A home made compost barrel might not be the most glamorous DIY project, but it can have a profound affect on the quality of your soil and your garden. By composting old organic matter, you can enrich your soil with valuable minerals and nutrients to assist plant growth and survival. In this article, we will show you how to make your own home made compost barrel to store your composting matter.

Materials Required

Before you begin making your home made compost barrel, you should identify a suitable area of your garden. Remember composting does not tend to smell very nice, so the further it is from the house, the better. Material-wise, you will need some wood panelling, sufficient timber to make a frame, some pond lining, or alternatively thick black bags, and some nails, as well as a hinge or two for the lid.

You will also require some space to construct your barrel, and you might even like to take some paints to decorate your barrel when you have finished. With this organic barrel, you can be sure that your compost is going to be as effective as possible in your garden, and give you that rich, textured soil you desire. Now lets look at constructing your home made compost barrel.

Step by Step

To start with, take the timber and create a square frame. This will be the side of your barrel. It is a good idea to create the barrel around 4 feet wide, to correspond with the panelling which you will be fitting later.

Next, make five more identical square frames to form the other sides of your barrel.

Attach the squares to make a cube, remembering not to fix the top of the barrel. Nail the pieces together, and ensure the frame is relatively sturdy.

Next, take the pond lining and fit around the bottom and sides of the inside of the frame, nailing it to place. This will keep your compost within the barrel, and will prevent the wood from rotting.

Next fit panelling around each side of the frame to hide the pond lining and give an attractive finish to your home made compost barrel.

Finally, take the remaining frame and panel the top of that, before hinging it to the top of your compost barrel. And that is all there is to it! You can then go on to paint the compost barrel, or decorate it however you like!

Composting is a very worthwhile endeavour. By allowing organic matter to decompose, you end up with a rich compost to add to your soil, which will encourage plant growth and development. This can be particularly useful if you have soil which is not particularly receptive to growth, such as heavy clay soil, or sharp sand.

By evenly spreading your compost, you can improve the quality of your soil, and you will clearly see the results in the growth of your plants. By constructing this home made compost barrel, you can store compost safely and securely, and be able to properly decompose the required matter for your garden. And it could not be simpler. Just stack it up and wait for the results. It can also be a great way to cut down on your household waste too, by putting all organic matter in the compost.