Congratulations on deciding to compost. Black gold is very satisfying.

If you want an inexpensive way to hide your compost bin.....

Next time you're out and about, watch for people replacing their wood fencing. Most people will be more than glad to give you the old stuff. Cut the bottoms off, (possibly rotten from being buried in dirt) to the height you want, and hide your compost bins. If you like, plant attactive vines, or any type of plant or shrub you like, alongside it, and voila, cheap attractive way to hide your compost.

Congratulations on wanting to compost, another suggestion...even though you are in the city is in the fall find a country location and watch for people disposing of their fallen leaves. They will be bagged (hopefully) and you can load up your vehicle with them, bring them home run over them with the lawn mower and have a fantastic source of browns. All of your kitchen scraps can be composted too. Good luck.

Alberta

Sounds like you're good to go! Your plans all sound great. Another inexpensive source of compost-bin "walls" would be wooden pallets, which can be wired together in a box shape. They're not particularly attractive so planting some vines, etc., is a good idea. (And anything planted next to a compost bin grows like crazy! Beware! LOL)
Plant nurseries, stores selling construction materials, and Big Box stores often have wooden pallets available free for the taking.
Don't forget to add used coffee grounds, which are nitrogen-rich and technically a "green" but the worms seem to love them.

eaglesgarden, your lot sounds almost identical to mine (I think mine might be 55 wide and not quite 150 long, but ... same basic shape/size, house a little closer to the front than the back, but mostly in the middle).

Ten years ago when I started my first compost pile, it was just about this time of year (bought the house in June, started a compost pile long before a garden!), so I had the same starting issue of almost no browns but plenty of weeds and scraps I wanted to compost.

You're right to think that cardboard and junk mail are great "browns". But I'll confess, I find 'em ugly. I know "ugly" isn't the point - reducing the waste stream, making a great garden amendment, and being fascinated by the process are much more to the point. But for me, I just enjoy turning the pile more when I am not staring at trashy scraps. (Ignore this next advice if you don't share my issues with this!) That first year, I got a bunch of wood chips to start my bin. My city gives them away (getting a whole load from the utilities folks would have been too much for me at that point!). I got enough to fill the bin maybe 1/3 full, and that was enough to use to add my weeds and scraps to all that first summer (until the leaves started falling from the trees). It was a great solution for me - no, the chips didn't break down FAST, but all the rest of the stuff I put in there heated the pile up and broke down well, and the chips meant there were always enough browns to avoid stinkiness.

People here tend to (seem to) talk about two main methods of composting - hot "batch" compost where you add everything at once, either layering or mixing, and then don't add anything more until you harvest, and cold slow piles to which one adds gradually. I use an in-between method (even now). I start with a bin full of browns - generally fallen leaves, somewhat shredded by my lawnmower if I've been energetic, unshredded if not. Then, for the next many months, I add to that pile, mostly adding greens (kitchen scraps, weeds, grass clippings from 3 neighbors who prefer to bag). I stir in these greens each time I add them, and often the pile heats up, getting marvelously steamy. At a certain point I decide it is high time that I quit adding to that bin, and move to a different bin (which means I need to harvest the cured compost from that bin to empty it out and begin again). I don't know that these cycles of heating and cooling over and over do anything special for me or the resulting compost. It's just the easiest / most fun way for me. I am too lazy / not organized enough / have too little land to fill a 4x4x3 bin all at once, and I am too curious and meddlesome to leave the pile sit and be a slow cold pile.

I guess I'm just trying to say, you can do this in whatever way fits your life; there are nearly as many variations on how-to-do-it as there are folks composting!

lcpw

Thank you all for the feedback. It sounds like my plan is fairly well received. Good thoughts on the ways to camouflage the bin (I really want to make sure that I don't get any complaints from neighbors - and more importantly don't want pests to visit!).

So, the advice on getting more browns are very well appreciated. The thoughts on the wood fences was great! If I'm lucky, I might just come across some!

Well, I appreciate the encouragement, and will be checking back regularly to see if anyone else has any thoughts on this. I will also be coming back to offer how things are going as time goes on. With any luck, I will be just as crazy about composting as so many of you are on this board.

I guess my biggest concern is having too few browns. So, I will just keep a lookout for as many potential sources as possible. My understanding is that too many browns slow down the process, but have no real down side, but too many greens makes a slimy, smelly mess that attracts pests. Is that correct?

We also luv pictures!

It is definitely best to go higher on the 'browns' than the 'greens'.

Any farm type friends that you could "borrow" a straw bale from? Or a carpenter friend that could part with some sawdust?

I occasionally get people asking if they could borrow some browns. I keep a small building full of shredded fall leaves and once in a while a person will call up and ask for some for their 'post. (although some of my so called "better" friends are now just asking outright for my compost and eliminating all the in between steps).

Lloyd

P.S. By the way, welcome to the forum. :-)

Looking at the prices, would plastic "poultry mesh" be fine? I wouldn't expect that there would be a lot of pressure on the netting.

The price is drastically different where I am. (4 ft x 50 ft for $15)

Link provided for what I found.

Here is a link that might be useful: poultry mesh

The cheapest compost bin I've found is made from 10 feet of 3 foot high 2 x 4 hog fence. I'd suggest the stiff kind, not the kind covered with green plastic. Just leave enough wire to fold over to attach the seam. I don't use any T-posts. The fencing is strong enough. I'd wouldn't suggest going bigger as it adds quite a bit to the volume even if you make the fence 12 feet. Multiple bins work better for me as I can fill each one in a reasonable time.

When they are full, I sometimes put 8 inches of dirt on them and use them for a raised bed while the stuff composts. That has been working out pretty well for me. For some reason, these beds seldom need watered.

Wood also qualifies as brown stuff. Before cutting my lawn, I trim the bushes and small new growth on trees. Then I run over them with my lawnmower.

If you put a few inches of twigs on the bottom it will help the airflow.

Personally, I don't use any cardboard. I don't believe it is safe.

Welcome and good luck. Dont think you have to know it all when you start, this business is very flexible - according to your preferences and ability.

"cardboard boxes from my cereal, pasta" -- they are glossy and have some bad chemicals. For the same reason, you dont want to compost your glossy magazines. I just responded to other post - go to nearby stores and see if they have plain brown boxes at the dock in the back - from all the packages they have to open daily. And find a friendly coffee shop nearby.

"was planning on growing butternut squash right next to the bin, and allowing the vines to grow up and over the top of the bin ..." - how do you see accessing the bin with all the vines in the way?

Thanks for the responses. I will not use the cereal/pasta cardboard.

As far as the squash goes, I was planning on having the bins sit next to each other in a row. With the squash on the left hand side.

A front side "picture", if you will: The squash vines are the "S"s and the bins are the "boxed areas". Each "S" represents approximately 1 foot in length.

S = S = S = S = S = S = S = S = S = S
S : : : :
S : : : :
S : : : :
S : Bin : Bin : Bin :

But, I was planning on covering the bin with chicken wire over the top (about 4 feet off the ground), and leaving the front side of the bins open. This would allow me access to the bins from the front sides, without having to disturb the vines. But, I was thinking the vines could shade the compost from the sun during the heat of summer (as the bins would be exposed to full sun for about 12 hours a day).