The Right Composter

Indoor or Outdoor, square or round, wood or plastic, big or small, spin or rack.  I need a composter! Do you have one? Did you make it?

Photo from Parkside Gardening.

Unfortunately, I am very indecisive.  I have checked out piles of books from my library and scoured the internet.  I still haven't totally decided, but this weekend is it!  I'm going to make my composter, and I'm going to do it myself (well, maybe my hubby will help).   The grass is green for heaven's sake!  What do you use for compost?

To help me decide I've prioritized some categories:

1. Simple to use. I am lazy and don't want to rake for 2 hours a day.
2. Big enough for our household. 2 People +1 Cat plus guests 2-3x a week.
3. Winter ready. As ready as possible for 6 months of insane cold.  The scraps have to go somewhere though!
4. Inexpensive. Dave Ramsey would probably want this first but I want it to last and be sturdy. ($75?)
5. Accessible.
6. Easy-Medium Level Build Difficulty.
7. Speedy Composter.  I'm not very patient and I'd love to have compost all summer for my garden!
8. Transportable.  I think if we have a tiny house, I'll have to have an indoor composter so I probably won't be moving it.  On the other hand, I'm not sure it should be a permanent fixture since it's not our house.
9.  Not an eye-sore of a heaving chicken-wire heap if possible since my yard is so small.

To start with I'm loving this video.  The fruit(some new to me) at the end is tantalizing.

Observations:

-While tumblers are generally more expensive to make than piles, they are much faster.

-My composter will be in my backyard close to my main garden but away from my house and in a spot that can receive at least some sun.

-Plastic is nice because it retains heat; it would probably be cheaper too, even though I avoid plastic.

-Since I live in a small space, it will be easier to have a contained pile, but remember that bugs are good for compost! (Although some composting folks disagree about this)

This one from Master Gardening is only $405 on sale!  (Yikes, not in my budget)

So, maybe a green plastic barrel that is mounted on a stand for easy turning?  Put some rods on the inside to help break it up and holes for bugs to get in with a opening cut big enough to let a bit of sun in if needed or get compost in or out.  I'm thinking I like the idea of it being rotated this way to take up less space and maximize the spin factor, then I could have the bottom be the open flap. I'm thinking something more like this at Amazon for $179.99.

Online tutorials to build your own tumbling compost bin:

1. eHow
2. Composting Bin Plans (This one looks great!)
3. Instructables (There are always great ideas at instructables and this one is a double decker!)

Thanks for sharing your hard work ipodguy.

What do you think?  Any suggestions?