How to Build a Compost Tumbler

Constructing a Solid Frame

3. Cut the 2-by-6-inch boards and assemble as seen in the accompanying photo, making use of the listed hardware. The feet will be nearly as long as the height of the legs.

4. Drill 7⁄8 inch holes through the top end of the leg-boards and insert the 3⁄4-inch steel pipe into the hole in one leg, through the barrel, and out , into the barrel and through the hole in the leg on the far side. Apply the pipe caps to the ends of the pipe.

5. If the lid does not lock than drill small holes around the top to thread the bungee cords through.

Developing Your Compost

Beginning with yard waste, alternate “green” material like green leaves and grass clippings with “brown” material such as dried, dead brown leaves, twigs, straw and hay. Include a bit of garden or potting soil to get things started, and also your kitchen scraps and paper products. Acceptable materials include coffee grinds and filters, tea bags, egg shells, paper towels, shredded paper and cardboard, vegetable and fruit trimmings, rinds and peel. Things with high fat content should be avoided: all meat (including poultry and fish) and byproducts like bones, butter, oil, and any kind of pet waste material. These things draw scavengers and produce odor.

The material in the tumbler is broken down by small worms, microorganisms and bacteria. This is the same process whereby materials in nature naturally decompose. As all the organisms in the compost do their jobs they will produce heat, and the contents of the compost tumbler will get hot to the touch. Make sure all the materials in the bin are kept damp, about as moist as a wrung sponge, and add water when necessary. Spinning the compost tumbler once or twice a week keeps everything well mixed and allows aeration.