Make a compost bay
2023-12-01T11:39:55+11:00
Composting plays a key role in eliminating food waste and returning leftovers to the soil - what’s not to love? Here’s how you can construct a compost bay using recycled pallets.
You will need:
- Cardboard
- 4 x heat-treated pallets (see opposite)
- Clout nails
- Hammer
- 0.9mm galvanised tie wire
1. LAY some cardboard on the ground where you want to set up your compost bay. The purpose of this is to stop the grass from growing (if there’s no grass there, you don’t need this step). Lay the cardboard in the shape of a square that’s slightly bigger than the face dimensions of your biggest pallet, and overlap the edges so that no grass can get through.
2. ATTACH some cardboard to the bottom of the inside face of each pallet using a couple of clout nails. There is no need to over-engineer this step. The cardboard is a temporary measure to stop finished compost getting through the gaps, and the fixings help to initially hold it in place. For something more permanent, you could choose to fill in the lower gaps with more timber slats.
3. PLACE the pallets around the cardboard square on the ground, then position the back pallet and one of the sides at right angles.
4. STRAP the two pallets together with tie wire, firmly fastening them near the top and the bottom. Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the opposite side.
5. POSITION the front and final pallet and wire it up, but only on one side. The wire will act like a hinge, allowing you to open the front and access the compost pile for turning or collecting. To keep the opening side in place, loop some wire around the top corner to act as a simple latch that can hook over a short screw fastened to the adjoining side.
6. GET composting! Don’t know what to add? Read here.
