The Compost Tumbler thread

[Spok]

nevermind, i just read an article that said after a month of hot composting, the chemical juglone no longer inhibits plants

heres the article if ur interested,

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=466&bhcd2=1280118238

 

[JackTheGrower]

Thanks. I didn't get that result. My compost still inhibited germination.

 

[JackTheGrower]

A simple base.

A simple base.

I am finding a mix of Peat Moss and Coco coir combined with Starbucks coffee an excellent composting base. It doesn't get simpler.
Sure add azomite, bone meal, green sand, rice and the ilk.

It still a nice bio-active mix in a tumbler.

Be sure to cut the final product with perlite or it will shrink like a dried brownie in the pot.. No harm there but air is always better.

 

[kannubis]

turning the compost pile

 

[Mizzafishkilla]

Here's my compost tumbler...

This pile started out at about 30-35 CU YDS of horse manure & wood shavings from a local stable. I added about 5 CU YDS of alpaca manure, one bale of shredded alfalfa, and have sprayed it a few times with diluted molasses. There is a pretty healthy population of red wigglers and normal earthworms in it now.

It's not quite ready yet, but it's getting there.

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Had my home-made tumbler running for about 6 months now - about to test the end result on a patch of veggie garden. total cost was <$50 (not including the trip to urgent care when I sliced my hand open with the saw... durp...). It started with kitchen scraps, dead leaves/grass, a cup of garden soil, and a homemade accelerator (water, molasses, flat beer & some Age Old Grow), and has been on a steady diet of all the fruit, veggies, eggshells, yard waste, plant prunings, shredded paper, drier lint, coffee grounds (we use a french press, so there's a big load of grounds every morning), and juicer pulp (this stuff gets composted FAST!), and firepit ash I can get together. I particularly like feeding it bills & junk mail - I'm a big fan of turning electric bills into plant food. For now, I've been splitting barrels of local earthworm castings with a friend, but I want to start vermicomposting this season to produce my own.

Side note: I've read that it's not advisable to add worms to a tumbler (probably because there's no set "above" or "below", "shallow" or "deep"?) Anyone have feedback on that?

So anyway, here's the tumbler:

Stuff to note -
A. It's a recycled food grade 55 gallon drum - the place had ones that had held all types of stuff - this one used to hold Dr. Pepper syrup (chose this one b/c Moonshine* once mentioned that his granddaddy sweetened all his crops with Dr. P left out overnight - I figure, worst comes to worst, I get a little sweet action)
B. It sits on two sections of 2x4, each with a set of uni-directional wheels attached.
NOTE: If/when I ever make another one, I'll use a section of plywood so the wheels are square - this way needs semi-frequent adjustments as the tumbler falls off the wheels when the boards are out of alignment.
C. The 2x4 sections sit on cinderblocks
D. Underneath you'll see a small firepit - this is a recent part-time addition - I've been burning leaves for potash to add to my garden, and when its down to just embers, I like to throw it under the bin to add a little heat from the bottom.

EDIT: Holes are drilled all around the barrel - you can sort of see em in the photo - also, the plastic caps that came on the barrel are thoroughly ventilated with holes.

Here's the hardware I installed on the barrel:

A. 3 barrel bolts (added the 3rd one on top (without the sleeve) to hold the lid shut once the contents got heavy)
B. 2 hinges
C. A handle

Here's a blurry shot of the tumbler sitting on the wheels/2x4 section/cinderblocks:

Spent yesterday adding old leaves & grass from last year's lawn bags - this is what it looks like after 5 tumbles:

EDIT: The plastic bag you see in there is a compostable corn-plastic bag that I used when I was removing males - they got bagged & snipped up inside inside the bag.

Just 2"-2.5" beneath that, we got the good stuff

 

[Durdy]

I love the castors for the tumbling! I just took 2 55 gallon drums from a local farm and plan on turning them into tumblers. I was going to drill a hole in the center and run a steel pole through it them mount it on some kind of frame, but your idea looks much simpler!!

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

I love the castors for the tumbling! I just took 2 55 gallon drums from a local farm and plan on turning them into tumblers. I was going to drill a hole in the center and run a steel pole through it them mount it on some kind of frame, but your idea looks much simpler!!

Those boards & casters got ditched - boards warped so much that the bin didn't tumble right - now I just roll it on the ground - when I had a lawn, it composted my lawn for me - now it just makes my porch dirty

 

[Durdy]

do you think your single plywood board idea would help with the warping issue or not so much?

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

do you think your single plywood board idea would help with the warping issue or not so much?

Prolly not - it seemed to sag just front he weight of the tumbler - so i guess the right wood would have to work because you can build a wood deck that'll hold people without sagging, but I'm no carpenter!

 

[supermanlives]

my compost from my walnut tree is kickass. it really helps with weeds and dont hurt established plants . juglone or whatever dont hurt big plants or not that i can tell

 

[thirst4knwledge]

Hope this thread isn't too dead, I just finished reading through. I went and bought a used tumbler on Craigslist a couple weeks ago. It's the lifetime brand 80 gallon. I've been on a mission ever since to source materials. Found a local rice byproduct retailer that sells rice hulls 50 lb sacks for $6.80 so I picked one of those up. That's the smallest size I could get but I'm hoping it breaks down well in the hot compost. I've heard it can be used as a good source of carbon. Does anyone have experience with this?

I'm meeting up with a guy tomorrow afternoon to pick up some partially composted horse manure. How much should I get? It's free so... I also left a five gallon bucket at a local coffee shop for all of their grounds and filters, spent tea leaves and such.

Needless to say I have a lot of material but I'm not sure if I should just throw in a healthy mixture of everything or be more exact than that. Picked up some blood meal, bone meal and horticultural charcoal to throw in the mix as well. I'm not so much concerned about the bone meal and charcoal but does anyone use blood meal in their mix? Thanks for any help.

t4k

 

[xmobotx]

rice hulls are a good carbon source! 1 way to tell is how slowly they break down

the carbon to nitrogen ratio is one of the most important figures for composting ~a carbon rich pile will take a long time