Cedar Compost Bin

The bin is 4'x4'x4'. The slats are cedar 2"x6", their spacing is the thickness of the 2"x lumber. It just worked out that way, and the scraps made convenient spacers for assembling it. The front has removable louvers for removing the finished compost, but they weren't in yet for the picture.

The lumberyard shopping list is two 4"x4"x8', one 2"x4"x8', and fifteen 2"x6"x8' which get cut down to various lengths as shown in the chart below. (The 2"x2"x5.5" glides come from scraps of the larger lumber.) Of course it can be scaled up or down, but this size seemed right for me. I did toy with the idea of making two separate or one double 3'x3'x3' instead. You also need 10-32x2.5" screws, get a box of 100. Use galvanized or stainless steel screws, not nails, to put it together. Cost was about $300 in 2013.

There are different styles of composting, some people carefully monitor what they are putting in, some try to keep their compost hot, some put a wire mesh "chimney" in the center for aeration. This design will work with all three methods. I'm too lazy for that. If it's plant material and I don't want to eat it, it goes in the compost; the only exceptions being poison ivy and certain diseased trimmings. Of course, this design works for my method too.