I came across this cool video while I was doing some searching for my new ‘Compost Bin Plans‘ site (and have included this video there as well). It is more the concept itself, rather than the technical building details of the system built in the video, that I find really interesting. You certainly wouldn’t need to buy expensive decorative blocks in order to create something just as functional. Basic concrete construction blocks would certainly do the trick. If you are going to use blocks like this it is probably not a bad idea to do it PROPERLY as outlined in the video (with a sand foundation etc), especially if you live in a cold region where winter ground heaving might occur.
That being said, I’m sure you could get away with simple stacking the blocks – you could always go back and make adjustments if ends up a little off-kilter. One thing about the regular building blocks to keep in mind – they obviously won’t look nearly as nice as those used in the video, so you may not want to simply build it in the middle of your lawn.
Speaking of which, if you happen to have any hills on your property, building a system like this right into the side of a hill would be a great way to create more of an ‘all-season’ composter, since the earth will be great for insulation. If you took it a step further, simply using straw bales instead of concrete blocks would help to provide even more insulation value. The only downside of this approach is that the bales will need to be replaced every couple of years, or perhaps even more frequently if you live in a fairly warm, wet location.
I know I am biased here, but adding composting worms to a system like this would also be really cool. Just make sure you wait until temperatures in the system are low enough (assuming you add a bunch of materials at once when setting it up).
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Hi Folks! Sorry I’ve let the site go silent for so long (yes, a recurring problem – haha). I think the important thing is that I don’t completely give up on it – nor will I likely ever do so (I’m kinda stubborn that way). As per usual, I’ve been spending most of my time over at Red Worm Composting - so I certainly haven’t fallen off the planet or anything.
Aside from being tired of staring at ‘Monet’s Pallette’, and apologizing yet again for a lapse in posts, I also wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about a fairly new project of mine. Don’t worry – it’s much more of a static resource site than this one was intended to be, so people won’t end up disappointed when new blog posts aren’t added.
Let me start by saying that it is VERY MUCH a work-in-progress, so please don’t judge ‘the book by its cover’.
As the name of this post implies, it is called ‘Compost Bin Plans‘, and also as the name implies it is all about DIY composting equipment (and then some). One of the things I’ve noticed since writing about composting online is that there are a LOT of people really interested in creating their own composting bins/beds and related ‘stuff’ (harvesters, tumblers etc etc). What’s great is that there are also lots of good resources instructing you HOW to make a lot of great systems.
My aim is to basically provide a central resource for tracking down this information. Another major (now longer term) goal is to actually make available various DIY composter plans as well – I was all set to team up with a talented builder/designer this fall, but things ended up having to be put on the back-burner due to commitments on his end. As I have likely written here (and have certain written elsewhere), I myself am “all thumbs”, with very little in the way of building/designing skill – you might even go so far as to say that I ‘couldn’t build my way out of a paper bag’!
Ok, so I’m being a little hard on myself! After all, I DID manage to build my own decent backyard worm bed (see ‘Building a Compost Bin – Part I‘ for a picture of it) – and in fact, I think it is that accomplishment (I truly shocked myself) that has also helped to make me want to create this site. I want to encourage/inspire all those folks who think they “can’t building anything” and make them realize that they CAN!
Due to my passion for vermicomposting, I am of course going to be including plenty of ‘how tos’ for making vermicomposting systems and equipment (worm harvesters etc) as well. I also will be dedicating a full section to ‘Compost Tumbler Plans‘, and ‘Composting Toilet Plans‘ since both of these are very expensive pieces of equipment when purchased from a manufacturer (not that I’m saying that buying one is “bad” – just want people to realize that you can indeed make all of these things). You’ll notice that these other pages have not been developed yet – but I’m definitely hoping to do so very soon. Again, the entire site is going to be growing and changing a LOT over the next few months.
Compost tumblers in particular seem to have become hugely popular in recent years, and with that popularity seems to have come an army of ‘Do-It-Yourselfers’ who don’t feel like shelling out hundreds of dollars for one of these systems. Just on YouTube alone there are lots of cool ideas and ‘how tos’ for making one of these systems at home.
By the way – if you have cool/helpful plans that you want to share, or you know of some quality DIY composter (etc) plans, please don’t hesitate to let me know so I can add them to the site. Also, if there is some particular system or piece of equipment that you would really like to build yourself but can’t find instructions to do so, please email me as well, and I’ll see if I can track something down.
Just so you know, aside from developing the Compost Bin Plans site further over the next few months, I also have plans to get things moving along here as well. My search for interesting DIY plans has certainly reminded me of just how many cool websites and resources there are out there focused on the topic of composting – so I’ll likely be spending more time writing about some of these here.
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