I’m moving to a new house and want a composter that would look nice (currently have a tumbler). Not great at diy so wanted to get a wooden one that can be put together with minimal diy! Saw this online. One thing that seemed potentially problematic was that the side panels cannot be removed. Would this make it really annoying to remove compost?
by LouisTherouxBakes
5 Comments
It might not be too bad. It looks like you can remove boards on at a time from the top. So the way you would turn this is to remove the top boards, assemble them next to the box, dig the compost over to this new box, remove boards as you get to them and add them to the new box. This of course assumes that the boards does not swell and stick together too tight. You might need a hammer to disassemble and assemble the box every time. But if not then this looks as a cool design.
The only slight improvement I might want to make is to add some more space between the planks to let more air into the pile. But this depends on a lot of factors.
Allow me to make a modest plea for cinderblock. It is a stronger material and is largely water and waste impervious.
The “looks nice” aspect of the composter is not going to last long from the perspective of a homeowner for any wood based composter.
Because you’re digging down into it to turn it, I find i put a lot of wear on the walls of the composter and the turning fork.my cinderblock walls mean i don’t have to replace rotting or splintering wood, nothing short of a bear can get into it, and you can stand on it more safely for spontaneous nitrogen injections
No it just takes some elbow grease, grunting and effort.
Essentially you push/roll it over. Set the crate next to your pile, then shovel in compost to turn it. I used to have the same set up, until one time I went to push it over to turn the pile and destroyed it and it fell apart.
If it were me, I’d make 2 different 3-sided bins out of the exact same kit. Just use some kind of stakes, rebar, or something pounded into the ground to keep the sides from pushing out.
Then your pile isn’t so tall you can’t turn it, and you can also move your further-along compost into a finished/finishing side, and put your new/fresh materials into the other side.
Yes it would make it horribly tedious to turn the pile and for me that’s a hard no