I still have to get a picture of it, but I built the wife a drum composter to use in addition to our leaf compost pile. Anyone else into recycling kitchen and yard scraps??
We use the leaf compost every spring on the garden and all the raised beds. This drum composter is just an experiment to see if it works better/faster than the BIG pile!
My dad built me a rotating composter for my birthday last year. I was really good about turning it and got my first batch in about 2 weeks. Then I got lazy, and the second batch is still working. The only problem with the rotating one is that you need 2 piles - one for collecting while the other is breaking down. But it's still pretty cool. Plus my dad built one for 1/4 (or less) of the cost of a premade one!
I would love to see a pic of that barrel. We have two compost piles if you want to call them that. I have one at the end of the garden by the house and another at the end of the big garden down the hill. Most of my compost is stuff from the garden that either rotted, got to big to eat, and some kitchen stuff, like coffee grounds. Most of my kitchen scraps (left overs) go to the chickens.
Fresh things like ends off of onions, broccoli stems, etc. go into the soup bag. I save all that stuff and boil them to make soup stock. After I boil them they go to the compost pile. Egg shells go either to the chickens or to the rose bush.
I seldom ever turn either of those piles. We just kind of keep adding to and then once a year work what ever is there into one of the garden spots and start a new pile.
We have thrown around the idea of a compost drum. But just never have done anything. Can't wait to see pics of yours.
I just made ours out of a big blue plastic 55 gallon drum. Built a frame for it with a couple of rollers, cut one end out for a door to toss stuff in and voila'! Instant Composter! I will try to remember to get a picture or two in the AM.....
I have a compost bin area. House scraps and debris etc. goes in that one. Anyway to improve NC red clay soil is a plus....LOL
On the big farm I use the chicken, hog poop and all that to add back into the fields.
I saw those drum composters and almost thought of buying one but didn't like the price. Thought of building one but never got around to it. I guess just piling it up on the ground was cheaper for me..LOL
good deal on making one and can't wait to see the pics of your hard work.
Our chicken barn has become the big compost pile now We have had one for years but never really turned it or used it. But, at least it wasn't going into the landfill. Now everything goes to the chickens and we sprinkle treats (cracked corn or sunflower seeds) on their bedding to get them scratching and turning our compost for us. The whole mess will get shoveled out in spring to age for a year outside before going to the garden while last year's pile will get dug into the garden.
I pile up horse manure and goat manure in the woods and put kitchen scraps of non-goatie edible garden waste in the compost bins but I have never even opened the bottom of those bins in 6 years- all that stuff must be going somewhere.
As you can see, I am an incredibly incompetent composter-
Lucky for me that nature and the productivity of horses make being a more scientific composter unneccessary.
We have a huge compost pile down the end of the yard with the chicken shavings, cat litter (we used yesterdays news so it degrades fast), and yard waste. We ALSO have two large composters out the back of the house for cooking waste.
We're going to be putting in a dog poop composter soon enough, and hopefully a rolling barrel one for the summer.
Plussss, we'll have the horse poo which people in our area seem to want to buy LOL