Building a Compost Bin

My favorite project so far is our Compost bin. We throw our kitchen scraps and yard waste into it and will use the finished compost for our vegetable garden. We chose to build a 3-bin system to handle the volume of material. We chose to build it out of cedar because it is naturally resistant to rot. It costs a little more to use cedar, but it will last longer and look better.

We built the 3-bin system shown on the University of Missouri website and the PDF instructions can be downloaded HERE. The instructions are very easy to follow. I did make a few changes such as adding a lid and using 2x2s to hold the slats from falling into the bin. The whole project only took about 2 hours.

My material list was:

Lumber-

4 - 2"x4"x12'

3 - 2"x4"x10'

2 - 2"x6"x8'

3 - 2"x2"x8'

6 - 1"x6"x8'

25'x36" 1/2" fencing

1 box of 2.5" wood screws

1 box of 1" U-nails(attach fencing)

To build the lid(optional):

2 - 4'x8' plywood

6 hinges

1/4" bolts for hinges

 Cheryl watching me struggle and taking a picture before she helps

Almost in place

Finished product with removable slats installed and leveled.