Compost Bins
April 15, 2006 
Wolf is building compost bins today. The specs are cobbled together from Lets Get Growing: A Dirt-Under-the-Nails Primer to Raising Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers Organically by Crow Miller and The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure Third Edition. The first was a $3 find at Lee’s Bookstore in Manchester and the second he read on the authors webpage.
He cleared an area in the back yard behind a row of fir trees for the project.
Tools for building the boxes
The wood he’s using is some sort of old fence that was left here by the previous owners. We’re not sure what (if ever) they used it for, but it was a nice treat for us. It’s awesome to not have to buy stuff and to use what’s available in our own yard.
He put a wall in the middle to create three bins.
The first spot, furtherest to the right (which you can’t see in this picture), will be for compost this year. The one for next year is at the left end, and the middle spot will be for hay and sawdust to keep the smell to a minimum and to aide in the composting process.
Each bin 5′ wide by 5′ deep by 4′ high
Wolf showing off his hard work, in the style of Wilson from Home Improvement
These are great compost bins. I wish we had them here. We’re composting, but just in a big pile that we keep covered with straw. I like your organized way much better. Well done, and I especially like the Wilson imitation.
Thanks, RD. I had something very specific in mind when I made this. Otherwise, ours would just be a big pile, too. I had a lot of fun making it. And, I managed to recycle what we had on hand. Recycling, always a plus. :)
At our last house, named The Lone Tulip Estates, we had a big, huge, enormous pile of grass, leaves, and a few veggie clippings. The neighborhood dogs and cats thought it was their own persynal feeding station. We didn’t want to repeat that so we never raked or cut the lawn when we moved here to Howling Hill ;)
A fine piece of work! Tim Taylor would be proud! You are a true Jedi Now!
Obi Wan Scotty Kenobi!
Switched to Seventh Generation laundry soap
line dry most clothes
switched to cloth grocery bags & cloth menstrual pads (well, I did that, not Wolf =)
Joined the co-op (although we don’t shop there too often. It’s a money thing)
planted a garden
use heirloom seeds & started a seed exchange*
use manure
built compost bins
recycle even more (Wolf started a program at work!)
make bread
make soups/stews/sauces
cook in more than ever before
feed our pets Eagle Pack holistic foods
switched to Worlds Best Cat Litter**
started switching the lightbulbs***
eliminated paper products
buy only used books (some of my books have to be new for school though)
severely cut down on meat/fish consumption
severely cut down on cheese and other animal products
severely cut down on artificial food products in our diets
turned the heat waaaay down
[...] am building the floor and legs. You can see the concrete piers in the background. That’s our compost bin in the upper left, by the [...]
[...] of the first posts I wrote on Howling Hill was about composting. Wolf built compost piles at my request. — I’d show you a picture of them today but it’s a little snowy out [...]
[...] of the first posts I wrote on Howling Hill was about composting. Wolf built compost piles at my request. — I’d show you a picture of them today but it’s a little snowy out [...]