One of our first priorities when we moved to St Olaves was to ensure there were enough compost bins. Making compost is a satisfying way of dealing with bulky garden waste and reducing the amount of rubbish in the dustbin each week, while knowing that the compost itself will help the garden to thrive. Devon has a Community Compost Network to help encourage everyone to compost, no matter what size their garden.
The first compost bin was designed and made by Colin when he came down in early September. None of the pieces of wood we found lying around was quite the right size, but he managed to create a three sided bin with lots of help from BJ - measuring the lengths of wood.
We installed this first compost bin under the big old fig tree in the walled kitchen garden. The tiles for the base we found piled up at the side of the orchard. The wall at the back is helpful because it means the back just has two struts and less wood is needed.
The same principle of screwing reclaimed pieces of wood to upright batons was the basis for the next compost bin. This time it was designed to fit exactly next to the wood store by the front door. This also provides a handy place near the house for vegetable peelings etc.
It was more important to have a proper lid for this compost bin. We used six pieces of feather board and made sure the back of the bin was slightly higher than the front to give it a gentle slope for the rain to run off. Although we bought the feather board and the wood for the batons from Mole Avon in Okehampton, the rest of the structure was made from some long planks of wood we found piled up, and over grown at the edge of the kitchen garden.
More information about composting has been compiled into a number of books by local author Nicky Scott.