HoneyBerry
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1216
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State

Re: My First Compost Harvest

I started the pile over 10 years ago. I never stirred it, just threw new stuff on top. The stuff on top was put back. I harvested the bottom. I wouldn't use this as a timeline, however. If you turn it ir use a barrel tumbler it should take less time. I'm too busy with other stuff to do it right. I'm thinking about getting a barrel tumbler.

HoneyBerry
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1216
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State

I'm thinking about building a compost tumbler like the one in this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DzGaXMVmsUo

User avatar
StevePots
Full Member
Posts: 53
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 7:57 am
Location: South Florida 10A

Hi Joy.
I might be a noob at gardening but designing and building mechanical doodads is something I have a knack for. The video you linked to shows a homemade compost tumbler that has a flaw. The vent holes. Basically every rotation of the barrel is going to screen the compost with everything smaller than the holes falling out the drum. A better design would be to use a 4" pipe that has a smaller holes drilled in it so that air can enter the drum from either ends of the pipe. I would also move the opening to the side (top end of the drum)
You would turn the opening to the top to add material and turn it to the bottom to scrape out material. With the vents and the opening on the side you don't have to worry about rain water rinsing and washing out nutrients from your compost.
I like the idea of the fins inside the drum but they don't have to be as large. Look at the inside of your washing machine or drier and you will see it does not take much. At the size they have it in the video, a full drum will not mix when rotated because the fins will be holding material in place within the drum. They will basically act as dividers.
Rather than fins you can add handles to the outside of the drum (three or 4 total) with the bolts that you secure them with protruding into the drum by about 3". That way the the bolts will do the mixing for you and you have something to hold onto while you turn the drum.

HoneyBerry
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1216
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State

Wow! Thank you for the suggestions. I didn't like the looks of the hinged door. It looks wimpy. It seems like the compost would break through when the barrel is full. The barrel hardly has any compost in it in the video.

toxcrusadr
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:50 pm
Location: MO

If you are considering going the tumbler route, you should read up on the web and see how people have managed them (or how they haven't). They seem to be rather finicky in terms of materials, mixture and moisture. I prefer a ground based bin or pile. One problem with having ONE compost pile (of whatever type) is that you have to stop adding in order for it to finish, unless you want to sort it out to get finished compost. Kitchen scraps come constantly, even in winter, so you have to have somewhere to put them. If you have space, have two piles, and only add new material to one of them. If you use a tumbler, I recommend emptying it and letting it cure somewhere while you start fresh in the tumbler. I built a tumbler once and found it more trouble than it was worth.

HoneyBerry
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1216
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: Zone 8A Western Washington State

Thank you for your input. I don't think I'm going to go the tumbler route after all. I don't have time for finicky when it comes to garden stuff. I have one small compost pile for now. It has a nice volunteer pumpkin plant growing in it - seeds sprouted from last years pumpkins that were added to the pile. I will post a picture later. I think I will just keep 1 small one going. My Dad taught me the ground method. He dug a hole under the apple tree and that's where we put food scraps. It wasn't fancy but it worked. The way I do it now is on top of the ground.

User avatar
ElizabethB
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2105
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
Location: Lafayette, LA

I am not a fan of tumblers.

I have 2 4'x4'x4' bins adjacent to each other. They are made from scrap lumber and chicken wire. It is easy to turn from one bin to the other.

I had to remove my 150 year old live oak from the back yard. Browns will be an issue this fall and next spring. I will "rob" bags of leaves from m neighbors.

Composting becomes addictive.



Return to “Composting Forum”