compost bin construction

[rhubarb]

I have been told that I can construct a compost bin from pallets and have dutifully scrounged some from my local industrial estate but... can anyone tell me how exactly to make the bin? (I'm assuming that banging four pallets together with six inch nails isn't the right way to go!)

[runnerbean]

Hi rhubarb, try Ecolocal - Recycling Champions, will show you how to make a compost bin from pallets, hope this will help.

[rhubarb]

Thanks Runnerbean. I think the site may be having problems at the moment but I'll keep trying it. In the meantime I'm like a first-time mum with my new veg garden. I can't stop looking at it! Exciting times.

[jlottie]

Hi Rhubarb, I had to start from scratch again this year but compost bins were high on the agenda - Pallets are brilliant for making compost bins and they can be added on as and when. I've started with 2 but a few months on I could do with some more

[PlantingJoe]

Looks great Jlottie. Where do you guys usually get your pallets?

[Scytheman]

I've got one bin made from one pallet plus other bits of wood, about 3'x3'x3', and a compost pit, which I dug, which is a cylindrical shape, internal dimensions 3' wide by 3'4" deep. They both work well, but the pit works best, probably because the insulation - earth - is fantastic, and also because a cylinder is a more efficient heat-retaining shape than a cube. No books I've consulted recently mention pits (as opposed to trenches, for runner beans), but I got the idea from a book I once had 25 or more years ago. The depth is partly provided by earth walls made from the earth you remove, supplemented in my case with some old bricks, so you don't have to dig the full depth. Neverthelss, making it was jolly hard work, but you only have to do it once. It's got a cover to keep out rain made from some old MDF board. I should mention that my soil is heavy clay: it might be difficult on light, sandy soil - I suspect the walls would collapse.
I repeat that it's an unconventional method, and not mentioned in any modern books that I'm aware of, but it works for me!