pallet compost bins!

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raybonz

Minister of Fire
Feb 5, 2008
6,208
Carver, MA.
Picked up some hardwood pallets last weekend and built a double compost bin, total cost about $1.00 :) .
I temporarily secured another pallet to the front with bungee cords to prevent compost from spilling out..

Ray
 

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I have done the same thing for years. Some 3/4' plastic screen on the inside.
Metal fence posts on the front then stack up boards as I fill it.
Some air pipes on the bottom. I get good compost every year.
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Empty bin:
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Pallet Ray vs Pallet Pete

zap
 
Looks good, Wish I would have seen your idea years ago before I wasted $500.00 on one of these (sucker)! Picture is from their website, But I assure you that I have one in my yard. Makes compost in 14 days...Yeah right, Damn infomercials got me again!

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Looks good, Wish I would have seen your idea years ago before I wasted $500.00 on one of these (sucker)! Picture is from their website, But I assure you that I have one in my yard. Makes compost in 14 days...Yeah right, Damn infomercials got me again!

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Thanx Cat! Actually my 1st pallet compost bin was a single that I built about 20 yrs. ago (eventually the pallets rotted and became compost as well).. The wife wanted a double bin so 5 pallets took care of that.. I like the mesh idea that the Alaskan poster added plus the air pipes.. I thought about removable boards for the open side so I will probably do that as well..

Ray
 
Racoon drive through window if table scraps are going in it.;lol That should hold some yard waste.
Yeah I have seen squirrels dining on the pile before I created the pallet contraption..

Ray
 
Dang. Didn't think about air pipes. Does that keep the stirring down? I usually fork it over every 4-5 days.
I don't mix mine since I started adding air pipes.
I add pipes about every 18" of new material added.
Works great for me.
 
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Nice job. I used to use a pallet bin, but found something simpler for me. I use a spare length of green garden wire fencing turned in a circle. Fill it up, then when you want to turn it, unhook, move 1', hook it back up, ans pitch the compost back in. Simple, never rots out, built in about 10 minutes.
 
I don't mix mine since I started adding air pipes.
I add pipes about every 18" of new material added.
Works great for me.
Great idea Dave! A coworker told me he had some 4" PVC laying around about 5' long and asked if I wanted it.. You know the answer :)

Ray
 
Nice job. I used to use a pallet bin, but found something simpler for me. I use a spare length of green garden wire fencing turned in a circle. Fill it up, then when you want to turn it, unhook, move 1', hook it back up, ans pitch the compost back in. Simple, never rots out, built in about 10 minutes.
Thanx AP! Do you any pics of your contraption to post?

Ray
 
Looks good, Wish I would have seen your idea years ago before I wasted $500.00 on one of these (sucker)! Picture is from their website, But I assure you that I have one in my yard. Makes compost in 14 days...Yeah right, Damn infomercials got me again!

View attachment 66252
They do look nice though. I've read several reports very similar to yours on some garden forums. "They Don't work" .
Most of them end up being soil storage bins that get filled with compost made from a simple compost bin like one made from pallets. :)
 
OK OK OK RAAAAYYY how the heck did I miss this thread for so long ???? Did you hide this thread from me ? ;lol

That is freakin a sweet idea Ray !

Zap why are you trying instigate a rivalry of epic purport ions you know i will win ;ex :p

Pete
 
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Racoon drive through window if table scraps are going in it.;lol That should hold some yard waste.

Yah, I quit the compost kitchen scraps thing here as it attracts too many: mice, rats, dogs, racoons, possums, skunks, squirrels, and potentially cayotes, none of which I want. I get all the free wood chips that I want from the local county and electric power line work crews, dumped wherever I want it. I compost the dense stuff (pine and fir needles) for soil amendment and I use the loose wood chips on paths for keeping the mud down. I also use any cedar chips near the house to keep the bugs down as well.

As for the composting part, a pile bigger than a yard will compost itself, starting about an hour after it is piled up. Its magic, and does it all by itself. The piles get good and hot within a week. No need for turning, confining in pallets (they are too valuable for keeping the firewood off the ground) or anything else for that matter. After a year or so the mushrooms start poking out, and I know that it is done.
 
OK OK OK RAAAAYYY how the heck did I miss this thread for so long ???? Did you hide this thread from me ? ;lol

That is freakin a sweet idea Ray !

Zap why are you trying instigate a rivalry of epic purport ions you know i will win ;ex :p

Pete
Yup Pete you're the pallet man I am not messing with you! I will add the pipes that Dave did and retainer boards or similar on the front.. Dave sure has some nice compost!

Ray
 
Yah, I quit the compost kitchen scraps thing here as it attracts too many: mice, rats, dogs, racoons, possums, skunks, squirrels, and potentially cayotes, none of which I want. I get all the free wood chips that I want from the local county and electric power line work crews, dumped wherever I want it. I compost the dense stuff (pine and fir needles) for soil amendment and I use the loose wood chips on paths for keeping the mud down. I also use any cedar chips near the house to keep the bugs down as well.

As for the composting part, a pile bigger than a yard will compost itself, starting about an hour after it is piled up. Its magic, and does it all by itself. The piles get good and hot within a week. No need for turning, confining in pallets (they are too valuable for keeping the firewood off the ground) or anything else for that matter. After a year or so the mushrooms start poking out, and I know that it is done.
Pine needles aren't good for the garden, too acidic.. We only compost vegetable matter, egg shells coffee grounds along with some muscle shells and lobster scraps.. The flies and critters clean it up and the rest breaks down.. I can get pallets fairly easy around here and have an extra 4 here now..

Ray
 
Pine needles aren't good for the garden, too acidic.. We only compost vegetable matter, egg shells coffee grounds along with some muscle shells and lobster scraps.. The flies and critters clean it up and the rest breaks down.. I can get pallets fairly easy around here and have an extra 4 here now..
Ray

I beg to differ... composted pine and fir needels are great for the garden for acid loving plants, like rhododendrons, azalias, camelias, and blueberries, all of which I grow. I have about an acre under cultivation and I have a bamboo nursery, most of which are in pots. I make my own soil mix for them. I also do a lot of cold composting, mainly to feed the worms that do my cultivating and aerating, and to mound up around fine rooted plants, like the blueberries and rhodies. Worms love coffee grounds and I dump them directly on the ground for them to dine on. But no food scraps in my yard... different methods for different applications and wants.
 
Yup Pete you're the pallet man I am not messing with you! I will add the pipes that Dave did and retainer boards or similar on the front.. Dave sure has some nice compost!

Ray

I am just kidding around Ray and I agree dave does have nice compost ! We can't do a compost pile unfortunately because of the coons and foxes around here its a real bummer. Let us know how the pallets hold up I might build a fenced one like Dave's and see what happens next year.

Pete
 
I beg to differ... composted pine and fir needels are great for the garden for acid loving plants, like rhododendrons, azalias, camelias, and blueberries, all of which I grow. I have about an acre under cultivation and I have a bamboo nursery, most of which are in pots. I make my own soil mix for them. I also do a lot of cold composting, mainly to feed the worms that do my cultivating and aerating, and to mound up around fine rooted plants, like the blueberries and rhodies. Worms love coffee grounds and I dump them directly on the ground for them to dine on. But no food scraps in my yard... different methods for different applications and wants.
The blueberries grow wild in the woods in front of the house.. We use the compost on the vegetable plants and the acid is bad for them..
Ray
 
I am just kidding around Ray and I agree dave does have nice compost ! We can't do a compost pile unfortunately because of the coons and foxes around here its a real bummer. Let us know how the pallets hold up I might build a fenced one like Dave's and see what happens next year.

Pete
Funny the racoons aren't interested but they raised hell with my trash for a long time!
Ray
 
Just out of curiosity would laying a clear tarp over the top increase the composting speed ? I would imagine the heat being held in might help !

Pete
 
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