Build your own compost bin

With so many falling leaves at this time of year, it makes sense to collect them and turn them into crumbly, rich compost, with your garden and kitchen waste, to add essential bulk and nutrients to your soil - all free! Here's how to make your own simple compost bin...

You will need:

● 4 recycled timber pallets (ask at your local builders' merchants or DIY store)

● 6 timber stakes 1.5m-1.8 long

● chicken wire

How to make it

Choose a spot, then clear the soil of weeds and level it.

Stand the first pallet on its long edge to form the back of your bin. Push a stake between the two timber layers at each end, then hammer them into the ground.

Position two more pallets at right angles to the back one, ensuring the corners are touching, then hammer in stakes at each corner, as before.

Fix the pallets and stakes together at the corners with wire, then wire the last pallet to the front. When you want to turn or take out the compost, cut through the wires on the front pallet, then replace it and secure with new wire.

Top with a piece of carpet to keep heat in and speed up composting. Find out more at www.compost-it.org.uk.

Once you've built your bin, find out how to make the perfect compost

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