Compost Tumbler!! What the heck is That?
Most people who choose to garden are aware of the benefits of composting and know the basics of creating good compost, but often are unsure if any special equipment, if any, is actually required.
The most basic form of a compost pile is exactly that, a pile of vegetation, garbage and scrap items such as leaves and grass, which then may be surrounded by a fence or a cage. This system works very well, but requires a fairly long period of time and a certain amount of maintenance to ensure a good final product.
Finished compost should appear like fine loam with a sweet earthy aroma and should not be a wet glob of muck. An in order to achieve this quality. the pile needs to be turned over quite often in order to mix and aerate it and let oxygen enter in to create aerobes, which are the microbes which hasten the breaking down of your pile into good compost.
The disadvantages of a pile are many. They are rather unsightly, they attract vermin and small animals such as raccoons, dogs and rats, they will probably have an unpleasant odor, and they will also probably irritate your neighbors if you live in a fairly well populated area. As a matter of interest, many urban areas now ban open compost piles because of the above reasons. The one advantage of a pile is that it is fairly easy to pitchfork the raw compost over, to mix and aerate it and greater amounts of compost can also be processed at one time.
Compost bins are much more suitable to the home gardener. They should be vermin and child proof, be odor free (that is if you provide the correct proportions of carbon and nitrogen in loading the bin) and visually more pleasing. A bin can be problematic when you aerate the compost because it is usually difficult to turn the compost over efficiently without special tools. Another drawback is the emptying of the bin if it does not have an access door at the bottom. Consider if the bin is designed as a ball which has to be rolled in order along to mix the contents,and it sits directly on rough, sloped or uneven ground,that system mixing operation could be extremely difficult. Aerating need to be done regularly, so the easier, the better.
A compost tumbler is definitely the best system. Tumbling the contents provides aeration without the use of tools and will also speeds up the decomposition time. Do not believe the claims of “compost in just a few weeks”. This sounds good but Mother Nature works in her own style and we can speed her up only so much. The great advantage of a tumbler is the ease of turning and aerating the compost, which should provide a finished product in about 10 weeks.
Features to look for:
Sturdy dark colored containers which will absorb the suns heat, especially important in cooler climes.
Sturdy stands or legs, a composter can weigh over 150 pounds or more when full.
Can the composter be moved if necessary in order to be closer to the garden area currently being worked on.
Does the tumbler have a method of collecting the compost tea which collects on the bottom and if saved and utilized, is a fantastic product to pour on your planting beds or directly on the plants as a fertilizer
Other considerations:
Depending on the size of your garden, will one composter be enough? New material can always be added to your composter, but the process is quicker if one load is processed at a time. It is extremely convenient to have “ready to go compost” when you need it.
Stash a kitchen composter pail in a handy location to toss your daily scraps into.
