Why Compost? It can be fun!

Compost Tumblers Make Composting Fun

by Duong Vicki

Before you start on your first composting project of the year, have you thought about what you were going to place your compost in? I dont mean, 'In my garden,' or even, 'In my houseplants soil,' those are all moot points. I mean, have you considered whether you were going to compost out in the open for anything and everyone to see, or perhaps in a compost bin or compost tumbler? After all, these are important points to consider and they may hold the key to a successful composting project.

There are quite a few methods when it comes to composting; some use the open composting method by building a pile of compost out in the woods or yard, others use compost tumblers and bins. I prefer the compost tumbler method out of all of them mainly because I lead quite a busy life and cant commit to watering down my compost constantly if its out in the open in addition to turning the pile on a regular basis. However, thats not to say that a compost tumbler is better than open composting; both methods produce the same amount of compost in the same amount of time so long as you keep your compost heaps aerated.

Moving forward, compost tumblers have a lot of great benefits, the most obvious being that if youre a busy person all you really have to do is toss all your food scraps and/or yard waste into your tumbler, turn it or flip it (depending on the design) about every few days and youre good. Tumblers of course, keep your compost aerated which is very important; you never want your compost to stay stagnant because that would bore the little microbes in your heap. They should be actively eating and decomposing all the matter in the tumbler or bin!

Another reason I prefer tumblers over other methods is that it keeps animals and rodents away from your compost. Your pile will stay securely in the tumbler until its ready to be removed, which can be easily done. But the big reason why I like compost tumblers is because theyre fun! Sorry to the folks who have open compost heaps, but I dont find using a pitch fork to turn my compost appealing at all. Something about spinning or flipping my compost tumbler while on a steady axis sounds easier. Call me lazy or what have you, but know this: my compost heap is still just as good as yours!

For a wide selection in compost bins and rain barrels be sure to stop by Composters.com.

Compost | Composting in a Big Way

Composting - Doing it in a Big Way
By Darrell Feltmate

Three is the magic number for a compost pile, especially in a quick compost system. In order for it to work well it needs to be three feet, three feet wide and three feet long. For most people this translates into a compost bin three feet on a side or a pile three feet in diameter. What about the times when you simply have too much material for a small pile?

You could make more bins but that costs time and money and will likely leave you with lots of empty bins once the wind fall of organic matter is over. Lots of little piles are a possibility but there is a much faster and simpler solution. Go long.

One of my first compost piles came after buying a new home. The back half acre of the property was hugely overgrown with weeds and grasses. There was no real time to deal with the problem until fall so I let them grow, mature and dry. Come fall I had a half acre of field about 3 feet high in half dried grass and weeds.

Basically I cut and raked all the material into small piles around the half acre. My wife was not impressed with the look so I began a compost pile. My aim was to be three feet high and wide, but as long as I needed. This turned out to be 20 feet. So I ended with a pile 3 x 3 x 20. The height and width are necessary but the length is a 3 foot minimum.

The pile heated well. After three days I turned it to find that it had started to break down. Grass has a tendency to form clumps of matter and this had, but they were reasonable to break up at this time. For a pile like this it is best to simply have room to one side and turn it to the side. Try to get the outer matter to the center of the new pile. It was still 20 feet long and a lot of work to turn.

The next turning was about four days later. Again the heat had been good and it was starting to cool down. Material was much darker and the grass was no longer 3 feet in length nor was it clumping as bad. I simply flipped the pile back onto its first footing, trying once again to get the outer material into the interior of the new pile. I had lost about 3 feet of length due to the maturing of the pile. It was a lot of work to turn.

Each successive turning was easier. After the fourth turning I had a pile about 15 feet long but still 3 high and wide. It had taken about three weeks. I sifted the compost leaving me a starter pile still about 3 x3 x 3. The rest went on what would be next spring's garden. These turnings were much easier simply because the matter was breaking down so well. It was hard to tell what had started as grass and what as weed. Clumps broke as the fork went through. Sometimes it is simply necessary to make a large pile and work it. Incidentally, very few weed seeds made it through the hot composting process.

Darrell Feltmate is an avid gardener who has been composting and gardening for over 25 years with gardens up to 1/2 acre and compost piles for each. His composting site may be found at Compost Central. You can be a master composter in no time at all.

Much of his compost uses wood shavings from his wood turning hobby. The site for wood turning may be found at Around the Woods.

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Composting

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