Some time back, my dear wife and I went into an Whole Foods store and out front was one of those really nice Compost Tumblers all ready for me to take home and get started on my compost adventure. They say that confession is good for the soul (or something like that). So, here goes... I admit it, I was really coveting that compost tumbler envy.
The problem is, I don't have that kind of money to spend (nor do I want to) in order to turn our kitchen scraps into nice black compost. But there it was and I stood there drooling (not literally of course) over a silly compost tumbler. I find it amazing that people will pay over $150.00 for one of these things (even the cheap ones). My apologies to you if you did... I just couldn't do it.
So, like a good husband, I fought back the urge and was delivered from the green-eyed monster (oh wait, that's another one of the seven deadly sins). I think my wife was quite proud of me in that instant!
Nevertheless, that singular event set my insatiable mind abuzz wondering how I could put my creative juices into action and make my very own compost tumbler.
The it happened... my compost tumbler epiphany! One afternoon while driving home from work, I passed a salvage store in a nearby town and they had several 55 gallon drums out front for sale for a meager $14.95... more fuel to the fire.
Once home, I did a few quick internet searches and came up with several designs as well as videos of how to build a compost tumbler using 55 gallon drums. After processing the various methods, I came up with my own design that would allow me to have my tumbler near the ground, be able to turn it with my hands and use the existing banded lid as the doorway.
I constructed a stand and let it rest on a set of wheels I got for less than $10. So, for around 25 bucks I put together my first compost tumbler and started filling it with brown and green goodies from the table and garden.
The only supplemental thing I did to the barrel (since it was already painted) was to drill some holes in it for air to penetrate.
Putting the stand together with some existing wood I had laying around, I was off and running. It's just now getting warm enough for something to really be going on, but we're definitely making dirt! And for me, that's like pocketing the difference in what I'd have spent buying the fancy schmancy one.
The casters that I used as the base for rotation were mounted on some existing 1 x 4 material that I had and the base sits directly on the ground. The problem that I've run into with my design is that because of the weight of the barrel, the material to be composted and water to
keep everything moist, results in a bit more weight than I'd anticipated. Thus, my base incurred a structural failure (it broke one day when I was turning the thing).
In reviewing some of the videos (see link above), I'm going to rework it with a more substantial base. But for now, allowing it to rest on the ground and just roll it around the yard to do the mixing (at least until my wife gets fed up with it being all over the place).As you can see, it's starting to make some nice dirt. Even though I add everything from veggie peals/parts, shredded wood, leaves and coffee grounds, it doesn't stink.
In fact, it smells like dirt! My son Daniel gave me a hint about adding soils of various kinds to introduce various colonies of needed bacteria for decomposition. In doing so, I introduced some worms into the mix. Because it doesn't heat up like your normal 3 ft. X 3 ft X 3 ft compost pile, the worms can survive and actually thrive in that environment.
I'm getting ready to build a sifter that will fit over my wheelbarrow to sift out the material that is ready to be added to my plant mix. Mmmm... it's gonna' be dirt soon!
More articles on composting: http://bit.ly/g6ve5U
Chris
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