Make a compost tumbler for $10.....

Trash can with locking lid

     Necessity has always been the mother of invention. So, when the hubby and I couldn't locate a reasonably priced compost tumbler I began researching options for making our own. The first, most commonly used option, is simply to create a compost heap or a compost pile within some chicken wire. This wouldn't be the best for our more urban garden. I worried that the smell and contents would attract raccoons and other critters which we're trying to keep away from our chickens and our yard. Plus, I didn't want a big smelly pile of compost.

Holes drilled around it for aeration 

     After researching different homemade options I came across a couple of genius ideas. Having just emptied an old trash can that had been previously used for weeds we had an empty round can sitting unused. As per instructions on a few sites we simply drilled 15 or so holes around the bin to allow for air circulation. Afterwards we added some leaves we scooped up from the street and a bunch of ripped leaves from a tree we had just pruned. Every few days I'll just tip it over and roll it around on the ground. Really it's no different from any other compost tumbler.

     In addition to our score (the bin had been sitting unused for five years) we've arranged for our neighbors grass clippings each week. We don't have a lawn so this will help us with green waste. We have all the chicken poop one could...um... want and we'll use a sealed food container for our kitchen compost bin and deposit the contents every couple of days outside. Voila, a $10 compost tumbler, and possibly a free one if you can find a used bin on freecycle or have one in your yard. You can't beat that!