments - it also sounds like your DH has a really "ugly" & "smelly" version of a compost pile in his mind, and of which I can understand him not wanting it up against the house or directly in the line of sight.

However, most compost piles have no smell - b/c they're a combination of "greens" and "browns" and oxygen. There should be lots of "bugs" &/or "microbes" in the pile b/c that's what breaks it down & transforms it from the original stuff to beautiful "gardiner's gold" - and wonderful, almost sweet earthly smelling - compost! But, those are necessarily the same kind of "bugs" that he's worried about eating the house, etc.

And, there's lots of ways to "enclose" a compost pile - some use wire mesh in a circle, some use free wood pallets to form a square, etc. No need for it to be up against the house, or in the sun - see a recent comment by billhill about considerations in where to place a pile - he covers all the key points - but probably best not to put it near/under a tree unless you want your tree's roots growing into your compost pile!

So, you might want to surf around, maybe do some GW searches, see if you can see pix of compost piles that other's here have made & posted pix - I've seen them often, just can't tell you exactly where/when. Of course, billhill kindly got you started w/some pix - just click on his name.

The FAQ page has lots more info (I put the link below) - & keep asking questions as you go along - we're happy to have you interested in composting! Wishing you,
All the Best, Tree

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil & Compost Forum FAQ

I doubt that I shall ever see,
a compost pile less attractive than thee.

engk916:

The cheapest way to make a compost pile look "pretty" is to build some kind of enclosure yourself. It can be anything from wire mesh to a picket style fence to hide your pile.

However, there are also decent looking composters in the $200-$250 range from online stores too.

If your DH is worried about smells, just remember to use lots of brown material like leaves or shredded cardboard when you add potentially smelly stuff like kitchen scraps.

Good luck with your new home and composting efforts!

PJ

There is the "Garden Estate Bin" made of white PVC for $379...pretty pricey for composting but if money is no object then maybe.

I posted a thread last year concerning a compost bin project that may be something to consider. The link below leads to the thread. I trust this helps in some small way...

Blutranes

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Compost Bins

There is no good reason a compost pile would be "'ugly, smelly insect trap'" unless someone wanted to to be. A properly built pile compost pile should not be a "smelly insect trap" and should only ever have the pleasant smell of good, rich earth. The compost pile can be placed somewhere so it cannot easily be seen, provided it is in a place that is convienient for adding material as well as removing compost for the garden.
My compost bins are built up against the 10 x 12 yard tool shed (4 feet of concrete block as a base built specifically to do this) and are screened from the street by 4 Yews, but even then I keep the area neat and orderly (because if I did not the wife would bean me).
An attractive compost area is not an oxymoron, it just takes some effort on the gardeners part to keep it neat adn orderly.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

My bin is made out of fence panels, and it sets right next to my back door. It does not smell. And it looks quite attractive when I hang a few potted plants off the side.

I've had people setting on the porch swing, right next to the bin and they have to ask me, so where is the compost pile that you are talking about...

My compost piles are currently just heaps out at the edge of the woods (not smelly, but bits of white paper do flutter out and look sloppy), but I plan to ring them with straw bales, and plant flowers in the tops of the bales. In a couple of years, those bales will go into the compost and I'll replace them with new ones.

Trust me, enjk, you will have a few stinky batches of compost. Everyone does at some time, especially as you are learning. I have one sitting in my yard now, a 4 year old "helped" me build the pile, but we had fun. You must be able to smell this in Trenton. But once you learn and get going, it won't smell.

I use 2 black plastic compost bins which work fine for my purposes in my suburban yard. My husband complained about it being ugly until I suggested he build a fence to screen it off, maybe some laticework, needs a gate for me to enter... He stopped complaining. :-)

As mentioned above, whatever you choose will work OK and compost is pretty easy. Gardeners supply also has some unique ones, but very pricey. Maybe Mr. Neat Husband could build someting to his liking. Mimimun size recommended by most folks is about a cubic yard.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardener's Supply

We need pictures of what we speak.

I'm surprised we don't have a number of experiments going, the way so many folks have so many ways of doing things.

Maybe in the summer I'll try making compost with my usual 4' diameter 18" high mesh bin, tumbler, and 3x3x3 bin; using the exact same ingredients. I'm not sure anything shocking will occur, but I will measure the core temp with my compost thermometer.

Perhaps someone would like to contrast a purchased worm bin with one made cheaply from a plastic bin or two.

Of course if the person has any connection with any retailer or manufacturer, that should be stated upfront.

engk916

The $1100 bin/bench I mentioned was not as ugly as the $2300 one you found, the 2-in-1 Compost Bench Composters.com. Yuck!

At least mine looked like it was made with real wood.

My Dad hid his wire mesh compost bins behind a large forsythia bush back in the day when DDT was more popular than compost. No one knew they were there, or I'm sure someone would have complained.

Here in Gods Country (Oklahoma) we use 55 gallon plastic containers with holes drilled in bottom and sides for drainage. Just be sure its clean before using, many food grade products come in these type containers.

OKie: The poster asked for an ATTRACTIVE compost alternative. Is a 55 gallon drum considered attractive in Gods country? I'll stay in Ohio, thanks.

You can also buy ready made screens, to work like a fence, which can just hide your open pile. Or Mr. Neat could build one.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: outdoor screen

Build a board fence around the area. Attach lattice to the fence and grow something that flowers up it.

My Parents have a swimming pool and thats what they did to hide the pump. Looks great.

Wow, I'm glad I live in farm country surburbia! My pile is a wire bin that I have in the corner of my fenced in garden area - it's green wire so you can barely tell it's there. But, I agree that the most attractive option might be to take a couple of those pre-fab composite picket fencing panels from Home Depot and put them up as a visual block to the bin. Here the fencing sections run about $30 each. Or you can make your bin out of a piece of composite material lattice - they bend quite nicely and you'd never be able to tell what was in it unless you looked.

if ya did the compost tumbler, but if your dh is handy with tools and stuff, (LOL) ummm... he could make one himself, and you could get the compost in 14 days, thats what they say anyhow. i'm still trying to talk my dh into doing that!! but he's always working. but you could get a 55 gal barrel at a maybe junk yard or something like that. for cheaper than the tumblerhttp://www.gardeners.com/Compost-Tumbler/Composting_New,37-459,default,cp.html

I've posted this several times before, but here is a picture of my compost bin made from fence panels.

{{gwi:284366}}

I had just started filling it in the picture. I should take a picture of it now, that is full.

Put it behind/between some bushes or small trees. Most people won't even notice it. People who are in my back yard for BBQs etc. don't even know I have a 4x4x5 compost file.

The key to a non-un-attractive, non-stinky compost pile is not bins. Its leaves. Does dh think leaf piles are ugly? Piles of rotting vegetables, fish guts, and horse manure, yes, gross (to some). Mix that with plenty of dry leaves, and it won't smell. Cover it in a foot of extra leaves, and even if it does smell, the smell will stay inside. Won't attract bugs or vermin. Looks like a pile of leaves. My grandmother's pile was right beside her house, flush up against a fence. Visitors got out of their cars and walked past the pile to go in the house. She was mayor pro tem of a city of 300,000+. People stopped by a lot. No one knew the pile was there until we pulled back the leaves and got worms to fish with.

My piles are enormous, like 8-12 feet tall and 20-30 feet long. They smell fine, even after I dump in 20 gallons of overwintered kitchen scraps that have long since gone anaerobic.

That's the other thing--turn the pile, make sure it gets air. And then cover it with leaves.

THEN, if you want to build it a little house or something, go ahead. We DIY anarchist types like old pallets lashed together with twine, but you can use fencing, or 'railroad ties' and it looks quite nice.

That much said, some 'neighborhood associations' will ban you out of composting no matter what. That's one more good reason not to live in that kind of community.

joepyeweed, dh has agreed to BUILD our compost pile based on your picture. apparently that satisfies his aesthetic requirements and our economic needs. ;)

thank you all for your helpful recs!

Yahoo! We have a winner! yet one more testament to the adage, "a picture's worth a thousand words"!

engk916 - let us know how it turns out!

All the Best, Tree

yay! for engk's hubby! Aren't hubbies great?!

You can pick up the pre-fab fence panels on sale, fairly inexpensive. I bought two 8' fence panels and cut them in half. Then I hinged them together and stapled woven wire fabric to the fencing on the inside. The whole thing will fold flat if I want. I do have a wire loop and some twine that holds the open corner together. I could get a real latch there, but it would cost more money.

I should take a more current picture. The bin is fuller and has plants hanging off of it. (The patios a bit cleaner now than in that picture also.)

My composting aria consists of four bins 3 X 3 X 3 ft made from recycled dog runs. If all four bins are full the pile is 3 X 3 X 12 ft. The compost pile is across a narrow alley from a small town shopping plaza which contains a post office, bridal boutique and at one time a grocery store among others. In 35 yrs of composting no one has ever hinted of a problem with the looks or odder and I have occasionally used horse, cow, chicken and pig manures. If it ever stops raining here I will post a photo.

John

(For best results, put a nice-looking dog in front of the compost pile, when hubby's done :-).)

Simple solution to "dress-up" a compost bin regardless of what it's made of is to plant a fast-growing vine or tall plants around it. You could leave one side open to "tend" the compost. I've also read that some people plant tomatoes around a wire fence compost bin.

I personally find my 4 pallets tied together to be quite attractive from a distance! Altho it does look better when the garden mostly hides it.

At my previous house I planted flowers and raspberries around my compost bins, and it was very attractive. The bins themselves were old pallets, which weathered to a nice gray, which matched the nearby fence. Alas, I learned that you shouldn't plant anything as vigorous as black raspberries near your compost bin, as the roots infiltrate.

Marcia

Let's not forget camouflage! Last year my big heap was cloaked with nasturtiums, but his year I'm using scarlet runner beans. Zinnias and sunflowers are coming up behind the stationery composter. I think it'll look good.

Another idea is to take it underground. A pit type compost with a lid is out of sight all the time, and it works just great.

Yes! Camouflage! My first house had a compost heap when a bought it and trust me, it was the least thought-out compost heap ever. It was literally a pile in a corner--no fences, no lattice, no bin. I didn't know a thing about composting, I just dumped kitchen scraps on top and used a small shovel to turn it into the top of the pile. It just looked like a small pile of dirt. BUT, come spring, whatever seeds went in with the food (pumpkin, cantaloupe, cucumber....) would pop up and cover the heap. I'd move most of them to the garden, but I'd always leave a pumpkin because I'd get the BEST pumpkins from the compost heap. And....my heap would be completely hidden by the huge, healthy leaves. I could still add things, too. I'd just lift a leaf and dump more on. It was wonderful. Great soil, no smell, and beautiful pumpkins. I loved that heap. Definitely think camouflage!

Back to the idea of a compost bin/garden bench, I found a drawing in the book "Easy Composting", which was my first composting book.

I have been thinking about a bench I could make. A 48"deep by 7' wide, and 21" high. Back rest, sloped, at 48" deep it could have seat facing front and back.

The wood might be a problem. Something durable would also be expensive. Cyprus?