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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Make your own compost tumbler

For a total of $35 I made my own compost tumbler. I spent $15 for the old cherry barrel from the markets and $20 for the castor wheels from Bunnings. I had a panel cut out and a hinge and latch screwed on to act as a door. I also drilled some holes along the top and bottom of the barrel for ventilation. Just a tip, don't make the holes too big or a lot of dirt will come out when you tumble.



The castors where bolted to Josh's old play table that he no longer uses so it was great to recycle it for this project.



Close up shot of one of the castor wheels.



Close up of the latched opening.



Close up of the hinge on the panel.



Tumble away Josh!!






9 comments:

  1. Hi Maria, great job making your compost tumbler.I picked up one of those barrels a few years ago on the kerb side rubbish pick up, wasn't sure what to do with it, got kev to cut it in half lenght ways to make garden planters....still waiting to be filled with soil... great to see you back , how is married life ? great I'm sure....
    Sherrie from Simpleliving :)

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  2. Hi Sherrie. That's another great idea for them, pity they aren't being used yet you need to tell Kev to get his finger out of his you know where LOL.

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  3. Hi there, great post....I've also made one of these, but I had lots of trouble with mine and finally emptied it. I didn't use a galvanised hinge or latch set and they rusted up and seized. And once it got to all one blob of damp compost, it wouldn't roll....so best of luck with yours. I do hope yours will work well...I had lots more holes than yours, so maybe I overdid that too. Now I am planning on it becoming two garden bids/beds....when I get around to cutting it in half...lol
    Great post, you must let us know how it goes.

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  4. Thanks, nellymary, I'll keep you posted!

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  5. This is just a superb idea. I kept thinking the wheels were going to go on the ground! Ha, great idea. Maybe I can find enough stuff around this place to make one like yours.

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  6. Its been 4 1/2 weeks and the compost is almost ready. Silly me added some more to it though as I did a big clean up of the veggie garden so I have to wait a bit longer for it to mature. Hope to post some picks shortly....

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  7. I love this project of yours! It will surely be a big help in our environment.

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  8. I have a heap of these drums, we used them for chicken laying boxes and for worm farms on our old farm.

    Am still waiting for Brian to set them up here. Have only been waiting 9 years ')

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