Compost Bin
It’s easy to collect garden waste in a composter in the garden. As a reward you get lots of beautiful black soil.
The transformation is speeded up when a large number of small agricultural workers – worms and other visible and invisible insects – take up residence in the compost.
You’ll find a wealth of information on composting on the internet.
Construction
These compost bins are made with one long back panel, plus five smaller, equal panels for the fronts, side and partition walls. The panels are held together by pins dropped through screwed eyes (like door pin hinges), so you can just lift the pins out to open each panel.
There are two equal compartments, one for green waste, and the other for longer term composting. Length x width x height: 1,990 x 1,028 x 745mm, but you can change the measurements as needed. The bins can be extended with a third section to increase the capacity of the container, or to use as temporary storage for the soil displaced while making your garden furniture. It can be sprinkled into the new compost.
To add another compartment, extend the back boards by 962mm, from 1,862mm to 2,824mm. The number of panels can then be increased from five to seven.
How To Make The Bins
First saw all the wood pieces. Mark one of the posts at 130mm intervals to position the horizontal boards. Use this post as a template. Line up the bottom board with the bottom of the post.
Measure the dimensions of the sides and check the corners are square. Screw the boards together in the order of 1 to 8, as shown.
When you’ve finished all the panels, screw in the eye screws, top and bottom, so that the rings line up (or fit the hinges). Two eye screws in one panel, one in each adjacent side, see detail A.
Set the panels in position. The surface should be level. Use some of the leftover wood, or concrete slabs under the corners. Fix the panels together by slipping pins through the eye screws. When you want to scoop out the composted soil, open one panel by taking the pins out of one side.
| Name | Dimension - mm | Length - mm (Drawing Size) | Number Of Pieces - mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use Class 3u Pressure-Treated Boards | 22 x 95 | Ca. 12 | 6 At 1862 |
| Use Class 3u Pressure-Treated Boards | 22 x 95 | Ca. 27 | 30 to 900 |
| Use Class 3u Pressure-Treated Boards | 22 x 95 | Ca. 10 | 13 A 740 |
| Galvanized Screws 50mm | 2.0 x 50 | - | Ca. 250 |
| Galvanised Screw Eyes (Or Hinges) Of An Appropriate Size | 2.0 x 8 | - | 38 |
