Gardening is a fun hobby and a way to be more involved in growing your own food. Although you may need to rent a junk removal bin to deal with the initial mess of making a garden, the upkeep once it’s created is relatively easy.

You can increase your garden experience by making your own compost, which is surprisingly simple, clean, and easy to do. You will need the right setup and a small investment in tools, but once established, your composting system can be used for many years to come.

List of materials for the project:

• A metal trash can with lid
• Half a meter of free space in the garden
• Gloves, drill, and shovel

Part one: making the compost bin

Take your drill and make about two dozen holes on the bottom of the trash can using a bit that is large enough to let water out. Space the holes out evenly when you make them as to not disrupt the structure of the can. Then drill another three to four dozen holes evenly on the area up to ten inches from the bottom of the can.

Tip: If you are new to using a drill, lay the object on a flat surface and make sure the object can’t move. Hold the drill perpendicular to the drilling surface and press down firmly while the bit is spinning.

Now dig a hole in the ground so that the bin sits 15 inches below the surface. The hole doesn’t have to be exact in size, since you’re going to pad the area with soil, but there’s no sense in digging a hole that is too wide since that’s extra work for you.

Remove all stickers and papers from the bin and put the can into the space you’ve dug. Your compost bin is ready to use!

Part two: the compost cycle

You will need food scraps and soil for this part. Compostable items include fruits peels, vegetable ends, tea leaves, biodegradable paper, stale bread, and leftover pasta. The general rule of thumb is to avoid adding meats, dairy, and animal products to the compost with exception to egg shells, which are high in calcium and great for soil.

Before adding materials to your compost, try to remove excess moisture as that may lead to mold or other growths. Add soil to cover new contributions to the compost heap to prevent fruit flies, and secure the lid to the bin so that raccoons and other animals stay out of the scraps, or you may wake up one morning to the contents of your bin spread across the yard!