I tend to make things more complicated than they really are. Composting is a good example. Building that wooden pallet compost bin was a compromise for me. I had planned to build one of those 3-bin systems like you see on the Master Composter web site. According to the "Master Composter", he (or she) uses 3-bins: one for composting, one for storing leaves in the fall, and one for slow-composters like twigs and holly leaves. So I figured if a master composter uses a 3-bin system, that's what I should use.

I have the space to build a 3-bin system - I just don't have the time. Most of my friends don't have the space or the time. For those that have the space, my country-bumpkin compost bin made from thrown away wooden pallets might not be appropriate or well accepted by their neighbors.

The other day I thought: what if you just dug a hole and threw in your kitchen scraps. Wouldn't that work? I did a quick search on Google for digging a hole and compost and about 50,000 results came up. Who knew? One of the links went to that wonderful Master Composter site where it says:

Dig a hole in the ground about a foot deep. Put food wastes in the hole. Cover with at least 8" of soil. You are done.

They also describe another method, "In-Soil Digestion". You can find details here, but to summarize:

Take a plastic garbage can with a locking lid, cut out the bottom, dig a hole, then put it in the ground with only 1 foot of the can above ground. Throw in food wastes, cover with a little dirt, close the lid, repeat. When the hole is full, you can leave the compost where it is and just remove the plastic can or scoop it out and use it.

There are plenty of web sites describing this method. Here are a few:
www.mastercomposter.com/more/moremeth.html
www.lewisgardens.com/compost.htm
www.nyccompost.org/how/foodrecycling.html
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthknd/compost/compost.html