A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Organically Speaking... The "Cadillac" of Compost Bins (with plans)

We have just constructed what Jim Crockett (of the old PBS series, The Victory Garden) refers to as the Cadillac of Compost Bins. Plans, tips, & cost comparisons follow.


As you can see, it's actually three bins in one. The main feature of the three bin arrangement is that rather than turning a pile of compost-- into which you are always putting more-- when the contents of bin #1 are uniformly colored and have begun to decay, you turn the contents into bin #2. (The driest stuff at the top and edges will thus be turned over to the bottom-most area of bin #2.) Fill up bin #1 again, and when ready, move bin #2 to bin #3 ... .

Since we just built this, I'm filling up two bins at once (the outer ones) and will turn them both into the center one when it's time. This gives me a LOT more space.

The whole thing measures 9' x 3' x 3'. The "front" is constructed of slats-- separated by some staple nails for ventilation-- that can be removed individually so that you can turn a pile (no matter how high) before you turn the whole bin into the next bin. The sides are dog wire. The wire panels (that define the bins) are bolted to two large planks running lengthwise.

We spent about $134 on materials. The materials list (below) calls for way too many nails, so we have lots of left overs. I compared the cost of this with others I found on line. Just for fun... . The Cadillac holds 81 cubic feet or 606 gallons (if filled to the brim). So the cost was $1.66 per cubic foot, or $0.22 per gallon. The most comparable I found was essentially a two-bin version of ours (51 cubic feet), but without the top brace and lighter wire. It cost $259.99; $5.00/cubic foot or 300% more than ours!

Here's the materials list and construction directions from Crockett's Victory Garden (1977). An excellent book, by the way, selling for next to nothing at online book sellers.

Wowee, that's nice

All I can say is wow!!!! ~Oh and I want one!

awesome!!!!!!!

Well-- like I said, it's pretty easy to build. A nice Saturday project!

I'm so glad you posted this, Marica. That is just the kind of compost bin I would want to have should I ever have the chance.