An update on my compost tumbler.

I put another load into my homemade compost tumbler today, which has quickly become a weekly occurrence. And I wonder who’s sneaking into my back yard and stealing it.
I fill it to the brim every week with the usual compostables (Firefox says compostables isn’t a word, but it is in my world so I’m using it anyway): kitchen scraps that I keep in a gallon size Ziploc bag and a good load of shredded paper. I fill it to the brim, but when I go to fill it again, everything has broken down to the point where the barrel is only about a quarter full.
Apparently it’s working.
And it’s working good. Somehow or another I’ve managed to mix in the right amount of “green” matter with “brown” matter so that I have yet to even add water to the mix. Yep, you read that right. I actually put so much green matter in there – remember green matter naturally has a lot of water in it, like vegetables, fruit peels, etc. – that I have to balance it out with tons of shredded paper to soak up all the water that is released when it breaks down. Luckily my primary source of income is drafting, so I have a nearly limitless supply of paper to shred.
It doesn’t stink either; it’s got that nice earthy smell to it. When it does start to smell a little, all I have to do is add more paper and tumble it a few times. And the insects love it. I’ve found spiders in it, all kinds of flies, gnats, creepy-crawlies, etc.. Surprisingly, they stay inside the barrel and you don’t even know they’re in there until you take the lid off. They are welcome guests though; they actually aid in the breakdown of the stuff in there.
I’ve also added more things to it. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve started putting things in like pocket lint, dryer lint, nail clippings, hair, shavings from the chunk of basswood I’m attempting to whittle into a canoe …
I flip the barrel over several times after I fill it to get everything mixed up good. Other than that, I will flip it once or twice a week when I find myself taking out the garbage, under orders from the Queen, under duress of course.
It’s somewhere between a quarter and half full right now. I think that when it reaches the pipe in the middle, I’ll empty it out into some buckets and start anew. Which reminds me – I need to go Google and see if there are any special tips on storing compost. One thing’s for sure – I’m going to have some healthy plants next Spring.

Related posts:

1. I built a compost bucket last night. I’m on a compost kick lately.Remembering the compost pile my great grandparents had at their little house in Oregon, how...
2. Project Compost Tumbler complete! Since I started my compost kick a couple weeks ago, I’ve been composting in this bucket. It’s really easy. All...
3. It’s okay! Just let it burn! … for those things that absolutely, positively, have to be incinerated. My neighbor brought this home for me earlier this...