DIY Compost Bin Out of Pallets

Each year, I try to tackle something new. It's become a very fulfilling way of life for me. This year, I decided to create my own compost bin. 

I started by heading to our local library, where I checked out the book Composting by Liz Ball, and read up on the ins and outs of composting. According to the book, there are two kinds of compost piles: simple and managed. Most gardeners fall somewhere in between. I think I will lean a bit towards simple because I don't like the idea of having another thing to manage all the time, but who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind once I get going.

Compost bin with some of the boards in front

Process

I looked online at compost bin options but ended up deciding to build my own for free out of pallets. I didn't have a super detailed plan going into building it. I just picked up some discarded pallets from our local Ace Hardware, and got to work slapping them together. 

Based on my reading, I wanted my bin to fill a few requirements:

• 3x3 dimensions
• Good airflow
• Removable front
• Covered top

The future location of our compost bin. 

I aimed for my dimensions to be roughly 3'x3'. According to the book I read, 3x3 or 5'x5' are ideal sizes for efficient composting. Since I don't have a ton of space to work with I opted for 3'x3'. This also gives me more wiggle room if I ever decide to add another bin. 

Compost needs carbon (browns), nitrogen (greens), air, and moisture. I added some extra boards to the pallets to keep the compost contained, but left some gaps so that it gets good airflow. 

Starting to take shape

I also rigged it up so that I could board up the front, but still easily remove the boards for turning. I added a board vertically to both sides of the front with a piece of wood as a spacer so I could slide in boards horizontally to contain the compost.

Side view of my setup for the front of the bin

Another angle of the vertical board with a spacer

The last thing I did was add a tarp to cover the top. This will help hold on moisture, and keep it from getting too soggy if it rains. I hammered in some nails to hook the tarp onto, and added some bungee cords as well for extra insurance. It gets pretty dang windy here. 

Bin with tarp attached

Nail to hook the tarp onto

I'm excited about this setup because it is pretty simple, but with also allow me to be a little more hands-one if I want to. The 3'x3' shape will (hopefully) allow it to heat up a bit for faster composting, and the removable boards in front will allow me to turn it, and/or remove finished compost from the bottom. I can also easily add a second bin if I decide I want to, but I wanted to start with just one. 

Equipment Used

I don't have many power tools, so I just used a Sawzall to cut the pallets to the size I wanted. I also used a Sawzall to cut the nails holding the pallets together so I could get some individual boards for the front, and so I could add a few extra boards to fill the gaps in the sides. My husband tried hammering the boards apart, but that just ended up splitting the wood. Getting the Sawzall in between two pieces of wood is also kind of tedious, so if you have a better way of separating individual boards from pallets, I'd love to hear it! I used a drill with some heavy duty screws I had left over from another project to put it all together and voilà! My very own DIY Compost bin, for FREE! (Ok I did order the tarp to go on top, but you don't technically NEED the tarp.)

The summer will be the trial run for this setup so I'll update you with another blog post to let you know how it went, or if I needed to make any adjustments.

Happy Composting!