Creating a Garden: Compost Bins
Redwood and cedar compost bins - building the frames
Overeager 😁
As you can see from the picture above, I was eager (overeager, really) to get started creating and building the garden. As soon as we owned the land and before the ground had been cleared, fences installed, or ground broken for the house, I was already launching into projects. I’m not entirely sure why I felt I needed to build these four compost bins so early in the process, but it felt good to get the first structure started.
How I Decided to Build Compost Bins
Materials
There are many options for compost bin materials and many ways to build them. I chose redwood and cedar for their natural longevity and resistance to weather and rot. I avoided any pressure treated wood to avoid chemicals leaching into the compost that will be used in the vegetable and fruit beds. To increase airflow, I used a half-inch galvanized hardware cloth on the back, ends, and between bays. This was stapled in place with longer heavy duty staples and set in the roughly 6 inch gap between cedar boards.
Features
As is often done, I built channels on the front posts between bays to allow the cedar boards to slide in and increase the wall height or be taken out when it’s time to turn over the bays.
Not knowing what kind of critters might turn up for kitchen scraps, I built a lid for the first bay that includes a handle (which I never seem to use) and a couple of slide locks (again…which I never seem to use). I figure that by the time I turn the first bay into the second, the material has broken down enough so that bins 2-4 don’t need a lid.
The final bin, which is a holding bay for finished compost, has boards that touch so that the finer finished compost doesn’t potentially trickle out.
Size
Each bay is 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall and 4 feet deep. As our garden is fairly new and compost piles compress as you build them up, it took a surprising amount of time to build up enough material to warrant the first turn over into the second bay.
If you have the space, I would recommend multiple bays to aid in the compost making process and to provide a bay for holding finished compost so it’s ready for when you need it in the garden. If you only have space for one bin, you can achieve the same benefits of turning (aerating, mixing) by shoveling or forking the compost materials out onto a tarp, large board, directly onto the ground, etc. and then return all of it to the bin.
It has been eighteen months and they’re still doing well. I’ll be curious to see how they hold up over the next 5, 10, and 15 years.
The finished product
And below is the loyal hound, making the rounds and inspecting my work.
Bins still under construction and Daisy inspecting the work
