My DIY Compost Bin, My Store Bought One Gave Way
I’m pretty sure this isn’t the most talked about topic, or the most exciting topic but it’s the DIY project I tackled this week. I’ve had the same compost bin for about 15 years. It was a mothers day gift from my son, yes I know I like strange gifts.
It’s worked great but last week it finally gave way. The entire bottom broke loose and everything fell out. Sadly I had hubby scoop it up with the bobcat and drop it into our big trash dumpster.
I was now on the search for a new one. I really wanted one like I had before, mine was similar to the one in photo 3. Wow the cost for a sturdy one like I was looking for was around $450. I have no intentions of paying that much. I could actually buy a lot of compost for that amount of money.
On average I have around 2 gallons of kitchen compost a day so I really need a place to put it. I recycle everything I can, burn the papers, and compost the food scraps so I would really miss a compost bin.
After searching local and online I decided the bins in my price range were made inferior to what I had. Most of them now have plastic hinges and that wouldn’t hold up long under Michigan weather so I decide to improvise and make a free bin with things I had hanging around in the shed.
I used a small gage wire and formed it into a circle and held it in place with landscape pins. Then I formed another circle larger than the last one, this was made from leftover fence my Dad gave me, and I held that in place with landscape pins also. Hubby drove two stakes for me to keep the circle shape of each wire form.
Lastly I started filling it up with my garden scraps. I decided to add the second larger circle around the first wire circle to keep the dogs from reaching in to snack on the compost. I’m sure this won’t be as effective as the previous one I had but it’s worth giving it a try over the winter. And the best part was, it’s FREE!
And here is where I keep it. Nestled behind the chicken coop, just tucked into the weeds. It’s the perfect walking distance from the house, yet just far enough there’s no detectable odor near the cabin.
