My Homemade Compost Bin I made.

[blindndead]

In my quest to be more self-sufficient I made a compost bin out of old skids I got from work didnt cost me a dime. I know its cold out but better late than never right?
I live in the city so space is limited but this will work fine for the small yard I have.
I canned my own relish today and used the scraps to feed the bad boy.
Hope to have some black gold in the springtime to grow my own veggies to preserve next year.

 

[ACfarmer]

Thats one rugged rig - Nice job on working towards self sufficiency. I'd recommend that you drill holes in the sides to allow airflow through the to-be-compost so it won't smell. As turning the pile will be key come the Spring, you might want to put some chicken wire or such on the bottom and top (removable) so you can roll it or use it as a sifter. With the cold weather setting in, the composting process will slow down this time of year but you'll have a head start for next year.

 

[blindndead]

Will do ACfarmer thank you for the tip's +1 rep point to you.

 

[Knob Creek]

Rugged but really needs air to circulate thru.

 

[blindndead]

No problem. I thought the space between each board would surfice but I will drill holes on the sides for more air. I also put flag stones on the botton hard to see in the pic so the whole bin is slightly off the ground.

 

[green_metalflake]

I am getting rid of my stand-up bin and building a 55 gallon drum composter on a roller stand. I get tired of forking it.

 

[OPM]

Wow. Did you built it to withstand nuclear war? This thing seems very strong. A+++

However, do not expect black gold until late 2011 or even 2012. The box is small and it’s too cold, thus it will take a very long time for compost to fully form. Also given its small size, the pile most likely will not go hot. Therefore, be careful what you compost. IOW, do not use any plants with disease or infection. Even during summer, cold piles rarely kill disease, so your plants could get infected if you compost ill plants.

If you want gold for next season, Bokashi could help. I would get the box half way full then I would start Bokashi in 5gal bucket. After the food is fully fomented in the bucket I would dump the contents into the box and cover it with 2-3” of garden soil. Then I would start the next Bokashi bucket and kept going like that until the box is full. This should help you get compost at some point during the next season.

As others said, drill some small holes throughout and add a chicken wire lid to prevent animals and birds from entering. Good luck.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

I am getting rid of my stand-up bin and building a 55 gallon drum composter on a roller stand. I get tired of forking it.

I made one of those and it works well, like a big rotisserie.

I used iron pipe, flanges, Ts and elbows for the stand and crank. Cut a hinged trap door fastened buy two cheap bolt locks in the side of one of those blue barrels and drilled holes for air. Painted it black for sun absorption. Mounted on simple square made of planks, two over two, like two rails over two ties.

Cutting the trap door allows for reaching in and fastening the flanges on the ends with nuts and bolts. Stainless hardware won't be eaten away by acidity or rust.

 

[green_metalflake]

Painted it black for sun absorption.

A blue barrel is what I plan to use but I am not going to paint it. Blue absorbs light well and should get plenty hot inside.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

A blue barrel is what I plan to use but I am not going to paint it. Blue absorbs light well and should get plenty hot inside.

Try it, if it works as blue, great. I painted mine to make it less noticeable as well. That bright blue doesn't make it with me.

 

[blindndead]

Evil black compost bin.
Will a hand auger be ok when the time comes to work the pile?

 

[green_metalflake]

That bright blue doesn't make it with me.

H8TR!!! I bet you said that about Avatar too.

 

[OPM]

Very said day. My worms died last night. I thought my setup would help them to live through the winter – and it did until yesterday. But tonight the temp inside the box dropped to 36 and the little guys gave up. There might be a few survivors, but I did not bother to look.

Now I have a dilemma. To I spend time and money to engineer a better setup, or just wait until March when the temps stop deeping below 40. After all it’s probably only 3-3.5 months away.

What do you guys think?

P.S. - Sorry for hijacking the tread, but it’s kind of related.

 

[drumenigma]

I never really saw a need for a compost bin. For my compost I simply throw everything in a pile and turn every so often. I had my pile steaming quite nicely a while ago and I have some serious black gold being produced. I should have enough to till in to the garden as well next year. I just layer on things like the grass clippings, mowed leaves, kitchen vegetable scraps and whatever else will make good compost.

 

[green_metalflake]

I never really saw a need for a compost bin. For my compost I simply throw everything in a pile and turn every so often. I had my pile steaming quite nicely a while ago and I have some serious black gold being produced. I should have enough to till in to the garden as well next year. I just layer on things like the grass clippings, mowed leaves, kitchen vegetable scraps and whatever else will make good compost.

Anyone who's ever left lawn clippings in a pile for a few days over the summer can attest to that. I am amazed at the amount of heat it generates. I got a compost bin to (a), keep the yard more or less orderly, and (b) keep animals from rooting through the vegetable scraps we put in. Even with a bin, the raccoons managed to pull the door off a couple times and spread crud all over. Now the door is screwed shut. Nothing like picking up drippy tomato & squash ends to make your day.

 

[drumenigma]

Anyone who's ever left lawn clippings in a pile for a few days over the summer can attest to that. I am amazed at the amount of heat it generates. I got a compost bin to (a), keep the yard more or less orderly, and (b) keep animals from rooting through the vegetable scraps we put in. Even with a bin, the raccoons managed to pull the door off a couple times and spread crud all over. Now the door is screwed shut. Nothing like picking up drippy tomato & squash ends to make your day.

To my knowledge I haven't had any critters raid my pile. I haven't seen any signs that indicate they have. One other thing I often do is if I have frech scraps to put in the pile I take a little off the top and put the fresh stuff in the middle of the pile and then cover it. I think this might deter the animals from digging in the pile some. They prefer to try and raid my trash.

 

[Coyote33]

http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/composti.htm#athome

 

[blindndead]

Took some time and put more holes in the sides to get more air in threw, in a bunch of worms and added a layer of soil over the waste I have bee putting in it all winter glad I got this going.

 

[Coyote33]

You should turn the entire thing every week or every other week. Don't just layer it up over time. Then start another. Usually, you want three chambers, where you just go from one to the next. You can have 2 different ones at different stages of composting. You know it is "working" when steam comes out when you turn it.

 

[blindndead]

That thing weighs a ton I have a hand auger to stir the pile, when I need soil will dig under the pile. I know its not perfect but its tight space in the city.