Sep 04 2009
Gifts for Gardeners – Kitchen Compost Pails
Here at Dirty Boots HQ we try to be as Self Sufficient as possible. Part of that frugal living is an abundance of jam giving at birthdays and Christmas. Last night the ‘Chrimbo Conversation’ began and we decided to make a concerted effort to organise gift production and even a few gift purchases in plenty of time for the big day. The ever spectacular Spanish postal service may well still ensure our family’s gifts arrive late but at least this year we will know we tried. As you can imagine we have a fair few gardeners and lovers of compost in the family. So with this in mind I’ve been looking for Gifts for Gardeners. The first so far, also the cheapest and, the one I’d most like to receive is the Compost Pail or Kitchen Compost Crock.
NB The links below are for Compost Pails in the US, but there is a wide range of Compost Pails UK here.
The Compost Pail – A Great Gift for Gardeners
The reasons the Compost Pail is one of those great Gifts for Gardeners are threefold:
- Nobody needs a compost crock, but they do make garden composting a whole lot easier. So whilst they are practical and useful they are still a bit of a luxury the more frugal amongst us would not buy for themselves.
- They’re not too expensive! Yey, cheap gifts for gardeners! In fact you can pay as much as you like but $20-$30 gets you a good quality compost pail that should perform well and look good.
- They ooze ‘green appeal’ in a ‘did you know we compost?’ kind of way. Sitting on the kitchen counter-top telling the world how environmentally friendly you are. Now that might sound a tad sarcastic, but in fact I think its great that something is sat in your kitchen selling gardening composting to all your friends and family. Pretty soon people will wonder why there isn’t a compost crock on the counter top, and that can only be a good thing.
Yes, I would like one too! You can carry on composting and keep the kitchen looking smart.
Kitchen Compost Pails
Kitchen Compost Pails come in all manner of types. Truth be told you can use just about anything you want, after all this is simply a receptacle for storing kitchen scraps before you take them out to the garden compost bin. Most of us end up using various bowls or plastic containers to store our food scraps when we first start composting. But these look far from great and need emptying really quickly to stop odours building up.
The commercially designed Kitchen Compost Pails solve these problems by coming with a carbon filter designed to stop food smells escaping. Of course they look sleek and tidy, a whole lot better than a big bowl of peelings awaiting transfer to the garden.
The carbon filters should last around six months and most models come with a spare set. And, with replacement sets coming in at around $5 it isn’t too much of a yearly expense even for the most frugal amongst you.
Cheap Compost Pails
The filter system is the reason to choose a purpose designed kitchen compost pail. But of course you may be more frugally minded and just want to buy something pretty to use.
If so make sure you choose something with the same design features as a the best compost pails:
- The material must be one which will not absorb odours. Ceramics, stoneware and stainless steel compost pails are the preferred choice. Over time smells are absorbed by plastics and wood so you will need to be more organised with the washing up!
- One sturdy handle. The point of the exercise is to make composting easy. One handle, just like an ordinary bucket makes carrying the scraps out to the compost bin easiest.
- A good well fitting lid. Keep smells in and flies out!
- Dishwasher safe if you’re that way inclined.
Well that’s one of my favorite Gifts for Gardeners – the Kitchen Compost Pail. If you’re taking any notice MrDB, I garden and I compost, and I have a kitchen with a bowl of peelings in it – oh and I like this Stainless Steel Compost Pail
For a more self sufficient future
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Great idea to have some gift ideas for gardeners. I might have sent a link to this blog to some family members, just in case they’re looking for some ideas…..