"The Best Compost Tumbler" ~ by Dick Murray

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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 exactly what the best 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 an enclosure. This 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 important process in achieving this quality is to turn the pile over quite often in order to mix and aerate it and let oxygen enter in to create aerobes, which are the microbes that hasten the breaking down of your pile into good compost.

The disadvantages of a pile are obvious. They are rather unsightly, they will attract vermin and small animals such as raccoon’s, dogs and rats, they may 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 municipalities now ban compost piles because of the above reasons. The one advantage of a pile is that it is fairly easy to turn it in order to pitchfork the raw compost over, to mix and aerate it and larger 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 (only if you provide the correct proportions of carbon and nitrogen in loading the bin) and visually more pleasing than a pile . A bin can be problematic when you aerate the compost because it is usually difficult to turn the compost over efficiently. Another drawback is the emptying of the bin if it does not have an access door at the bottom. Also if a bin sits directly on rough, sloped or uneven ground or is designed as a ball which has to be rolled in order along to mix the contents, that system mixing operation could be extremely difficult.

A compost tumbler is probably the best system. Tumbling the contents provides aeration without the use of tools and 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 at her own pace and we can speed her up just 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.

Things to look for:

Sturdy dark colored containers to absorb the suns heat, especially important in cooler climes.

Sturdy stands or legs, a full composter can weigh over 150 pounds or more.
Can the unit be moved if necessary in order to be closer to the garden area worked currently being worked on.

Is there a method of collecting the “compost tea“ which collects at the bottom and if saved, is a fantastic product to pour on your planting beds or directly on the plants as a fertilizer.

Other considerations:
Depending on your needs, 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.
Keep a kitchen composter pail in a handy location to toss your daily scraps into.