Quick compost bin and instant bird box

[Roger Watson]

I have to make big compost bins for leaves at this time of year. Here's a tip, if any good to anyone.
Grab four old wooden pallets and tie them at the ends to make a bin. They make a great bin and it's easy to remove the compost later as you simply untie the side you want to work from. You can split the bottom layer off the pallets to make it neater but that takes a little longer.

Instant bird box. I thought this was my own idea but I found a similar one in a magazine later.

1 Take small log and cut off about 10 cm from each end.
2 Take rest of the log and cut the centre piece out as if you want a square block from the centre leaving the four outside slices in tact as segments.
3 Put the four outside pieces back with the middle bit missing and nail the top and bottom flat bits back to make a log
4 You should have a hollow log and a square chunk of wood from the centre left drill a hole in the side (about 3 cm) and jam it in a tree branch, instant, log-effect box.
Best wishes
Roger :o)

[yugogypsy]

Hello,
I've done the compost bin, but I do bird feeders slightly different-recycle a tomato juice can. Cut off top, near bottom on sides make 2 big holes (one on each side of the can) Find and old aluminum or tin pie plate and using a short screw attach the pan to the bottom of the can.

Then punch two small holes near top of can and use a piece of wire for a handle,pour in feed and hang under eaves (I haven't invented a lid yet )

Lois

[Big Al]

Hello,
I've done the compost bin, but I do bird feeders slightly different-recycle a tomato juice can. Cut off top, near bottom on sides make 2 big holes (one on each side of the can) Find and old aluminum or tin pie plate and using a short screw attach the pan to the bottom of the can.

Then punch two small holes near top of can and use a piece of wire for a handle,pour in feed and hang under eaves (I haven't invented a lid yet )

Lois

Might be a bit messy but if you want the tin can afterwards why not just hit the side of the full can with a knife or knife shapener ( those proper butcher ones) and drain the juice out of the hole. Then you have the top of the can intact and you can drill a hole in that to pour in the feed and then plug with a plastic cap. You can then carry on with the rest of the drilling etc to make the feeder.

[Big Al]

I frequently get chucked out of garden centres for copying the feeder designs by doing rough sketches etc.... mind you I also got chucked out of mothercare 19 years ago for measuring a posh high chair.... The lady said it was a standard size so it would fold up and go in a cuboard etc to which I replied , oh that's ok but I am only taking measurments to make one at home....


The big 5 litre water bottles you can buy for the likes of 95p out of T****. Why not cut the middle out of one of the caps and fit this into a piece of waste pipe. tothe other end of the waste pipe you can fit a tray of plastic or wood the cut a slice out of the pipe. Then you can put two holes in the sides near the bottom of the bottle and attach a bitof string to hang the bottle upside down.

If you fill the bottle with bird seed then turn it upside down it should flow out onto the tray..... mind you it's late and i'm thinking as I design as I type... maybe better to think of this and re type tomorrow...

[yugogypsy]

Well, if I rinsed the can well there would be two small holes to plug, and I can shape a cork to make the right size plug. I just use a big can punch for opening the can, and later to punch the holes for the feed to drain out of. I don't really need to hang it then, I've got a stump where the birds like to hide and I can set it on top of that and put a squirrel preventer around the stump!
Thanks for the tips

Lois