Branching out to help renovate a compost heap

As Christmas/Holiday time is typically spent with family, I thought I’d share something I worked on with my Dad a couple of months ago when I was visiting. I’m back to celebrate Christmas (for the third time this year!) with a big family get together this Saturday, which will be lovely. I have 3 siblings all of whom have partners too and we’re all spread out across the country, so it’s always nice to see each other again and hear each others’ news – several of us started new jobs recently and we all have quite active hobbies so it’s interesting to listen to what each person has been up to!

Mum and Dad are both retired now and have a house in the countryside – it’s not quite the middle of nowhere but it’s nice and peaceful, aside from when the neighbours chickens used to escape! My parents are very big on recycling (as I think everyone should be really) and have two compost heaps at the bottom of the garden for food waste. One of them is a specific framed version that you can buy, but when that one is full it is good to turn it out into a second one to allow the composted material at the bottom to be usable to spread on the garden, or just to have a second space to carry on growing a new heap of kitchen waste!

So Mum and Dad created a new heap using four pallets lashed together with electrical wire some while ago. However, the parts of the pallet in contact with the wet ground have naturally rotted and crumbled away over time. Therefore while I was visiting for a few days, I helped Dad to make some repairs to the structure with the aid of a jigsaw and of course a trusty hammer!

We first turned the compost heap frame upside down and surveyed the extent of the rotten wood. Three sides had a good 10-15cm rotted, so the decision was made to cut a portion of the pallet off so as to not only save the rest of the wood, but also to make it easier for Mum to empty the containers from the kitchen into the heap and to get composted material out again. The end of the frame is also only secured with wire, so can be removed to allow for ease of shovelling if required.

After marking where to make the cuts all the way round, taking into consideration the various strengthening crossbeams, the jigsaw made quick work removing the rotten material. Dad and I worked together with him inside the frame and me outside, to make the cuts and I salvaged some sections of usable wood to reuse to strengthen the frame once we’d finished the cuts.

We used reasonably substantial round wire nails to fix the salvaged cross beams and Dad and I hammered them into place to support the sections where we’d cut the rotten end beam off. We both managed to avoid any injuries (this time!) which is something of a miracle when the two of us do DIY together!

Once that was finished, we turned the frame back the right way up and secured the four sections together again using the wire. We then moved it back into place next to the existing compost heap. Dad was very pleased with the result and it should survive the winter and hopefully several more seasons to come! It was really great to work on something together with Dad and I really feel that this is a hobby which gives us something in common and that we can bond over. He has a woodshed that he makes small projects in too, so we shall have to see what we can collaborate on and make together in future! 🔨