Today was probably the last day of Indian summer, that warm spell that almost always shows up after the first frost. So I knew I had to finish a project I’d forced myself into by dumping kitchen scraps on the lawn beneath my downstairs neighbor’s porch window. I figured if I started putting scraps where they don’t belong, I’d shame myself into building the compost bin I really need if I’m going to keep up the nutrient content of my vegetable gardens.
The first problem was deciding what kind of compost bin to use. I’m too cheap to spend real money on one. Heck, they can go for $200 or even more! And how to choose from the selection out there? Besides, I was in the mood now to finish this off, like before the snow flies. Fortunately, I happened across this site and it looked so easy, I figured I could get ‘er done. So I sent out a message to a couple email groups asking where I could find clean pallets for free. Wow! What a response! I got at least five different places to check out in the Syracuse area. Driving home from work, I stopped by one where I found pallets that just fit standing up in the trunk of my car. I was in business, and none too late. I had two hours to go before the sun would set on warm weather, possibly for the next five months.
I picked out a spot away from my poor neighbor’s window and just tied the pieces together with nylon rope (yep, we’re still drying clothes outside in November):
I measured the pallets where I picked them up to make sure they’d pretty much fit together. What I was not planning on was how neatly the little one fit in at the bottom. Its purpose is to keep air flowing at the bottom of the pile.
I just tied the pieces together:
You’re supposed to mix “brown” (dry, brown, leafy stuff) with “green” (goopy, rotten, plant-based kitchen scraps and grass clippings), so I had to find some “brown” which at the moment is some very red leaves off my neighbor’s tree. I figured he wouldn’t mind if I stole some of the leaves he hadn’t raked up:
I got the mulching mower all ready to go – I read it’s a good idea to chop up the leaves so they don’t get all matted in the bin – but then I discovered the mulching attachment was missing. Then I remembered the “handyman’s secret weapon”: duct tape! Thanks, Red Green!
Well, it worked great! So I tore into that pile of leaves and got it pretty well reduced to tiny bits. I put a layer of these on the floor of the bin and then scooped up the rotting mess over by my neighbor’s window. I think she’ll be pleased that I’ve buried it over in the compost bin now:
There’s some historic vegetation in that mess. Grandma Chu’s 30-year-old Christmas Cactus got a pruning from brother Bob (who actually knows how to do that sort of thing) so we’ll be eating her Christmas Cactus nutrients in next year’s tomatoes! I threw some more red “brown” on top of the scraps, stirred it up a bit and closed the gate, saving some leaves to the side for topping off the next batch of scraps. If it doesn’t rain in the next day or two, I’ll water it to get the rotting process going.
Next up: how on earth you’re supposed to do composting in sub-freezing weather!
Thanks for the great idea of a pallet composting bin! The photos were a big help since we will now be making one in the spring.