DIY Project: Compost Fence
I just discovered the coolest addition to my neighbors’ yard: a compost fence! Scott and Jen moved in last fall and they accumulated a seriously big pile of slow-to-decompose branches, pine needles, and evergreen leaves when they cleaned up their new yard. Rather than stuff this bulky material in their yard waste bin they decided to reuse the material on site. Their new compost fence doubles as a screen and a depository for their yard “waste”.
To build the fence, they sunk 4x6x8 posts two feet into the ground, stapled wired mesh between the posts on either side, and then sandwiched in layers of sticks, tree and shrub trimmings, pine boughs and needles, eucalyptus, holly, and other evergreen leaves. These layers will eventually compact and slowly decompose, but in the meantime they disguise an unattractive view. Very cool!
You can check out before and after photos and read Jen’s directions for building the fence at her blog The Sustainable Scientist.
That is such a cool idea! Looks great too, lovely muted,natural colours.
February 18th, 2009 at 2:07 amVery nice! Looks like it blends in well with the surroundings too. As it breaks down more material can be added on top. Very cool!
February 18th, 2009 at 6:03 pmThat is too gorgeous to be compost
What a seriously fantastic idea, though. Great for backyard wildlife, too.
February 18th, 2009 at 8:16 pmLove seeing this in action. I hope you’ll document the progress over time. I’ve always wondered how these fences will look after a few years. Thx!
February 18th, 2009 at 9:47 pmBrilliant and beeeeautiful! This idea makes me very happy! ( Snoopy dance, anyone?)
I’m a saver of all branches I’ve ever cut that have a possible future as a fence/screen/berm support/trellis- makes my husband crazy. Ever heard of Ultimate Frisbee? This is Ultimate Composting at it’s best. Thanks for the posting and referral, Willi.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:53 pmsomewhat reminiscent of wattle fences or laying hedge
February 19th, 2009 at 9:14 pmhttp://lifeinsugarhollow.blogspot.com/2007/05/wattle-fencing.html
I love it! So beautiful, and maybe more actually “sustainable” than the living walls and stuff that were showcased at the NWFGS. I mean, those were cool, don’t get me wrong, but I do wonder how they could last without a lot of complicated watering. This is a no-maintenance, inexpensive, and nice-to-look-at solution for what to do with all of those branches and brush piles!
February 24th, 2009 at 8:47 pmI agree that this is a much better version of a “living wall”. I think that those are so cool, but I just don’t see how you could maintain them easily. Plus, it looks so cool! It has generated quite a bit of interest on our block!
February 25th, 2009 at 5:02 pmThat’s recycling at its finest. It combines beautiful and function. Cool~~Dee
March 1st, 2009 at 7:43 pmVery cool setup. I am used to seeing the heavy wood setups for compost. Out of interest, do you find that a compost pile/bin in your yard attracts rodents? We are doing a makeover of our garden this year, and want to put in a composting area, but have been warned about attracting rats to our yard..
March 10th, 2009 at 12:35 pmI personally think this is great, however one might want to check with your neighbors before creating something like this. It may not do well for neighborly relations if they are against it. Just a thought, especially for those in tight knit areas like the city (of course that’s probably where you’d WANT a fence).
I had a small compost pile in the corner of my rental yard that I kept pretty contained and my landlord was given lots of grief by the neighbors regarding it and so he had it removed.
As for the above comment regarding rats and rodents, it probably depends on where you are. If you are in the city where there is a high population of rats around you may attract some. However I have been told that if you are taking some sort of metal rod that is heavy enough to pierce the pile and you stick it into the pile in 5-7 different locations (depending on the size of the pile) and move it around a bit as if you’re aerating it then the rats won’t want to make a home out of it because it’s being disturbed a lot. As for the county / woods you probably won’t attract any because they have many other places to go. Also see above. Any pile that is disturbed frequently will most likely be rodent free. It may help to have a neighborhood cat visit your yard though.
Good luck!
January 21st, 2010 at 2:10 pmWilli – any chance of posting updated photos to show us how this ages over time?
May 14th, 2010 at 4:51 pm.-= gardenmentor´s last blog ..Behind the Scenes at Dunn Gardens Wine Tasting for Garden World Report =-.
[...] Our fence was recently featured on Digginfood.com, with much nicer photos I must [...]
December 27th, 2010 at 8:32 am[...] http://www.digginfood.com/2009/02/diy-project-compost-fence/ [...]
January 29th, 2011 at 10:53 am[...] in 2009. A lot of that traffic comes over from Willi Galloway’s DigginFood site, where she featured our fence during its [...]
July 5th, 2011 at 5:12 pm[...] in 2009. A lot of that traffic comes over from Willi Galloway’s DigginFood site, where she featured our fence during its [...]
July 5th, 2011 at 5:15 pm