Build my own composter barrel?

I've posted this message in another thread and haven't had any response. So, I'm creating a new topic for it. Hopefully more people will see it this way.

I'm a beginner gardener and brand new to composting. I've found the instructions to build/make a compost bin out of a 32 gal. trash barrel (http://wiki.ehow.com/Build-a-Compost-Maker). I've also seen the "Tumbler" for $130. I can't really afford to pay that much right now. Should I try making one myself?

Welcome to DG Quyen. That's an interesting composter. I like that idea. I'm guessing you turn the barrel on the PVC pipe. I wonder if the stuff in the barrel will really mix or just slide down the side of the barrel. I wonder how you put more material in?

I have one of the manufactured barrel type composters here in zone 5 and frankly I don't think its worth a whole lot. I make far more compost in my twin large wire bins and don't have to crank the handle each day. The barrel idea looks like it would work OK though. one inch vent holes are probably too large because as the compost finishes it would work out through holes that large.

This year I made two homemade composters. One is a large, hard plastic 55 gallon barrel that I spray painted black. The kind with the large opening at the top. I think it held pickled peppers. I cut 3/8" holes all over it, probably 30 or so. The other is a buried metal trash can. My intention was to roll the plastic barrel around the yard to mix the stuff up. WRONG. There is a reason clothes dryers have little fins inside. The stuff in the barrel just slides around the inside, no mixing going on. Eventually it will break down but I probably won't be able to use it till next summer.

The idea of the trash can came from a Mother Earth News article. It should allow worms to migrate in and do their business. I've just finished filling it so I can't say if this is going to work or not. I punched holes all around it too (from the inside after it was in the ground. Much easier that way). You can see it here http://www.kerrysgarden.us click on the picture in "The view from the bench" post of June 24, 05.

The problems I see with the one you are considering are several. The lack of fins, the large holes allowing the finished product out and the weight of the thing when it is full. I have yet to see a trash can that would hold together well with all that weight. PVC pipes will bend over time too. If I had it to do over again I would install fins in a hard plastic barrel and use a piece of metal pipe instead of the pvc following the rest of the instructions at the link you posted with the addition of a way of getting stuff in and out.




This message was edited Jun 28, 2005 12:45 PM

Kerry, thanks for the info. I need to get the compost off the ground. I have very limited space and the tree roots get into my compost.

Thank you Kerry for sharing your experience. I did a little bit more research and found another plan which uses a steel drum and steel pipe...but no fins. http://www.rrfb.com/pages/Secondary%20pages/rotating_barrel.html

Hmm, wonder where can I get a steel drum...

I've heard someone on one of those TV shows say to just pile up leaves for the year and your set with mulch! Sounds too easy doesn't it?

But it works if you add some nitrogen to the leaves so they will decay more quickly. If you don't add nitrogen and keep them at least moist they just sit there and do nothing. It can take up to 3 years for leaves in a pile to slowly rot down into nice rich compost. You can also till them into the soil in the fall along with some slow acting nitrogen like alfalfa, cottonseed, or soybean seed meal or dried cow or sheep manute to help with the decaying process. Using leaves to bed your chicken house if you have one or under the rabbit cages if you have rabbits will help with the decaying process too. I usually leave the leaves under the rabbit cage about a year and clean the chicken house in the spring. I just keep adding leaves in the chicken house when it gets dirty and messy. Deep litter is warm and ready for tilling into a garden in the early spring for planting in a few weeks when it has finished and cooled down somewhat. One drawback to leaves is that they may have the seeds from the kind of tree they fell from giving you lots of sprouts in the spring or summer.

You might want to check with your municipal or county recycling program. In my area the counties are involved with encouraging people to recycle yard waste by composting and every year they offer good bins for very reasonable prices. I bought mine from them for $35 They are very nice and work great.

I would think in a place like CA there would be something like that. At least I always think of you guys being one step ahead.

Edit...

I looked around the web and didn't immediately find anything similar. Now if you lived in Orange County NC :)

This message was edited Aug 29, 2005 8:42 PM