Compost Bin

[tdenny]

Okay I did a search and came up with alot of info about compost but what I'm really looking for is the perfect compost bin design. My requirements are simple. I need to be able to use my tractor to manage the pile, and I don't want to spend much money on this project. I'm sure one of the creative minds out here has come up with something clever. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Thanks.

 

[theboman]

Perfect and cheap...ain't goona happen.
Wood pallets are your best bet for your needs. You can use a couple and make it wide enough for the FEL and best of all you should be able to pick some up around the area for free.

 

[PhilNH5]

I am with Bo on this. I have two bins. One is a nice store bought plastic bin. We use that for kitchen scraps 'cause you can secure it to keep out critters and my own dogs. The other is a bunch of pallets held together at the corners with wire. I use it for all lawn refuse. Ain't as pretty as the plastic bin but the compost comes out just fine. And pallets were free. Though I did have to wrap it with chicken wire to keep the afore mentioned dogs from sticking there heads between the slats.
Up intil recently I turned it with a spading fork. This weekend I checked and my BX2200 bucket will fit in there. So no more hand turning.

Phil

 

[gobbler]

I use the pallets also, drive some t-posts in and slip the pallets over them. When one starts getting ugly looking or I tear one up with my fel, I just slide if off and another goes in its place.

Jim

I just thought of the one my neighbor built a couple of years ago. He found some guy replacing a bunch of decking. Asked the guy if he could tote it off. It was all 5/4 PT that was about 10 years old. He figured that all the chemicals had probably leached out, so he used it for his bin. I don;t know anything about PT and what chemicals are in it, so you might want to check before you use it.

 

[tdenny]

Phil, Bo

Thanks for the replies. I guess I should have stipulated that I don't mind spending money on the project I am just trying to avoid an arm and a leg - as it's tough to operate the tractor with only 1 of each. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

The spot I've picked out for my compost pile is not out of sight so I'd prefer it to be something at least somewhat fairly pleasing to look at. Do you guys have any pictures of your setups? Thanks again.

 

[theboman]

Well then use concrete blocks. It'll look better than pallets and the price is not bad.

You may want to consider a concrete bin, just build your forms to size and pour away.

1 x whatever is cheap enuff too to build a compost bin. Stay away from the treated stuff there's chemicals harsh on things, I read about that somewhere online...maybe the farmers almac.

Many a choices available.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

At my work, we just throw it away in a cleared area and when it gets high with brush and stuff, my boss's husband mows it and you repeat the process. He's done that for many years now. He had to clear a road for the landscape truck and when he did that, he dug it out with his backhoe and brought the level down to it's original ground level and he had a lot of composted materials. Now he mixes it in with his soil when he's making it and now we have nice black soil to sell to customers. We however have a landscape crew so the brush and weeds and whatever are continous, plus stuff from the nursery. That's how things are done around here. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Blake
WA

 

[JerryG]

I compost on a fairly big scale. And yes, my compost bins are made from treated 2x10's with 4x4 posts. If you do a search for university sites on composting you will see that they all recommend treated timber. You don't want to use solid concrete side walls. The reason is that the material needs to breath to be able to compost. My bins have a one inch space between each sidewall 2x10.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

FYI
Chromated copper arsenate( as in arsenic) or CCA is the chemical used in treated lumber. Check out www.cpsc.gov/phth/cca.html for some information. One thing mentioned there “According to the National Academy of Sciences, long-term exposure to arsenic increases the risk of lung, bladder, and skin cancer over a lifetime”. I wouldn’t use it for my compost or raised beds; anything I'm going to eat.
CCA is being phased out but I don’t know what the alternative chemicals are. Be safe and use stone , block, un-treated lumber or wire cages. As stated above you'll need air so the pile will compost quickly.

Good Luck
Dog

 

[fractal]

Ahh, the art of composting. I have spent hundreds of hours studying the subject. I came to the conclusion that doing it "right" is only for the very dedicated. You need controlled amounts of brown and green. Fundamentally useless for someone like me who has almost nothing but green 10 months of the year and nothing but brown for the other two.

I have probably tried every composting technique known to man but unless you have ample supplies of both brown and green then you are going to fail as miserably as I have.

I do keep a small pile going just because it breaks my heart to think of wasting that rabbit enriched pine bedding or chicken enriched straw. I just dump it in a pile in the corner with equal amounts of lawn clippings and every couple of months move the pile over a bit with the FEL. I tried mixing it with the tiller and think that made it worse. Just moving the pile every few months seems to work.

BTW, one thing I read and it agrees with what I have experienced. Do NOT put your compost pile anywhere near your garden.. It attracts all sorts of things you don't want near your garden. Don't ask me how I know /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif