How to Build an Easy DIY Compost Bin
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2024
- Here's a simple compost bin build you can make with wood from a local hardware store, or even DIY it from pallets. It's an extension of the classic 3-bin hot composting system, to add two more bins. This size works well for us at the Epic Homestead due to the size of our garden, and the 5th bin is a great potting soil / finished material storage as well.
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Single Bin Design (to add more bins, add more side panels)
Back
All pieces cut to 3' long
(6) 1x6” boards
(1) 2x4” boards
2 Side panels
All pieces cut to 3' long
(4) 2x6” boards
(4) 2x4” boards
(10) 1x6” boards
(4) 2x2” boards
Front
(6) ea 1x6” boards cut to fit front, roughly 32” each
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Do I need to be careful about pressure treated wood? My husband is concerned about the wood rotting, but we also don’t want harmful chemicals leaching into the compost….
@@ericaduckwall5477I don’t know if you guys ever decided which was best, if so, then great! If not then, untreated is best, but if you want to treat the wood, then you can use “Garden Box Armor”, it’s plant based non toxic and safe for plants!
@@ericaduckwall5477 normal lumber will last quite awhile....just like the raised wooden beds. Like them, you could give everything a coat of boiled Linseed Oil....looks a bit better and helps protect the wood.
I would suggest you have them a couple of feet away from that back wall so you can keep weed free and you can check for vermin. Since a 6-inch gap would make a inviting rat run and making impossible for maintenance around the back.
As someone who has been watching you since the beginning, I have to say, I am so impressed at not just where your channel is, how far your garden and homestead is, but at your video quality! I think you can really tell how far a channel has come when their videos start to look like a TV show, and I have to say, I am so happy for you! Thanks for inspiring all of us to keep gardening and teaching us how to do it efficiently with what we have!
If you stained the wood in boiled linseed oil it will enhance the rot resistance of the wood and still be food safe.
We were thinking of that, or the shou sugi ban technique of charring the wood!
Good plan
@@epicgardening NOT Boiled, you need raw, Boiled linseed oil has metals and other chemicals that make it toxic
@@epicgardening oooo do that!! Painting linseed oil is what I have done to my beds. But it would be cool to see how the carting method is done. And because it’s different.
Just dont throw way your oily rags
I had a friend retire from a pallet store with quite a few of those heavy duty plastic pallets.... needless to say he's a good friend.
Ultra cheap way I made mine was 1/2” hardware cloth at 3 ft tall. Measure out to around 10 ft long for the circumference and boom! 3 ft volume cylinder using zip ties. I bought 100 ft at $150 ish last year.
Edit: I’m 5’3” and I can manage turning the compost into another bin next to it. When it gets close to the bottom, it’s easy to lift the bin and then pitchfork the rest of the compost in to the new bin. It would likely be much easier to use the slat system but if you don’t have a lot of money and have a lot of compost to make, this method is great.
I got a ton of hardware cloth and chicken wire clearanced out a few months ago (like 90%off!). This is a GREAT IDEA as I am not much taller and trying to figure out the best way to go about an easy-to-flip solution. Thanks!
Building a series of bins will accelerate and contain the process, but what you did is great. If you layer right and allow it to sit, you will get compost eventually.
I love these short, sharp, & straight to the point videos! I’m super jealous of your compost set up now! Enjoy!
Made a 3 bay this length with pallets, and t-posts. Has worked great. Cut some scrap OSB for the front slats.
How did you use the t posts? In the inside corners for rigidity?
Use raw (not boiled) linseed oil to protect that wood! I saw another comment to use Boiled linseed, don't, it contains metals and chemicals to help it dry faster, that make it toxic around food. Raw linseed oil is perfectly safe for food
Thanks for the tip!
This is a fine project. I've also found success with burying compost on a rotating basis. Divide garden into quadrants and bury in one of those quadrants each year to give that space a rest. Worms will migrate in and out of that space and bring their castings to the rest of the garden.
YES!! Average home owner should highly consider this!!
😊Cool, but too much work for me to do, I just compost in place, and that gives me more room to grow tons of food, and that works for us
Sounds great guys!
Nice!
I am going to show my husband this video. He is plannung to set up a compost station for me this Fall. Can't wait to see how you plant to fill it and how the five areas will wirk.
For the front, I would ensure more play than just the 1”… maybe 1.5”. when all the wood gets wet, it will swell, both the side braces and the front boards. Also, depending on if you treat it or not, the front boards will warp, again making it quite difficult to replace the board.
That’s nice!! I have a wire bin but I like the look of yours better. Making the space not only functional but beautiful is my goal.
the mural looks amazing 😍
a month ago i came across 13 pallets that were wrapped in plastic. turned them into my 3 bin setup. so much nicer to have than piles. great video keep up the good work
That was a great find! I did the same about 3 years ago. Wish I could do five just for extra storage but don't have the room.
They “fell off a truck”.
It looks nice. Idea, if need more airflow. Put a spacer in there between the slats as you slide them in to make a gap if it needs more air.
I like that you say epic in front of everything
What great timing! I plan to do this very soon. Good job guys
I love the 5 bin style.
I used the cedar picket boards for the front for the slats
Beautiful job! My small garden makes do with a single commercially purchased plastic "machine." Thanks for the video!
hey, just wanted to say the editor is doing a great job!
I'll pass it on!
I noticed the same! Some fancy video and editing work. And the fancy Jaques entrance at the start was a nice touch!
Finally!!!!!! Love it!
This is cool. Thinking about getting one off of Amazon before its time to rake fall leaves. Getting tired of paying for raised bed soil and worm castings.
I was just thinking of building my own, good timing
Great video, very inspiring! Thanks for sharing good work! I wish you a wonderful day!👍
Looks Great! I need one badly, I will also send this link to my husband.😂
Wow this is amazing
Thank you so much for the video! 💜🔮🌱🐾
Awesome good sharing dear 👌💖
@4:40 new garden helper is cute 😄
Heck yeah epic is back!!!!
I would recommend charring the wood x
the only place to get a u post in NYC is from the street signs, that say no parking.
Useful, thank you.
nice compost bin
for anyone looking to cut corners on cost, a fence picket is ~$2 and is a 1x6" @6 ft long. You can cut them in half and save a few dollars on your panels
Oh yeah! Love these 👍❤
If I can get this man to just build 2, I'd be happy. Sending him the link to this video now.
😂💯
Awesome!!!
Great Video as Always! ALSO,
If you bought that Miter Saw within the last two years (or so) check if it's part of the Group that got recalled. Dewalt is offering a kit where you can replace the affected part. More info on their website.
Thanks, will do!
I would have put down a thin strip of landscape fabric topped with pavers or gravel in the space at the back between the fence and the bins to keep weeds and sapling trees from growing back there. I would also make the lowest courses of everything out of redwood and/or cedar, the rest can be Douglas fir.
Some great adjustments here
Have you thought about putting pavers underneath the corners? That way you have a barrier between the bottom and the ground. It might slow down the rotting of the wood at those contact points?
Love the idea!
Nice design. I have several old pallets that I may use to build something similar, but entirely for free. I don't think I'll even need to take them apart (I'll just hinge the ones on the front.
0:21 YASSSSSS, gimme that retro film feel, Kevin & Jacques. Very very nice.
Also, I feel like there should be mini-series segments titled "TOPIC with Kevin & Jacques" It just has a nice flow to it and feels a little funny too. "Cooking with Kevin & Jacques" "Composting with Kevin & Jacques" etc :D
Fantastic! I like how straight to the point you are. Now, I have a question. Have you seen the Lomi Compost? I see sponsored people loading it up with green scraps in the evening and taking out dirt by the morning... How is that possible? Black magic? Do you know? Have you heard anything about it?
That mural with the chicken, cactus, and looks to be maybe babka is pretty cool.
Yep babka is on!
Great build! Looking forward to your next videos on compost. I'd love some guidance on what weeds and what crops with which diseases/pests would be OK to add to the compost and which you should avoid. (I guess that depends on whether the compost gets hot?)
We'll do that soon!
Don't use just any pallets people. Make sure they don't have insecticide/herbicides infused into the wood. There are codes on the bottom or sides to let you know what's what.
Truly epic
Up cycle pallets is more eco-friendly as well as cheaper if not free!
As mentioned :)
I love how Jacques appears like the Wicked witch of the west in a puff of smoke.
Hooray Jacques got a name graphic!
Love your bins. I think I will steal your idea, but with a slight change. I won't use a 2x4 across the bottom. I think I will use Trex or something like Trex elevated a couple of inches on bricks or stepping stones.
Smart!
I bet you could have used the U-channels both to anchor to the ground and to slide your front slats into!
Hey, woodworker here who likes to garden, please tell me the cabinet screws you used are rated for outdoor use
I'll need to check!
Nice work!! We had a 3 bay pallet system at our last house that seemed to work pretty well. This time we just want to add the front sliding panels to keep everything together. Thanks for the video!! 👍🏻😃
Hey guys my name is Dillon MacDonald. I have been a union carpenter for about 6 year. Before that I was a rat carpenter for a summer building decks and fences. Before that I worked at a treatment facility for the company that owes yellow wood for about 2-1/2 years. I would strongly recommend "ground contact" treated lumber or possibly "weather shield" treated lumber with decking screws. Western red cedar would work if you can find it but I would not spend the money for a compost bin. If you're made of money composite lumber and the appropriate screws would be best.
I just made one i used 7 pallets to make it good thing about it you can get them for free at some stores.
Not for everyone but I love the look. Something I would definitely do in my garden.👍
since you used expensive Doug/Fir to last a long time you should have used zinc coated outdooor use screws as well the cabinet screws will rust and break in about 2 years for cheapskates, freebee pallets are usually 3ft x 3ft so make a perfect size bin just stacked together as is
Just build bigger chicken coop and let them compost for you, faster cleaner, and added fertilizer 😁
Very nice. Are you going to put roofs or a top cover on? I’m in western Pa so I have to cover them. The way I did it is not perfect but for now it works. I did post a few videos on my channel about my compost bins. Would love your opinion of the setup……
For a cheaper build use some cedar fence pickets..Great video..Keep Crushing It!! Stay HUMBLE, Stay HUNGRY, Stay FOCUSED...~The Jarhead Entrepreneur
2:08 @Epic Gardening Kevin, For pallet-bin composting set up since you did talk about it for 30 seconds:
it's really important for SAFETY if you could PLEASE clarify for people that they NEED to ONLY use pallets that CLEARLY have a "HT" stamp on them (HT=heat-treated) and not other lettering stamps. Many pallets are very dangerous, unsafe, and toxic to compost in or grow food in or have soil touching, with intent to grow food.
Other types of pallet treatments, besides HT, are done with toxic chemicals that can and will leach into compost, soil, and food.
If it's HT, it's typically not treated with something else as well. If there's no label at all or the label is unclear, skip it. If it's something else than HT, either skip it or research it well and make a decision.
If needed, you can pin this message, update your pin, maybe reupload the video with an edit, etc or however you want to handle this. But please please please see this message and clarify that info for your large following (of which I am one loyal Northern Canadian follower myself).
Good point. I used heat treated wood around the garden They don't last as long if not soaked in something like a eco wood seal.
Hi there! I have an important question. At the start of the season we bought bulk compost and stored it in lidded trash cans. Then forgot about it. Well now we want to use it in a new rose garden bed and it smells vile because there was no air holes 🙈 is this now not safe to use? Will it damage my new roses?
Can you go through the next steps? What are the next bins for? How are they used?
Wouldn't use pallets in case they are treated with chemicals (some are, some aren't). There is a "garden seal" you can put on it that may help prevent seepage into soil/compost but why risk it.
This video came at the most perfect time. I have some questions… If you had a choice of any spot around your garden where is the best spot? North, south, east, west? How much sun or shade is appropriate? I’m on 7 acres and just starting with a 20x30 garden on south east side of my house. Does it matter how much sun and wind exposure the bins get. I should mention I’m in NY zone 5b so weather is severe at times.
We did N to S with about 70% sun exposure
I did mine in mostly shade since I didn’t want it to dry out too much. The trees will build roots under the compost though if you do it too close to any trees.
Nice video, tempted to build one of these. Next questions: how to actually use the bins / fill them / turn the compost. And the ultimate question: how long does it take to get nice usable compost?
Depends on how often you turn it. Check out Perma Pasture Farms CZcams channel where they make compost in 18-19 days. But you’re turning that sucker every other day. I did a modified version of what they do and turned my pile like once every two weeks and got compost in like 3 months.
I agree with umiluv. It depends on how fast you need the compost. Berkeley 18 day compost is something I do but yes, it's work but well worth it.
I don't know where you are in San Diego, but we have a rat problem in La Mesa. We had to get rid of my dad's compost bin because it was just a feast for them. Now we're trying to learn to put food waste in the green bins.
Perhaps you can make one that is more hardware cloth than wood and just have wood for the strength of frame? It would get tons of airflow and should be much harder to break in. But it would also need a wire bottom and a raisable roof panel with a latch which wouldn't be too bad to build.
I seen a video of a lady building a large wooden stall with roofs on hinges to protect it from getting waterlogged and infested with rats or raised by raccoons.
My wood bins rotted out within 2 years. I have rebuilt using cement blocks …had to do that also for my raised beds…I’m getting to old to keep redoing and wood is to expensive now…
I feel you...
add 3 to 6 inch pvc pipe, with holes drilled, from one side the other for airflow
How would you suggest to align it? Are you just talking about across the back and cut holes in the sides of the stalls to feed it through? I'm not exactly sure how to picture it. I'm planning on building a 3 stall version in the next few weeks and have heard others mention PVC for airflow but they don't describe how.
Using the screws in a sawtooth pattern instead of a straight line will help the bin last longer.
When you mentioned about placing it you didn't mention why you placed it there did you place it there so it'll be partially in the shade or mostly in the shade?
It'll be in sun for 70% of day
super helpful videos on composting. I think I'm going to attempt to build one from pallets this weekend. how do you incorporate chicken manure into your piles, if at all? If I'm following Jacques's advice of 50/50 greens/browns for example, which category does the chicken manure fall under and how would you layer it in?
Manure fresh is a hot green
I may have missed this in the video, but why 5 bins? I typically see 3 bay systems.
More space for size of my garden, and storing materials like extra soil!
Yaaaas
I grow my plants on a terrace in various containers. My compost bin is literally a large bucket with waste continuously chucked into and left to decompose xD
Occasionally mix it/turn it around with a thick branch. I know there's more to composting, especially to get a dry version, but we dig out and add the stinky, wet mass to soil as and when needed and it does work for now hehe
What does it take for the rotting mass in a bucket to turn into a dried out compost? I'm curious
Doing a vid soon on building your first pile!
@@epicgardening Wohoo !
Nice build👍 it looks great. I got my compost system built last winter and it makes life much nicer (I bet you’ll end up wondering why you didn’t do it sooner 😂)
I went with a scaled down version of Charles Dowding’s with the roof since we get so much rain in the winter. Bonus is if I have an empty bay I have a place to keep the wheel barrow dry over winter (seems unlikely though, I might have to build a wheel barrow addition 😋)
I considered the roof as well!
It definitely adds to the cost, but it holds the front posts well and looks very nice 😊
I'm curious about why you chose 5 bins instead of the usual 3? What do you plan to do with the 5 bins?
Personally, I would have put hardware cloth underneath to keep vermin out. Also on the sides...those slots were definitely big enough to let mice in.
Love it. Noticed your chicken coop too...I'd very much like the building plan! Or to know where you purchased it or from what book.
I know you're busy. I'm hoping to hear back from you.
The coop is from Carolina Coops, there are videos on the Epic Chicken Coop.
Carolina Coops!
Douglas Fir will 100% rot man. You gotta use redwood for outdoors
Yep that'd be the higher quality option.
God I just love the Naruto references within the editing.
Will
You add a worm bin in one of them slots?
Perhaps!
How do you keep a compost bin during winter months. And protect from animals
What if you coated the bottom wood with bed lining spray. Like Rhino coating in the back of truck beds?
Could but would rather use something natural like linseed oil
I want to find something subtle I can put outside of my apartment's window (i'm at ground level) so I'm not just chucking food waste into the bin, but also not having the apartment owners cracking down on my head for composting in the yard 😂
Does your area have termites? I had to build mine with concrete blocks.
Fortunately no
Safety flip flops for extra precautionary measures
Is this all the material needed?
You need to do shou sugi ban to preserve the wood!
Want to!
Three car tyres boom a bin
Can I paint the wood with a wood preservative?
Linseed oil is good!
Nice saving some CO2 too
Is an open-top bin at risk of attracting critters, especially with all the food scraps?
I'm in southern Wisconsin, would plastic bins work better in my climate?
Wood will still work!
Do you have a video showing this chicken coop build?