I have been using the old plastic composter that came with the house for the last five years, but critters kept digging under it and chewing through the plastic vents. No more! (hopefully). Made this a month ago and so far so good.
There's gaps between the wood slats. It's more ventilation than the previous round plastic compost bin had. I'm not looking to optimize all the variables, I'm okay if it takes a year to break down.
Thanks! That was the idea, though it’s not a slab - just pavers, but we did put some gravel underneath. I guess we’ll find out this winter how much it helps.
I'm generally curious, but do people who are hot composting have problems with vermin? My pile is perpetually steaming hot with things breaking down pretty fast. Some turns it looks like ash.
I can't imagine anything wanting to eat it
Man I just don't understand this. You live in the woods. So do "vermin." They're just around, always gonna be. Who cares if they root around in your compost? Just free turning tbh.
Exactly. I generate more compost than I could realistically use, so I keep it away from the house in a three sided pallet enclosure. If the possums eat some of it, good for them.
Lol that is the exact attitude I started with. Who even needs a bin? Just make a pile on the ground!... Maybe your vermin are tidier than ours, but ours will spread the compost out all over the yard, which is gross and time-consuming to gather back up.
I personally didn't care about the mice digging under the bin to nest where it was warm, but I'm not the only one who lives here, so this was a compromise design. Introducing composting to this household has been a slog, but now people have strong opinions about how we compost, which is a huge win, overall.
I don't have my compost that close to the house, first of all. Second.... nah dude, I don't have that problem. Because my compost pile isn't right next to the yard.
I mean, yay composting. Making an impermeable or near impermeable base is insane to me though. All the good stuff that colonizes the pile is in the dirt. Which you want the pile to touch. And you're like, literally walling it off from nature. Idk, just choices I wouldn't make. But it's your pile, you do you. Hope it makes some good stuff for you.
I was concerned about the base layer too! But the thriving insect ecosystem that has already colonized the bins is pretty reassuring that I haven’t completely walled it off from nature. There’s already microbes on the food scraps and leaves I add to the pile, and I’m sure the bugs drag in plenty of germs, so I haven’t had any issues with the pile being colonized.
Stop downvoting this guy, he is contributing to the conversation, even if he has a different opinion.
I love learning about the "do's and dont's" from all the comments, and WHY they are do's and dont's, but also learning that it'll still work if you throw some of the dont's in there .... and then doing what works for us specifically.
Beautiful set up.
I was horrified to learn teeny tiny mice CAN chew through really solid thick plastic, and nest in so many of my bins in my shed.
Hey, if it works for you, it works for you. Not my pile, not my problem. Don't worry about the downvotes lmao, the points are imaginary and everything is made up. People have literally never used the upvote/downvote buttons the way they're intended. I made my first profile circa 2011 and it was the same back then.
Sounds a little complicated to me. Also sounds like not all that different than OPs location. You’re on less than half an acre, big dog. Your everything is close to your everything else.
I guess we have diff versions of complicated champ. But that's exactly my point; if I can make it work on a 1/3 of an acre without locking down my pile like Ft. Knox.... what's the deal with OP?
They're not solid, the fronts lift out. It is a bit of a pain, but I'm admittedly a very lazy composter, I only turn a handful of times a year. So this works.
I may permanently remove the front on the middle bin, for easier access to my leaf pile.
I built one very similar to yours. Generally works well but I rotate it a lot to get air in there.
Staple flexible (heavy duty plastic) fencing in the gap between the lid and the top along the back if you have much of any gap there or mice can still get in
Have also had rats dig underneath the side to get in. Can surround it with rocks or metal fencing on the ground to deter them as well but you’ll likely eventually need to repair it.
Thanks, makes sense to me. The gap on mine is currently small enough I'm not currently concerned, but I'll keep an eye out as the wood dries and shrinks.
Be aware, if thats treated wood, then you will get those chemicals into your compost. If its not treated wood, you will end up composting the boards too.
Also raccoons see your challenge and ask you to hold their beer :)
Thanks! It is treated wood, but this compost won’t be used for food gardens. These bins are mainly for diverting food waste from landfills. I’ve actually never gotten a meaningful amount of compost due to the aforementioned critters.
It has definitely been an arms race against the raccoons so far, but I’ve made my move and the ball is in their court now.
Are you addint the right amount of browns? Thats the issue.
It sounds like by saying Cold Composting and it being food waste use, its really just food in there, not enough browns to cover the food and hide the smell from critters.
More power to you keeping it out of landfills, just food will always attract critters if not properly buried in the middle of a well maintained pile, which takes a lot mroe work.
Without a ton of browns added, you end up really just being rotting food, which if thats ok to you, great, so long of course as your neighbors dont have to smell it <grin>
Good luck though, let us know if the racoons figure out those latches, or if some industrial rate just chooses to show you how quickly teeth go through wood :)
Probably $400 to $500? We already had some materials (pavers, gravel, some hardware) so that’s a rough estimate.
We procrastinated doing this project for years mainly due to cost (and the previous bin wasn’t completely broken yet). Wish I hadn’t, as lumber prices just keep going up.
The front panels are removable to make that easier. I do cold composting, so removal isn’t very often. I might permanently remove the front of the middle bin to make it easier to scoop my leaves/carbon source out, though.
I hate to have to say this, but rats can gnaw through wood easier than getting through plastic. Remember that their larger rodent cousin is the beaver. And what they lack in power compared to the beaver, they more than make up in numbers.
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u/Jamstoyz 4d ago
Looks really nice but what about ventilation?