We had a pile of pallets sitting around the property doing nothing, so we turned them into a three-bin compost system.
Seven pallets, a handful of deck screws, and an impact driver. Whole thing took about five minutes per bin. We placed it right at the edge of our garden and close to the house — kitchen scraps go straight into the compost, finished compost goes straight into the garden beds. No hauling anything across the property.
The three-bin setup is simple but intentional. You fill the first bin, then start on the second while the first one is breaking down. By the time you're filling the third, the first bin should be ready to use. Keeps the cycle moving without any downtime.
We also patched up a few gaps where the pallets were dinged up — just scrap wood screwed over the openings so soil doesn't spill out. Nothing fancy, but it works.
The one thing we're still figuring out is moisture management. Composting needs moisture, but too much rain leaches out nutrients. We have some leftover roofing panels we could use as covers, or we could just leave the bins open and water them during dry stretches. Still experimenting — open to suggestions if anyone's found something that works well.
If you've got access to free pallets and garden beds that need feeding, this is about as straightforward a project as it gets.
by MichaelKummer
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