My current compost bin settup

2008-06-12T17:14:00.001-07:00

I am in the process of making a small three bin composting setup with a rain collecting roof. Life has not allowed me much time recently but you can see what I am working with below. I got the idea of how to build these interlocking adjustable height wooden bins from the book "Weedless Gardening" by Lee Reich http://www.leereich.com/. They are time consuming to build but work very well and break down to a small size that is easy to store and move. These are built out of recycled boards from crates and scrap wood from the renovation of a house. The one picture is 5'x5' but they can be any size

I also have two black plastic bins that are about 10 years old. They are ok and I've used them for quite a while to make compost. So why spend the time to make a completely new setup? I've become much more interested in and educated about composting in the last year and compost more material than I used to. Also these bins do not work very well if you fill them quickly. The small opening at the top and tall, narrow shape make it difficult to fully mix the material in the bottom of these bins when they get more than half full. The weight of the raw material on top tends to compact the material on the bottom because you can't mix it regularly. I believe this results in the bottom of the pile becoming anaerobic. I mix these bins as much as I can once a week and after two months a full bin will be reduced by 1/3 - 1/2 in volume. At this point I can get to the bottom portion of the pile to start turning it. It is always smelly and has not decomposed like the top layer that will look like chunky soil by this time.

The new large, square bin allows you to open the pile (spread it out), mix it well and pile it back up each time. You could just do this on the ground but the material tends to fall very far from thew pile and makes a mess. The sides contain everything and make the mixing much easier. Material decomposes fast and evenly and has a very loose, open texture when mixed often. It does dry out faster but I am experimenting with using a plastic tarp or jute rug over the top to help with this. The pile you see is the result of only three months of waste from my house. This type of large bin also allows you to compost more material. You can build the sides up as you go, adding four pieces of wood makes it another 6" higher. You don't have to reach over the side of a 4' bin when you only have 1' of material in the bottom to mix.

The next big thing I'll be doing after making enough panels for three 4' high bins is to make three roofs with rain water collection. This prevents over soaking of the compost pile and privides free water for constaint mosture control.

Adventures in Urban Composting

My current compost bin settup