In another post we shared our not so successful composting attempt in 1,000 worms can’t be wrong. Now as a tribute to our fallen little workers, I thought it would be appropriate to review what compost is, and one of the faster ways to create it for your garden and plants.
Compost, why?
Basically, compost is just organic waste material which breaks down due to the decomposition process. It gets converted to a dark mixture, which is almost crumbly. Vegetable and fruit plants love organic compost; it’s a great food for them. Compost is very healthy for your organic gardening.
In fact, most gardeners call it black gold. Making compost at your home is a great idea. You can get very good organic fertilizer out of it. Composting will help you save money by processing wastes into organic fertilizer. Aside from saving money, you are also doing a favor for the environment.
To make compost you will need the following: kitchen wastes, corncobs, hay or straw, eggshells (finely crushed), remains of tea leaves, fruits peelings & vegetable peelings, chopped branches and leaves, grass clippings from your lawn, and cut up paper. These organic wastes are perfect components to make a very nutritious organic fertilizer.
Accelerate the process with a compost tumbler
If you try to use a plain old compost pile like I did, It will take the better part of a season to generate a good quantity of “black gold” for your garden. It appears that the smaller, and more active process of using a compost tumbler can produce a nice well mixed load in a couple weeks.
Buying a ready made compost tumbler can be costly affair; you may want to make your own compost tumbler. The best thing about this is that making a compost tumbler is not as hard as it seems and can be easily built using knick knacks that you have around your house. Here are a few steps on how to build a compost tumbler:
horizontal variety
Gather all the materials, tools and equipments that you will need. These materials include the following: a plastic drum (anything between 25 and 50 gallons should do), a PVC or galvanized steel pipe that will be used as an axle, wooden planks to build a saw buck that will be used to support the compost barrel, a drill, bolts, nails, saw, hinges, washers, and basic hand tools like a hammer, measuring tape etc.
Step 1: The first thing that you will do is drill two holes. One will be at the top and one at the bottom of the compost barrel through which to insert the pipe that will be used as an axle. You can also drill the hole in the center of the body of the barrel (horizontal sides instead of vertical).
Step 2: Then, build a frame (also known as the compost turner) that will be used to rotate the compost barrel. The frame can either be x-shaped or vertical.
Step 3: Once the frame is in place, use the pipes to balance the compost tumbler on the wooden frame. The compost tumbler should be able to rotate freely once mounted on the frame. You have to make sure this will turn, otherwise adjustments should be made.
Step 4: Drill several evenly spaced one inch holes throughout the body of the compost tumbler. This will aid aeration, which is vital if decomposition to take place.
Step 5: Create a door through which waste materials can be inserted into the tumbler. You can do this by cutting a square piece of material from one surface of the barrel and attaching this back to the barrel with the help of hinges.
Step 6: This step is optional. If the drum is already dark then you do not have to color it with a darker shade. You can only do this if the drum’s color is light. Dark colors, especially black, are the best because they will absorb heat which will help maintain a high temperature in the compost.
Here are a couple pictures of another, vertical tumbler made from a trash barrel. The lid is bolted on before tumbling!
Vertical tumbler variety, note wood blocks attached to sides to strengthen pivot point.
make sure lid bolts are snug
This was just a basic explanation of the various steps involved in building a compost tumbler. Now you’re ready to make your compost for your organic gardening!
For the “green thumbed” folks out there, how do you make your best compost? Do you think adding a dozen earthworms might help this process too? Would this work at all in the winter? Chime in and tell us what you think in the comments below!
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