Hi all, i got this exact compost bin and was thinking of doing a slow compost over the fall/ winter so i can have it ready by spring.
I’ve done lots of research on composting, but still feel like im gonna mess up somehow. What’s a good way to start? I’m located in michigan so the cold is approaching. any advice would be so appreciated!!
by shggystar
9 Comments
Im ordering one of these too and plan on just mixing greens/browns like my others. I have worm bins as well. Im really anxious to try this one.
I just bought one of these! I’m new to composting too.
Hate to rain on your parade but these tumbler composters just don’t work well. It sounds good like “hey I don’t have to turn my compost”, but it doesn’t mix it well enough, doesn’t account for how heavy compost gets once it’s wet etc.
The best kind are the ones that you can easily take apart and put back together again – then you can take it apart, move it to the side, then flip the compost back into it.
In my experience it’s a pain but unless you turn your new compost pile once a week for the first four weeks it won’t get hot enough and take much longer to compost down.
Here is a link to a good compost bin if interested.
Garden Compost Bin from BPA Free… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DNGHFSB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I have one of these from Amazon. It’s been several years and I’ll say it takes a bit to get right. I’d read the composting bin post. It has tons of good info. Putting in some soil for introducing the bacteria. It does work but I’ll say not as quickly as advertised and not as much either. At least my scraps and mowing browns don’t go to waste.
I messed up by not realizing I needed to stop adding greens and browns at some point. I kept feeding it as I would a pile. I’m struggling to correct—have a distinct odor so the ratio is off but I’m not certain which direction.
It will work just fine but be patient
I have a similar model. It’s kind of a loaded weight so it always defaults to the same panel at the bottom but I guess that’s fine, I do spin it occasionally. I put a lot of short branches in but probably didn’t cut them short enough which I regret now as they kind of clogged it up and stopped everything tumbling together too well.
It filled very quickly as I was doing a garden tidy anyway but it’ll rot down and lose volume soon I guess.
Top tips are to remember to keep it moist and keep a good balance of greens and browns. Also don’t put in long lengths of anything.
Don’t stress about how to start it’ll all get mixed in together anyway. I think this style of bin probably dries out fast even in winter so I suggest putting some water in there fortnightly.
I’ve been using a similar tumbler for a year now. I have a disappointing amount of compost I’ve harvested from it. That said, I have been steadily adding to it, so that’s probably why I haven’t gotten much from it (yet) – because I haven’t let it finish.
I will echo some other comments about it being difficult to get the finished compost out. I open the window and scoop it out with a trowel. It works fine enough.
I grind all my material using a gas chipper/shredder before using the tumblers (I have 4). I mix greens and browns as I grind everything. I have a ‘waiting’ pile while the tumblers are processing. In the summer it takes about a month to turn black and the volume reduces by more than 50%. I spin them a few times per week and have to keep adding water (desert environment).
When the volume in two equally processed tumblers reduces by half, I will combine two tumblers into one and give them another week or two. I always remove the entire contents of a tumbler when it’s done. I don’t add fresh material into a tumbler that has almost completed a cycle, fresh material only goes into an empty tumbler.
Large pieces always take longer to compost, that’s why I grind it up.
In your case (one tumbler), I would pack it full of your mix, keep it moist, and spin it every other day. When it reduces by half and turns black/dark brown, just dump it out and start over. If you don’t have a place to use the compost right away, pile it up and cover it with a tarp.
I have a tub that fits underneath the tumbler. When I rotate it, the compost falls into the tub. No scooping necessary.