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Building a Compost Bin – Part I


My large outdoor worm bin as it appeared the day I built it


I’ve been meaning to write about the topic of ‘building a compost bin’, and a post on someone else’s blog (which I’ll chat about in a minute) today inspired me to at least get the ball rolling. Understandably, this is a topic that a fair number of would-be composters are interested in – while there are certainly lots of fantastic composting systems on the market these days, a lot of them are relatively expensive! I’m hoping to show everyone that you don’t have to be a carpenter or need to take out a second mortgage on your home in order to end up with a nice composter in your yard. As you might guess (based on the “part I” bit), this is going to be an ongoing series here on the blog since there are plenty of different options out there and I want to given the topic the attention it deserves.

In my opinion, the ultimate DIY composter is one that you build with used/recycled materials – not only will this save you a lot of money, but it’s obviously more environmentally responsible as well. The homemade compost bin idea I came across today is a perfect example of how you can make a really nifty composter using scrap lumber – in this case, shipping skids. Truth be told, they actually purchased their skids, but I’m sure you could also find some used ones relatively easily.

I’ve actually been trying to think of different ways to use skids in this manner, but I didn’t get very far with it so I’m happy to learn from those who have!

Without further ado, here is a link to the post in question: DIY Compost Bin

I highly recommend you check it out if you are looking for a very easy homemade composter design – they’ve also included some great photos. The authors claim they ‘aren’t even remotely handy’ so that has me feeling good about my chances of being able to build one of these – something I definitely want to do!
😆

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that for now. In my next installment I’ll chat about the compost bin I somehow managed to build myself (pictured above) a couple summers ago.

[tags]diy, do it yourself, homemade composter, homemade compost bin, wood pallets, make a compost bin, making a compost bin[/tags]

Written by Compost Guy on April 30th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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