I finally got some motivation this weekend and built a compost bin for the garden. I pulled out some salvaged lumber and bought a few pieces from the hardware store and went at it. I used outdoor wood screws instead of nails because I had a bunch leftover from when I built the raised beds. I didn't follow any plans, but I didn't deviate far from the norm.
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| New compost bin. |
The bin is 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and 3 feet deep. I was going to build it 4 x 4 x 4, but then it would've been difficult to turn the compost in the back of the bin. It also would've partially obstructed access to the nearby table.
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| Front view of the compost bin with slats partially removed. |
I built two sets of guides to secure removable wood panels on the front. The panels slide into the guides and stack on top of each other. I hope this will facilitate easy access to the finished product. Here's a picture that should make more sense than my rambling description.
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| Guides for front panels of compost bin. |
A few years ago my parents gave me a
compost tumbler for Christmas. The thing works great and produces really nice compost in a fairly short amount of time. The only real drawback is the size of the unit. It's not capable of producing large volumes of compost that I need in the new garden, hence why I built this large bin. I plan on keeping the compost tumbler to produce smaller batches on the side and ultimately to store any extra compost from this large bin if I don't use it all at once. Currently the compost tumbler is about half filled with a great batch of compost that will find its way into the garden in a few weeks.
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| New compost bin next to the compost tumbler. Note the large difference in size. |
I read that it's a good idea to coat the wooden compost bin with a wood preservative or stain to prevent fast deterioration. None of the wood is pressure treated and only some of it is rot-resistant hardwood. I would really like to get some feedback on what coating(s) others have used to seal wood in a compost bin. I don't want it to deteriorate within a year or two.
