Some of you may be wondering “what’s Jeff been up to this year with the green thing”? Well, I’ve got a 3-part series for you straight from my backyard 2008.
Building a Compost Bin using Home Depot lumber and a couple of screws
Installing a RainBarrel to catch downspout water for garden and pool re-use
Installing a solar pool heater on the roof of your garage
Today, let’s talk compost.
Susan & I have had a small compost bin I made with some old 2×4s a couple of years ago. It was a basic design – called a “one-chamber” because that’s all there was. I’ve really loved not having to put the grass clippings out for 2 years! Also, everything organic from the kitchen has gone out to the pile daily. We got a great compost harvest the second spring but this year didn’t go as well. The pile had gotten too high and was a bear to turn (which is required for the stuff to decompose properly) with the pitchfork.
Solution: Rip the thing out and rebuild. Today I finished the compost bin (level two)! It’s a “two-chamber” design which will allow me to turn the piles more effectively by going from one side to the other, and pulling out the finished compost as it happens. I would have preferred to have done a “three-chamber” so I had a pile for only finished compost, but space did not allow for that.

I stopped at Home Depot and picked up some PT (pressure treated) 2×4s (the last ones rotted) and 1×4’s for the side slatting. I also bought some green-coated chicken wire in 24″x 25 ft (one roll – I already had 25 foot – you’ll need two rolls to build this compost bin design). I used 2″ deck screws to fasten everything together.