Composting Tumbler

[ThinkingChickens]

Hi, no need to get an expensive compost tumbler. A $10 rubbermaid trash can will do the job right. I've been composting for three months and already am getting some good results. I get grass clippings from a neighbor, add chicken poop and pine shavings and some food waste too. Here is a blog post I did about making an inexpensive tumbler......

http://mountaingirlvintage.blogspot.com/2011/06/make-compost-tumbler-for-10.html

Hope you guys will like my blog. I try to post about environmentally friendly solutions, chickens and such.

 

[ajay]

It took my composter a few months to become usable, but because we were adding things to it, my compost was never the fine soil you see in garden bags. Getting the initial ratio was a little tough, but by seeing what is/isn't breaking down, you can figure out what to add to make it better.

Just a quick tip, do not, under any circumstances, put in an old pumpkin unless you want to grow pumpkins in every place you put compost for the following years. Learned that the hard way.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

50 gallong food grade plastic barrell
drill with 1/2 inch bit.
jigsaw
2- 3 inch hinges
1 drawer pul
1-2 inch hasp
1 biner clip


lay the barrel on it's side. draw a 2ft square hole on the side. drill a hole in all 4 corners of the square. use jigsaw to cut barrel roundways (is that a word?!

) attach the hinges to one of the sides not cut. cut last remaining side of square and attach hasp peices to either side of the cut edge. throw in your composting stuff, a couple rocks, clip the hasp closed, hire some kid to roll it around the yard every other day.

 

[savingpurple]

swmalone said it best. I have 4 that I thought would work well. I agree that I don't get decent compost out of it. Partly because not much rain gets in, and I don't turn it as much as I should. Still....I am dissapointed. Should have bigger openings for rain.

 

[Gullygarden]

I have a grass clippings and household and leaves bin that I made with a hoop of leftover hardware cloth and three removable posts. I pile the stuff and my hens turn it. I just bend the edges in so nobody gets poked. I grow a vine on the outside and it makes shade for the hens and hides the bin so it looks nice. My only experience with a bin type composter was awful as it attracted spiders.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

Quote:
This would be our version as well if we lived on acreage. For folks living on a regular lot though it becomes harder. An open compost heap in our area would, sadly, attract bears and other animals. This is the best way to have compost though if you have the space for it.

 

[sotelomary]

I have 2 compost bins. One a tumbler that I got at Costco for $99. I'm not sure how many gallons it is but it is BIG. The other is a square bin from Smith & Hawkins that our county was selling for $40-60 ( can't remember). For me, they don't turn compost as fast as I would like it. I do turn them several times a week and am always checking on them. My tumber has a tendency to stay too moist but I just leave it open during the nday to dry out some. I fill one up first and then leave it to sit and finish "cooking". In the meantime, I start filling the other one up. Both of them don't seem to make as much compost as I would like but perhaps I just don't have enough to put in them. I empty one in the fall and the other in the spring. Hope this helps.

Mary