The beginnings of Compost....

Katie and I have decided to do a little composting! To start we created a simple compost tumbler made out of a plastic food grade barrel we picked up from Craigslist. We used treated 2x6 lumber for the stand (carriage bolts, deck screws to hold it together). For the barrel to flip upside down we used a galvanized 3/4" pipe about 36" long to act as the axle.


Inside the center of the barrel is a 3" PVC pipe with drilled holes to help aerate the material inside. It has a screen we glued on the end of the flange to prevent any bee's from making nests and to keep any rodents out that sneak by Jack our friendly dog.



For our materials inside, we started with a mix of dried up and green grass clippings and leaves. We also added shredded newspaper, pizza box, and straw. We went through our fridge and freezer to find old veggies and fruits. Lettuce, green beans, carrots, banana peels, etc. Whatever we could find that was no longer edible. No picture was taken of the inside yet. Trust me its probably better that way. :)

The hope is in the next 6 to 8 weeks we will have a nice pile of compost to use for Katie's garden and our newly planted trees and shrubs. We'll keep you posted on the results.