Composting is a great way to reuse a lot of the food scraps, and paper goods you might otherwise simply throw away, or recycle. Not only is composting great for the environment, but the resulting compost is rich in nutrients and works amazingly well in keeping your garden healthy. Now, you can quarter off a portion of your yard, and start a simple compost pile, or you can get a compost bin. These two methods will require you to physically turn the soil using a pitchfork, or other tool, because the decomposition process requires regular aeration. An easier way to go about aerating your compost is by using a compost tumbler, and building a tumbler at home is really quite easy.
The materials you’ll need for this include 6 2×4′s 4 feet in length, 2 inch thick PVC or metal pipe, and a 45-55 gallon barrel with a securable top, and heavy duty bolts. You will also need a saw, and a power drill.
The 2×4 will be used for the frame. It will need to be cut into 6 pieces of approximately 4 feet in length. 4 of these pieces will need to be cut at 45 degree angles on the ends, and will form the stand for the tumbler. The final two pieces 
will form the base. You want to configure two of the stand pieces (with the 45 degree cut ends) into an “X” and bolt them securely together. Keep in mind, that 55 gallons of compost is going to get very heavy, so the sturdier the better. Repeat that process for the other side of the stand.
Decide which side of your “X’s” are going to be at the bottom of your stand. Bolt one of the remaining 2x4s to each bottom end of one of your stand pieces. Bolt the other end of your base pieces to the bottom end of your remaining stand piece. This will complete the frame portion of your compost tumbler. It should stand so that the “X” pieces stand upright and are parallel with each other, and the base pieces are also parallel with each other, and lie on the ground.
Now, your barrel should be suitable for composting, meaning it never held chemicals. You can buy these new or used, but remember, you’re going to be using this in a garden, where you might be growing food. Even if you’re just using your compost for a flower garden, you still don’t want chemical-laden compost mucking up your ground water.
Stand your barrel upright, and find the halfway point between the top and the bottom, and mark it with a permanent marker. Now, find the midway point on exactly the opposite side. Now, drill a hole in each of these points that is approximately the diameter of your pipe (2 inches). This will serve to hold your barrel off the ground, and act as the rotation point for your compost tumbler.
In addition to those holes, your barrel is going to need a series of 1 inch holes drilled throughout because compost requires oxygen to decompose properly. Make sure you drill holes throughout the entire barrel. You can do this in tidy rows, and regular intervals, if you’d like, or you can simply drill all over the barrel. You just have to make sure that there are enough holes on every side of the barrel so no matter what angle its setting at, oxygen can get in.
To complete your compost tumbler, shove your pipe through the 2 inch holes, so that it sticks out of either side of the barrel, and place it in the crux of the X-shaped stand pieces. At this point your compost tumbler is complete. You can fill it with compostable items, organic materials, and possibly even some compost worms, and have rich soil for your organic garden in a matter of weeks.
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