DIY Compost Tumbler

Green Green Garden!

One of the things I've gotten into is gardening. I just like the idea of having a garden and growing things. Part of that stems from my desire to have fresh herbs and such, since I enjoy cooking. Part of me just thinks it's neat to grow stuff. This year I have a massive garden, about 20 feet by 40 feet. I'm growing a variety of lettuce's, zucchini, squash, 4 varieties of tomatoes (yellow, roma, beefsteak, cherry), sugar snap peas, green beans, two types of eggplant, beets, brocolli, two types of cucumber, butternut squash, acorn squash, 6 types of peppers (from very spicy, to mild and sweet), dill, parsley, three types of basil (including thai), mint, cilantro, rosemary, spring onions, garlic chives, regular chives, and oregano. Here's a picture of the garden (you can see the lettuce going out of control on the very left side):

I actually planned my garden out well in advance. Here's a diagram I created to help me plan the garden:

And here's the kids eating fresh sugar snap peas. Literally, these were pulled from the garden minutes ago, and they're so sweet we're just eating them raw:

If you look under my Fall 2007 projects page, you'll see that I trucked in a ton of compost to make this garden. The soil is so rich, that everything is growing VERY fast, and growing VERY large. Even though these are too big, they still retained all the sweetness:

And here's a nice modified caprese, made with fresh basil, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I had to buy the cheese. Maybe I'll get a goat next year. :)

I learned that I like fresh beets, but the rest of my family does not. I also learned that lettuce gets out of control very quickly, and that we prefer sugar snap peas to green beans. I also learned that, while my wife likes the idea of growing mint for mojitos, we don't actually like mojitos. So, if you need some mint, let me know. :)

Next year, I have decided to grow one starter plant for tomatoes, egg plant, and peppers indoors. I don't like waiting til mid July to get good tomatoes, and my egg plants took such a beating from the bugs and weather that I won't have any til late August. Also, I think I'll grow some cilantro indoors in the summer, because they really can't handle the heat.

Building your own Compost Tumbler!

So, after all this stuff started growing, and after picking weeds, and after pulling out a few dead plants from the heat, I realized that this garden is going to generate a lot of dead plants and waste as the season wore on. I started thinking about composting, and I built my own composte tumbler. I'd seen them online for $200-$500, and figured I could just build one myself for about $10. So, I did. First, I went to the local carwash place, and asked them if I could have two of their 55 gallon plastic barrels (I got two in case I wanted to make a second tumbler).

I then cut a hole big enough for me to shove stuff through, but small enough that it wouldn't effect the structural integrity of the barrel.

Then, I dug two holes in the ground

And proceeded to cement a 4x4 post into each hole. I made the barrel exactly high enough so that I could fit the wheel barrow undeneath the barrel when it came time to empty them.

The plan is to just run a steel 1/4 inch rod through the barrel. However, all that eventual weight of the compost might cause the rod to rip through the plastic, so you have to add support to the ends of the plastic barrel. I did this using some extra pressed wood I had laying around, and secure the wood using 1/4 inch bolts. This means that instead of 1 pressure point from the steel rod, I now have 5 pressure points, greatly relieving the stress on the plastic.

You then must make a second smaller support which is just acting as a spacer to keep the bolts from snagging on the 4x4 posts after mounting.

And, with the rod through the barrel, I just rested into two notches that I carved out with a skill saw on top of the 4x4 posts.

The only left was to mount the door back onto the barrel. I also drilled a bunch of holes in the barrel to help with airflow and to help with drainage in the event it gets too wet. I'm debating whether this was a good idea or not. I think I may have drilled too many holes, but only time will tell.

I had to spend money on the hinges and hasp. I also spent money on the 1/4 inch steel rod, and the cement (I used half a small bag). Total spent was probably around $20.

I hope you found this usfeul. Hopefully some of these links on right and bottom are providing you some useful information on where to acquire any or all the tools you need, or some additional ideas! Happy harvesting!