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DIY Compost Bin

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We love tending our vegetable garden. Regular fertilizing is vital for healthy plants. Therefore we are building some easy DIY Compost Bins.

Compost provides the necessary nutrients for plants. The best part is it is a “free” organic method for amending the soil.

We use vegetable scraps and yard debris in a composter to create the best rich garden amendment.  

Last year we built a small raised bed garden that produced a small amount of fresh produce. We enjoyed it so much we decided to build a larger garden to enjoy an abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs. That means we will need more compost too.

We used a wide plastic tube that was not attractive, and it did not have good airflow.  We wanted to build our compost bin to coordinate with the other wooden structures in our yard, such as our obelisk, trellis, lanterns, hose storage, floating deck, window flower boxes, shutters, and birdhouses.

🌱Please note: You will find more amazing garden inspiration at the end of this post. 🌱

Compost Bins

Compost Bins

How To Make a Compost Bin

Building a compost bin is easy and inexpensive. 

Compost bin building supplies

Compost bin building supplies

Compost Bin Tools

Compost Bin Tools

 

 

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase from one of these links, I will make a small commission, but rest assured, you will not pay more for any products.

Compost Bin Building Supplies:

Lumber {we used cyperss}:

1x4x8 6 each

2x4x8 1 each

2x2x8 2 each

Hinges 4 each 

Handle 2 each (these are the ones we used)

Hook and eye 1 each

Lid support 1 each (this is what we used)

Polycarbonate roof panel 24×96 1 each

1-inch pan head screws 14 each

1 ¼ inch deck screws 24 each

2-inch deck screw 22 each

2 ½ inch deck screws 16 each

4-inch deck screw 8 each

½ PVC coated wire mesh 48×64 (this is the one we used)

Staples 3/8″

Exterior grade wood glue

Tools:

Cordless drill with a countersink drill bit

Impact drive with driver tips

Miter saw (this is the one I used)

Speed square

Measuring tape

Pipe clamp

Small quick trigger clamps

Multipurpose snips 

Stapler

Speed horses

Folding portable workbench

 

Building the Sides

Cut lumber to size:

  • Legs – cut four 1x4x32
  • Horizontal supports – cut six 1x4x24

To assemble the sides, lay the legs on a flat work surface. Predrill then attach the horizontal supports with 1.25″ screws (these are the ones we used) on the top of the bottom and top of the side legs.

Building the sides

Building the sides

To attach the center side horizontal support measure and mark the centers. Attach in the same manner as above.

Mark the center

Mark the center

Attach side center support

Attach side center support

Attaching Hardware Cloth {Mesh}

Using the side measurements of less than one inch for both length and width, cut the hardware mesh.

Measure and Cut hardware cloth

Measure and Cut the hardware cloth

Center the hardware cloth and begin stapling it in place, starting in the center working your way outward. 

Stapling the hardware cloth to inside of sides

Stapling the hardware cloth to the inside of the sides

Press the mesh in place to achieve a tight fit. 

Form the hardware cloth to fit tightly against the wood

Form the hardware cloth to fit tightly against the wood

 

Building the Back

Lumber cuts:

  • For the legs, cut two 1x4x32
  • Horizontal supports cut three 1x4x24

Attach legs to outside edges of the sides using 2″ deck screws.

Note: Using a pipe clamp to hold everything in place while attaching makes it easier. 

Attaching vertical boards to sides for back

Attaching vertical boards to sides for back

 

The Back Side 

We used a small trigger clamp to attach the center horizontal support (this is the one we used) to hold the board in place while attaching 2″ deck screws.

Attaching the back boards

Attaching the backboards

Measure and attach hardware cloth (mesh) to the inside back.

Building the Compost Bin Front

Lumbar cuts:

  • Cut two horizontal supports 2x4x24
  • For the legs, cut two 1x4x32

Attach front side legs to outside edges of the sides using 2″ deck screws.

Attach the supports (one flush with the top of the bin, the other in the center) using 2.5″ deck screws.

Measure, cut, and install hardware cloth to the inside area between the center and top horizontal supports.

Adding the top board to the front

Adding the top board to the front

Before building the door, we measured our bin was square (learn how here). 

 

Checking that the compost bin is in square

Checking that the compost bin is in square

Building the Door

To determine the door’s size, measure from the bottom of the center horizontal support to the bottom of the bin.

The door’s width will be the same as the bin front width. 

 

Measuring to build the door

Measuring to build the door

Cut the boards to the 

Cutting the door frame

Cutting the door frame

 

Build the door frame

Build the door frame

Measure the finished door to determine the hardware cloth size (cut the cloth 1″ smaller than the width and length measurements 

Stapling hardware mesh to door frame

Stapling hardware mesh to the door frame

Composter hardware

Composter hardware

Before attaching the door, check that it fits in the install area. 

Checking the door size

Checking the door size for DIY Compost Bin

With the door in position, use a clamp to hold it in place while installing hinges.

Clamping the door in place to attach hinges

Clamping the door in place to attach hinges

 

Installing hook and eye to side and front door

Installing hook and eye to side and front door

Door closure

Door closure

 

Lid Building

Lumber cuts:

  • For the front and the backside of the lid, cut two 2x2x24
  • The side frame pieces cut two 2x2x22.5 

 

Building the lid frame

Building the lid frame

Place your cut boards on a flat surface to assemble. Attach with 4″ deck screws. 

Measure the lid frame for the exact final measurements.  Add 1″ overall for the polycarbonate top. We used snips to cut the polycarbonate to size.

Marking the cut line for the lid top

Marking the cut line for the lid top

Predrill in the valley areas of the polycarbonate to attach 1″ pan head screws.

Drilling pilot holes

Drilling pilot holes

Attach hinges to the back of the lid. 

Adding the lid hinges

Adding the lid hinges

We added lid support (stay) to make adding composting materials easier. 

Attaching the lid support

Attaching the lid support

Lid stay holding the lid open

The lid stays holding lid open

Compost bin with lid open

Compost bin with the lid open

Compost bin

Compost bin

Indoor Compost Collection

It is easy to start composting; you can start by gathering your kitchen scraps. To collect our vegetable and fruit scraps in the kitchen, I purchased this farmhouse-style bin for our kitchen. 

What to compost:

Food scraps (fresh)

Coffee grounds

teabags

dry leaves

Yard waste

Eggshells

Grass clippings

After filling and turning the organic material in the first compost bin, it will decompose into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.

To scoop out the finished compost, you can lift the “front” door and remove compost. Adding compost to your garden beds to create rich soil for your vegetables.

🌱🌱🌱More Amazing Gardening Inspiration🌱🌱🌱

I have gathered some of my favorite bloggers to bring you lots of Garden Inspiration.   

Next on tour is my friend, Niky from The House on Silverado.  I am green with envy over her fenced garden. I would be in heaven with a gorgeous garden like this (hint, hint)!  Be sure to check it out along with all the other amazing bloggers below.

 

 

 

 

 

Do you enjoy a beautiful garden and yard? Please join me HERE for everything you will need to create a beautiful garden/yard one project at a time. 

See you soon, 

Kippi

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Anita Holland

Monday 31st of May 2021

Really cool project and very usefull. Pinned for later.

CoCo

Wednesday 21st of April 2021

This is such a creative and helpful idea, Kippi! We use a plastic one but I love the look of yours so much I might need to upgrade. It's fabulous! Hugs, CoCo

Grandma's House DIY

Monday 12th of April 2021

Thanks for sharing with us! I'll be featuring you this week when the next To Grandma's house we go link party starts!

Marie B.

Thursday 8th of April 2021

Your compost bin puts my plastic one to shame. These are some of the nicest DIY versions I've seen and a great tutorial too BTW.

Lynne

Tuesday 6th of April 2021

Beautiful job, Kippi! What a great composter and detailed tutorial! I love the idea of composting and this post is so helpful. Thank you so much for putting this hop together and for sharing this post. Pinned!

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