I've wanted a system for composting for as long as I've been a gardner. This is it! I built this pallet compost center (with verylittle mechanical skill) for about $20.
Why three bins? Theoretically, you'd have a current "dumping" bin for your kitchen scraps, yard waste, etc. A second bin that is already full and in the "cooking" stage - decomposing. And a third bin of finished compost to be using in the yard and garden.
Step 1, you need seven shipping pallets. Shoot for roughly the same sizes, if possible. You can find them for free from home improvement stores, local factories or in my case - a friend who knew I was looking and loaded me up!
Step 2, use long screws that can get wet without rusting (I used galvanized steel) and a power drill to slap those bad boys together. It doesn't have to be perfect, this thing is meant to hold your trash, remember?
Step 3, measure the inside three walls of each bin plus the width of the pallets that separate them. Head to your home improvement or farm-supply store for a roll of chicken wire that will cover the insides in one long ribbon. Again, look for metal that can get wet without rusting. Attach the chicken wire with wire twists at each corner and along the sides where needed (I cut mine from the wire that was holding the roll of chicken wire together).
Step 4, make it pretty! I used three cans of Rust-Oleum spray paint for the three base colors and permanent acrylic paint markers for the silly designs. My flower girls (Lily, 2 and Rose, 1) really got into it and helped me paint.
Step 5, using a shovel and/or a tiller - dig up the ground in he base of each bin.
Step 6, dump! Full one "dumping" bin at a time, a few feet deep. Add soil on top of kitchen scraps and turn the mix with a pitchfork every few days.
When the first bin is full, it becomes the "cooking" bin. Start dumping in a second bin, turn the mix in both the "cooking" and "dumping" bins every few days.
When the second bin is full, start bin three as your "dumping" bin, newly-full bin two becomes the "cooking" bin, as before, and bin one gets promoted to the "garden" bin, as it should be fully cooked and ready to use in your garden. And the cycle continues...
Have fun! Grow food! Keep that kitchen waste out of the landfills!
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