Building a compost bin can be as easy as pie… Vying for the title of "easiest to make" are two designs: A roll of wire animal fencing that wraps around 4 metal stakes... And 4 or 5 wooden pallets wired together (5, if you want one on the bottom instead of just setting the 4 on the ground). With either of these, a compost turner is extremely useful.

A more elaborate affair - and one that doesn’t need a turner - is made from a straight-sided barrel... Cut a foot-square door in the side and make it so it can hinge open and stay closed around a thin rubber gasket. Paint the barrel black. Punch small air holes near the center of each end. Place the barrel on a stand somehow - either one that has rollers that it rolls on, or one that is attached to a revolving gizmo in the middle of each end. ...All you have to do is roll the thing every few days to turn the composting matter inside - the sun heats the barrel nicely.