Quesodip
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Question about bins made of pallets

Hey everyone, glad to be here. I've never composted before but I've read a few sites and started collecting compostables. I'm building a bin out of pallets and had a question for you kind folks that have been doing it for a while.

My concern is about the material slipping through the cracks in the pallets. Should I not be concerned about that or should I put up some netting or garden/weed fabric? I wanna make sure it gets enough ventilation..

Also, should I use a pallet for the bottom or just twigs over the ground?

Thanks

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The Bearded Farmer
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You can put netting around the outside if you like but most of us don't bother. You could always add some slats to keep it a little more closed up.

Here is mine for axample...
[img]https://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/alf00amf/SAM_0190.jpg[/img]

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rainbowgardener
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I agree, just put your compostables on the ground. You want earthworms and such to be able to come up in to your pile.

I have a wire grid compost bin, and I don't have much trouble with compost materials falling out through the openings. If you keep it dampened, it stays pretty compact.

Quesodip
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Thanx for the help guys! Here's what I came up with.
[img]https://I.imgur.com/ul52t.jpg[/img]

not bad for my first time, right? :)

dustyrivergardens
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perfect..they work great...[img]https://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj163/hunt-john/gardening/IMG_1760.jpg[/img]

vermontkingdom
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I have three bins made out of pallets. I have problems with moles, voles and mice so I lined the bottom and inside of each pallet with hardware cloth. Each of the fronts is divided in half with sliding wooden slats made from pallets. I have sliding framed hardware cloth tops for each.

I found the slats to be quite useful. They keep stuff in and rodents out. And, when it's time to turn the compost from one bin to the next, the removable slats are a godsend.

BTW, pallets today are simply amazing. I use their components for raised beds, grow boxes, cold frames, etc. and many have lots of useable hardware attached. Broken or unwanted pieces go into my wood stove. Yesterday, I cooked a chicken inside a stove top oven, while enjoying the warmth of the stove to dry the wash and keep the house warm. My wife isn't sold on my frugal winter routine, but nevertheless, it's fun for me.

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The Bearded Farmer
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How do you go about making raised beds with them? Any pics?

Skian
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[img]https://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/Skian22/Gardening/OVEG/Joys/100_0940.jpg[/img]
I built this for a client.
This is the super-duper deluxe model (double wide). 4 across the bottom and 2x2 on the sides with a hinged pallet.
I wrapped the outside with chicken wire so not to lose stuff out the sides.
I do not put anything on the bottom pallets anymore. In the past I have laid down hardware cloth on the bottom pallet. I always got the pitchfork stuck and pulled it up. Now anything that falls though stays there. When I replace the bottom pallet I will have a jackpot of really good compost gold.
Just a tip - try to get the exact same type of pallets. Not just same size but exact same style. It makes the construction a lot easier and looks nicer.
This picture was taken this last Fall. That batch is just about done. I have since started the next batch. Both batches fit in the super-duper deluxe model.

vermontkingdom
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Hi Beard Farmer,
I make my large raised beds using the 2 x 4 inch for the lengths and 1 x 4 inch for the widths. The lengths of these beds is 69 inches and width is 55 inches. The larger ones are this size because I have several small potable greenhouses that sit on them. The smaller ones are 52 inches by 30 inches both made out of 1 x 4 inch boards. That size was chosen since I had a number of recycled house windows for covers. I have several dozens of each size.
Most of my raised beds end up two high, about eight inches total height , during the summer. However, right now I have various heights to the beds. My garlic beds are two high and will remain so. I have several, four frames high, filled with lots of finishing compost. I'll be able to remove the upper two frames in May after the compost has settled and plant beans, peppers, etc. Some of my beds are presently two high, although the soil is only one deep. I have greenhouses on them. The soil in there gets pretty warm on nice days and some weed seeds actually germinate. When the cold weather returns, like tomorrow night's minus 10, that will kill them. In early March I'll plant lettuce, chard, beets, peas, etc. and not have to worry about weed seeds.
At some point, I'll try to figure out out to post pictures.

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rainbowgardener
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VK - so basically you are saying for the raised beds, you just take the pallets apart and use the wood from them to build beds?

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Lucius_Junius
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I am currently in the planning stages of building a large shed with pallets. They're free! And they -are- amazing. Google image "pallet shed" to see examples of other people's work.

TheRipeTomato
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You don't have to put anything, but as Marlingardener said, chicken wire is perfect. We've used the very small-holed stuff and it worked out great.

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Halfway
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Love the pallets as cages for the compost bins. Especially the one's with off-center slats from the front to back. The more stable the interior supports the better as that is what I fasten them to one-another with.

Seems they will last a solid 6-8 years depending on board thickness. I don't like the idea of those corkscrew nails getting into the grass though. I can see a mower tire change in the future!

estorms
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I'm going to build mine with rocks. (the bigger ones) I have so many of them and they are free. I don't care about moles as long as they stay outside.

toxcrusadr
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Halfway, those nails will rust away especially in the compost pile. When the pallets start to rot bad enough that you have to replace them, just make sure you dispose of the pieces either in the compost pile or somewhere that the nails won't get loose. Unless you're pulling them out during construction and losing them, it shouldn't be a big problem.

Wardea64
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Hi all, back here in the UK last Summer was unbelievably hot and as a gardener, in this instance working in a big garden only 4 hours a week, I was too hot and exhausted to turn the heaps over. Big mistake. These particular heaps are adjacent to trees, etc and the fibrous roots made their way through various cardboard, plastic surrounds and ended up with heaps solid with these roots. The hours since then of scraping by hand, every ounce I could get. Not funny but a good learning curve. I have now used two builders bags so we shall see if it happens again as I don’t get much time to fiddle about with these heaps.

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rainbowgardener
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My compost piles are right under a big old tree, with the compost sitting directly on the ground. So I have at times had those fibrous tree roots growing into it. I just cut them loose from the tree and leave them in the compost. Once they are no longer attached to the tree, they will die and decompose.

thanrose
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Tree roots growing into my pile don't really bother me. I spade through them for the most part. Some trees can have thicker lateral roots that are problematic though. Live and learn, eh?

toxcrusadr
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Usually if you have roots it means you're scooping out finished compost just because of the time involved to grow them. If they are big ones I'll shake them out and throw them back into a compost pile. The fibrous ones often get left in. It's a pain though, you can't use a fork to dig, it takes a shovel to cut them. Sometimes I cut straight down in a grid pattern all over the pile to cut them up before trying to dig into the pile.

toxcrusadr
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You won't need to mow that much where the compost pile sits anyhow. But you can always run over the area with a magnet if you're concerned.

I built an outhouse out of pallets for my shop building in the woods. Fun and extremely durable.



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