I am starting a new compost pile at my new house and thought that I could use 2 wooden pallets to form the back corner. I thought they'd work well because they are sturdy and provide good ventilation and I could bury them a foot or so in the ground for rigidity.
Any concerns using them?
Where is a good place to get used ones? The place I used to get them is over an hour away
- EnchantedDaisy
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- Meatburner
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- EnchantedDaisy
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Okay, I was thinking on the diagonal...so a square compost area but only 2 tall sides that can graduate down to the front. I'm pretty petite and would not be able to reach over if the tall pallets were on the front side. I thought I could use 2 for the back corner (two sides) but finish off the front with chicken-wire or cinder-blocks with posts between them or somesort so I could access the pile.
Like this: pallets-----> |_
Like this: pallets-----> |_
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- Greener Thumb
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I use steel stakes for the corners rather than bury the pallets. They will rot faster if you bury them. You can use a lightweight 'tomato stake' or a heavier 'T-Post' - that's what I use. The pallets can be wired, screwed or nailed together.
You can cut one in half for the front so you can reach over it, or wire the front shut so you can open it easily and swing it out like a door. Lots of ways to do it.
You can cut one in half for the front so you can reach over it, or wire the front shut so you can open it easily and swing it out like a door. Lots of ways to do it.
- rainbowgardener
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"Why do you need a front to the compost bin? We simply make a U shaped one, and adding, tossing, and digging out is a lot easier. "
I never understand how this works for people. I have to have not only a front, but a top on my bins. Otherwise the raccoons and lots of other 4 legged critters have a field day in there and spread the left overs all over the yard. (And I am vegetarian, no meat products ever go in there. And I always bury the kitchen scraps well under a big layer of leaves. None of that makes any difference.)
I never understand how this works for people. I have to have not only a front, but a top on my bins. Otherwise the raccoons and lots of other 4 legged critters have a field day in there and spread the left overs all over the yard. (And I am vegetarian, no meat products ever go in there. And I always bury the kitchen scraps well under a big layer of leaves. None of that makes any difference.)
- rainbowgardener
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- Lucius_Junius
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- Greener Thumb
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For ideas about bins you can just do a web search on 'compost bins' and somewhere in that search should be a collection of photos and you can just browse those for a start.
Otherwise maybe:
https://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/compost-info/
to sense
..
For ideas about bins you can just do a web search on 'compost bins' and somewhere in that search should be a collection of photos and you can just browse those for a start.
Otherwise maybe:
https://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/compost-info/
to sense
..
- ElizabethB
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My 2 cents - bolt 3 pallets in a "U" shape. Stake the corners with re-bar or tie the back panel to a fence. Don't bury the pallets. You need the height to cook a good bin. Make 2 side by side. Real easy to turn when you can go from one to the other.
G built 2 bins for me using scrap lumber and chicken wire. The bins are 4' x 4' x 4'. The front is 2 6" boards that slide into the bin so I can pull them out to dig my compost.
Good luck.
G built 2 bins for me using scrap lumber and chicken wire. The bins are 4' x 4' x 4'. The front is 2 6" boards that slide into the bin so I can pull them out to dig my compost.
Good luck.
- EnchantedDaisy
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