Compost tumblers?

[shawnandbecky02]

Jane, If that doesn't work and you send that back, my parents made a tumbler, painted it black and it a metal contraption. Of course dad has a welding machine in his garage and has quite a few tools at his disposal, but perhaps they know a bunch of feedback for you or anyone else looking through this thread. I'll email em about it and see about getting thier reply posted. Anyone interested in my?

[swatkitty]

Originally Posted by JANE4girls i do the pile composting now and bin composting, but with this tumbler you can get compost in two weeks instead of two months. I also found a thing on youtube on how to make one, so if I can find a 55 gallon plastic drum I can do that.

How is this working out for you now? Did you get it assembled? I totally expected you to update with something about picking up a 55 gallon plastic drum at Coke like you did with your rain barrels!

[JANE4girls]

I actually got my first batch out yesterday! It was so cool...all black and earthy looking...but there were bugs in it...not sure how they got in there, looks like worms with legs, lol.

so second batch is cooking right now.

I actually did get the 55 gallon plastic drums with the intention of making the tumbler myself from something I had seen on youtube, but decided I would just bite the bullet and do this in stead.

I am SO glad I did...I LOVE this!

[gaijingirl]

I'm just replying to this because I was posting on the compost bins thread and saw that you all were looking for feedback on the tumblers.

My husband bought me one for Christmas this past year. (Being cheap, I probably wouldn't have bought it myself. hehe). And I started using it right away, even though they don't recommend you use it when the temperatures are so low. I'm in TN, (zone 6b-7a) and so we don't get nearly as cold as some of you, but it can get cold enough.
With the compost tumbler you are doing a hot compost, meaning, you are not doing it passively and adding materials slowly, but adding it all at once in the right conditions with the right amounts of nitrogen and carbon ratios to produce the right combinations of microrganisms that will heat it up to over 160 degrees.

I did start out with the right ratios and definately had some decompostion. I did accidently freeze my bin when I added some material with too much moisture on a really cold night. Even though I knew I wasn't going to get much action, I tried it anyway.

However, I have to tell you, the most amazing thing happened 2 days ago: We have had a week of 60-70 degree temps. and I opened my bin and it was steaming! I was SOOO excited! I put my hand over it and it did feel hot! It stayed hot for 2 days and then I even added more material (which technically is not a great idea as the process will have to start over again, but I don't really care at this point, because I'm not going to be using it for awhile anyway) and it was still steaming after this. I admit, I was putting some effort into getting the right ratios and all, but, If you do it right and batch compost, meaning, add your materials all at once, it shouldn't be too much effort.

So, I'm optimistic about it. Even in February, with one week of 60+ daytime temperatures I am getting hot compost. That is promising. I can imagine that in the summer when it is consistantly warm, if a person does indeed watch carbon to nitrogen ratios, it should be very possible and simple to get compost in as little as 14 days.

[tiger.grrl]

I took a ~30 gal trashcan (like $15 at Walmart) and drilled some holes in it for drainage. I use it for my food compost and some leaves. It works well enough for me, although if you want fast composting, I am not sure how fast this is (I haven't used/needed the dirt out of it). One nice thing about using the trashcan method is that you can still "mix" it by simply rolling it on it's side carefully (keeping the lid on it).

[sourfruit]

I use a composter that tumbles and it works very well and is faster.But made it from a plastic drum.The cost of drum was $25.These also make great rain barrels.

[thickbluebug]

My composter is full and didn't cook well over the winter.

I know it isn't suppose to but, I have mild winters and hoped it would do ok.

I bought the Envirocycle Spinning Tumbler Composter Bin Compost Tea

from ebay.

It sits in a cradle with rollers.

It's nice, easy to load and spin. The spinning part was my main concern.

A garbage can rolling would be just a goo though.

I have decided to get a garbage can and drill holes in it to start another batch.

I want to let my Jan batch get a chance to cook. The manufacturer says the batch can good in up to 6 weeks.

[WillaD]

i have a couple of questions

if you drill holes in the garbage can how do you keep the flies out

what do you do with all the stuff you are saving to put in the cans

do you just save veggie scrapes