LumberJocks

Composter

Project by Olaf Gradin posted 102 days ago 330 views 5 times favorited 16 comments Add to Favorites
Composter Composter Composter Click the pictures to enlarge them

I have maintained a growing heap of compost in the back yard for a few years now. I had originally simply fenced off an area of 16 square feet with plastic chicken wire and T-Posts. Our dog was able to get in under the fence pretty easily to scavenge some tasty morsels out of the stinkin’ pile. I finally took a weekend to build a proper composting bin just recently.

I got the plans out of an outdoor projects magazine I had laying around. It’s essentially just a very small fenced in area with removable slats. I buried the posts 2’ (post-hole digging isn’t exactly a party) while keeping them [mostly] plumb and squared to each other. Then it’s a matter of attaching the rail and dropping 45° angled slats in. The hardest part of the whole project was digging holes. The next hardest was avoiding the grand diversity of creatures that had made this pile their home. Hornets, yellow jackets, and creepy-crawlies were abundant among them. It was the watermelon I threw in the heap that attracted so many hornets. A note to those that might try this project, you’re perhaps better off building it on fresh ground rather than attempting to build it around pre-existing compost!

-- It takes a viking to raze a village. &mdash Blog'r: http://www.gradin.com


16 comments so far

View RobS's profile

RobS

1127 posts in 844 days


posted 102 days ago

Nice work. Yes, any time I’ve ever rebuilt a compost surround, I’ve been fortunate enough to have enough room to pick a new spot.. Good lesson learned.

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

12282 posts in 698 days


posted 102 days ago

great job!
I like the angled slats.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

View woodnut's profile

woodnut

126 posts in 589 days


posted 101 days ago

A quick question about compost. Can you use sawdust in the compost pile? I ask this becouse I was thinking of ways to use my sawdust other than throwing it over the hill.

-- F.Little

View juniorjock's profile

juniorjock

358 posts in 303 days


posted 101 days ago

I don’t think saw dust would be good for a compost pile. It tends to feed off the nitrogen and pretty much use it all up. There’s been lots of posts about this you you’d like to search it. Nice job on the bins. Lots of stuff that goes in the trash can be turned to black gold. If you don’t think this stuff works, try it for a year or so.

-- Make things with wood.

View RAH's profile

RAH

326 posts in 414 days


posted 101 days ago

Pretties compost pile I ever saw.

-- Ron Central, CA

View Dean's profile

Dean

40 posts in 113 days


posted 100 days ago

Looks like a good solution, and probably made that corner of the yard a better place (except in the dog’s opinion of course).

Gotta love your signature…

-- "Skol, Vikings"

View Olaf Gradin's profile

Olaf Gradin

58 posts in 376 days


posted 100 days ago

Despite the research on sawdust in the compost bin, I do dump mine in. As large a pile as I have, I can’t imagine it’s depriving it of all the available nitrogen. That, and keeping it turned is a big part of composting. If you do that, I have to imagine that you’re able to keep a better mixture of chemical ingredients.

-- It takes a viking to raze a village. &mdash Blog'r: http://www.gradin.com

View Olaf Gradin's profile

Olaf Gradin

58 posts in 376 days


posted 100 days ago

Skål, Dean!

-- It takes a viking to raze a village. &mdash Blog'r: http://www.gradin.com

View HokieMojo's profile (online now)

HokieMojo

415 posts in 265 days


posted 97 days ago

i wonder if there would be a way to plant some nitrogen fixing plants around the sides and back? Just something that popped into my head.

View juniorjock's profile

juniorjock

358 posts in 303 days


posted 97 days ago

Olaf, I’m just wondering what your dog likes so much in the compost? When my dogs get a chance to get close to mine, they love to sniff around and dig some, but I’ve never seen them eating anything out of the pile.
- JJ

-- Make things with wood.

View brunob's profile

brunob

1391 posts in 707 days


posted 97 days ago

I use one third sawdust in my compost bin. Been doing it for years. Works fine.

-- Bruce from Central New York

View Napaman's profile

Napaman

2092 posts in 614 days


posted 97 days ago

very nice…I need to build one…and this looks just like one I saw in a magazine article that was sent to me…great job on it…

Did the plan call for such a depth in the posts or did you just decide to sink them that far…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...119 days to sanity...

View Olaf Gradin's profile

Olaf Gradin

58 posts in 376 days


posted 97 days ago

@ juniorjock: My dog eats apples and grapes, so she’s good for anything she can scavenge. I’m not really sure what she eats out of there. She may just role in the bugs or something, but she tends to stink afterward!

@ Napaman: The plan did call for the depth. You could build it stationary as I did, or portable with some slight modifications (albeit less digging).

-- It takes a viking to raze a village. &mdash Blog'r: http://www.gradin.com

View thetimberkid's profile

thetimberkid

1684 posts in 240 days


posted 95 days ago

Great job!

Thanks for the post

Callum

-- Look great, get your TTK merchandise now! http://www.printfection.com/thetimberkid/ Check out my site http://thetimberkid.blogspot.com/

View Will Mego's profile

Will Mego

36 posts in 250 days


posted 40 days ago

Ideally, make layers of materials such as a woody, dry layer (newsprint, which has soy ink these days) or dry leaves, woodchips or sawdust, and a green layer such as food waste, green plants, etc. Continue to build in layers. Depending on climate, you might or might not really need to turn. Also depending on whether or not you want to compost hot or not. If it’s dry, you might want to slightly dampen each layer with a sprinkle of water. But in the end, no matter what you do it will probably turn out fine in the long run.

-- "That which has in itself the greatest use, possesses the greatest beauty." - Unknown Shaker

View SCOTSMAN's profile

SCOTSMAN

539 posts in 122 days


posted 40 days ago

everyone needs a hobby I haven’t too much strength to do much gardening these days but my neighbour helps me lots good luck with your compost heap regards Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

You must be signed in to post the comments.

Your Online Shop - Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated - Your Woodworking Showcase - 3 Ways To Help, Financially - Your Woodworking Community

Woodworking StoreApparel StoreMake a Donation
Bookmark And Share This Page
  • View all advertisers
  • Advertise with us

DISCLAIMER: All views and comments posted by members are not necessarily those of LumberJocks.com or of those working on the site.

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

HomeRefurbers.com

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

GardenTenders.com :: gardening showcase