Advice on making my own compost bin

[Gaz_W]

Hi all,
I am really new to gardening and have just started working on my first allotment (I have a bit of a photo diary going in the allotment section).

Anyway, in the spirit of keeping costs down, I am thinking about trying to make my own compost bins and wanted to run my idea past you folks to make sure I get it right.

For each bin (going to make 3) I am thinking 4 posts just over a meter long, making the bottom of each into a spike to knock into the ground leaving a meter of wood above the surface.
Then, wrapping the outside of the 4 posts with wire mesh, and coating the inside (except the floor) with carpet (to help warm it up?).
Then I was just going to use some plastic/carpet as a lid.

Do I need to keep one of the insides free from carpet to allow for more oxygen to circulate?
Does this design sound ok?

Appreciate any advice you may be able to offer.

[lazydog]

Your design sounds good to me enough air should circulate through the carpet

Just a heads up mate try Dudley freecycle for timber and otherstuff for your lotty i have seen some good stuff on there that could help you.

[Gaz_W]

Hi Lazydog,
Cheers for the tip.
I have just sent of a request to join.

Would be cool if I could lay my hands on some spare timber, or even some old tools for that matter.

[Gaz_W]

Just thought I would come back and say thanks for the tip.
I joined the Freecycle forum last night and posted my request this morning.
This afternoon, someone came and dropped off 15sq feet of Hessian backed carpet... RESULT.

[lazydog]

Glad you got a result mucka

[Lez]

I would not advocate the use of carpet. I have seen it fall to bits and if it's not natural fibre it is hellish to get rid of. also they say that it could contain chemicals from cleaning etc that are detrimental to the ground and your crops. I used to make my bins out of four pallets and line them with cardboard from currys or some such as the washing machine boxes are ideal. these days I use black damp course plastic to line my bins keeps out wind and rain, warms up quick and lasts about 3 seasons. as for air passing though it can slow and dry the heap out, the idea is to heat it up quickly. using wire even for leaves is a bit tricky and I do believe that most are saying use normal bins now even for leaves. the wire tends to be to flexible especially as the heap grows were wood will contain it more. good luck.

[Lesley Jay]

I must agree with Lez. Carpets do contain chemicals which can leach out into the ground that people then grow their veggies in. I know there are some allotment sites that have banned the use of carpets to cover the ground etc.

I also agree with Lez about wire mesh compost bins. We had two large wire mesh compost bins which took forever to even start breaking the heaps down. Then we bought two of the large black bins - the heat and the speed that the vegetation broke down was amazing.