Build A Compost Bin

More and more gardeners are beginning to make their own compost. And it's just not the green fingered either; with compost being an easy and efficient way to rid yourself of garden and kitchen waste, plenty of people are giving it a go. It's environmentally friendly, lessening the strain on landfill and if you do have a garden full of plants, a vegetable plot or even a modest shrubbery, it's a great way to give them nutrient rich food. It's cost efficient to the point of being free, seeing as you're utilising matter you'd otherwise throw away, and it's sure to see whatever you're growing powering skyward!

If you think you could get into a bit of composting then look no further, as below you'll find instructions on how to knock together a compost bin for all your mulch needs! It'll take you an afternoon to construct and when it's done it'll help keep the garden critters at bay, you'll have a place to pop all that garden and kitchen detritus, as well as having an attractive option in comparison just to creating a heap in the corner of your yard.

Here's what you're going to need:

Materials - Three pallets, four fence posts, some hard-wearing wire, a piece of carpet or plastic sheet

Tools - Shovel, rake, a heavy mallet, a saw, wire cutters

Ok, you're ready to go...

First things first, make a space. Pick a spot that's reasonably sunny and ideally build on top of a soil base. It's good to place it on soil as it means the compost friendly bugs and worms that speed up the rotting process can get easy access. Mark out a space about a metre square, rake it if necessary, and then level it with the spade. The size is important as for the most efficient composting you need to reach critical mass, meaning that all that waste can heat up effectively. Generally a metre cubed does the job.

Next, take one of those pallets and stand in on its end at the back of your cleared patch. This is the back of your bin. Stake it with a couple of the posts at either end, slip the posts between the two layers of the pallet and it should be fairly solid. Make sure the posts are well dug in; about 12" deep is perfect.

With the back in place take the remaining two pallets and push them up against it. They should be at right angles to the back and flush. Stake the fronts of these in the same way as you did the back and the frame of your bin is complete.

All that remains is to use the wire to secure the joins. Just wrap it around tight to add greater rigidity to your bin as well as minimising any gaps that'll your lovely compost might escape through. The tarpaulin or carpet makes the lid of the bin and you can just lie that over the top.

It's an idea before composting in earnest to pop some coarser material in the base of your bin. A few twigs will do, as they create a bit of drainage that helps things along. And with that you're done. If you've got some waste ready, throw it in, your compost bin is complete and you've taken a step toward a self-sufficient lifestyle.