Rebuilding the Compost Bin - Part One

In my last post, I bewailed the fact that the cedar trees had been invading my garden.  Then yesterday, I discovered they had gotten into the compost bin as well!  We had carefully built the compost bin on a concrete slab raised up from the ground so that the cedar roots couldn't get in.  We built this compost bin about 15 years ago and it has served us well.  It was constructed entirely out of cedar planks and posts which came from trees taken down on our property.

Rotting cedar boards which have let in the cedar roots.

The boards at the bottom of the bin were starting to rot but I hadn't realized that the bottom board on the back had popped out, spilling compost out the back and providing an avenue for the cedar trees to make their way into my compost!  From the size of the roots I chopped off, they had been in for a couple of years.

First on the agenda was removing the compost.  The bin is a 2-section compost box.  I first removed and sifted from the right-hand side which contained my finished compost.  And it was full of roots.  I got a whole wheel barrow full of cedar roots from this section.

Cedar roots!

Then I mostly emptied the left-hand section which was compost in the making.  The material which was the least broken down was piled on the grass.  That which was partially composted went on a tarp next to it.  When the compost bin has been rebuilt, the roughest material will go on the bottom of one side followed by the most broken down on the top.  This side was well-populated with worms, both the normal earthworms and red wigglers, and the cedar roots had only just started to creep in.  Notably, the side filled with roots had hardly any worms at all.

When most of the material was removed, my husband was free to deconstruct the bin.

Deconstruction of the compost bin

Some of the boards can be re-used, but posts and some planks will need replacing.  Luckily we have the materials on hand.  Stay tuned for Part Two!