compost bin design

[TomFromStLouis]

I am thinking of building a compost bin of wood for my urban residence. I have some crappy 4/4 osage that would be perfect for the sides, but I am considering a feature I have not seen in other bins of this type.

The bin will be about 5' x 5' and I envision panels on 3 sides with the front having removable planks. The feature that interests me is a raised floor. We all know the good stuff is always at the bottom and digging for it might not be required if I had a raised grid of large mesh hardware cloth or a similar grid maybe 18" off the bottom. Then every time I turn the pile the good stuff trickles down into the lower section for easy shoveling out from the front.

Is this a stupid idea? Anyone know where to find 1" mesh hardware cloth, or should I use something else for the grid for the floor? Or skip the whole idea and just dig every time I want compost?

[Scoony]

I made one this past spring using crapy poplar. Mine is 2' by 2' and I plane to simple lift it off the pile to get to the good stuff.

2x2 corner posts with 1x 3 slats

[djwong]

A compost bin should be at least 3' x 3' x 3', to retain heat from the aerobic decomposition. An efficient setup is to construct a structure that has 3 bins in a row. You move compost from bin to bin as you toss the pile to speed the decomposition. One bin can hold finished compost. A mesh for the floor would aid aeration, but would make it difficult to use a shovel or fudge to turn the contents of the bin. The finished compost can be quite loamy and fibers, and will not readily drop through a 1 inch mesh.

Lots of references and instructions on line for compost bins.

[dejavu]

I wonder if an 18" "crawl space" in a 5X5 square bin wouldn't make it hard to bend over and rake out the stuff that fell thru the mesh but in the back corners. It would be more certain that you could reach the good stuff if the bin were 3X3 instead.

Just a thought.

[vernonator]

How about a "false bottom" as you described and then build a solid tray that you could slide out to harvest the good stuff?

[Scoony]

2x seems to be working alright, but I wish I had another. The one I have is full and will be ready for the garden in the spring. A second would at least allow me to compost current waste while the first one finishes up. My garden is small so a 3rd might be overkill for me.

Chickens sure love it. First place they go when I let them free range. I have to go back and clean up the mess they leave. They tear through it pretty efficiently.

[Steve N]

Probably not what you want to hear, but all of the bins, and surrounds I have been part of building are simply a corral to keep the composting material herded up. To actually work the compost you are frequently required to dig it up, and flip it all over. Quite a bit of work.

This rock, and roll design kicks butt Using 55 gallon plastic drums, you can make them easily with a wooden frame. End result is much less work, much better compost.

[Rick LoDico]

One other thing to keep in mind is that it's easier to turn the entire pile if you have two bins. These are made on top of pallets and hane two removable doors. In all, I pre fer the compost tumbler.
00003 2 by Rickey, on FlickrDSCF0027 by Rickey, on Flickr

[Dumb_Polack]

Rick, we have the same Compost Tumblr.


Must be going on 20 yrs now and it is starting to rust a bit.

[Chataigner]

I use three old pallets for each bin with a grid of hazel twigs across the front to keep the stuff in. Three bins are needed in my experience, one filling, one "cooking", one emptying.

The pallets are just rough pine of course, but they last 5-10yrs and are easily replaced.