Why Compost Tumblers May Be Your Best Choice

There are several advantages to using compost tumblers instead of compost bins or a compost pile and a pitchfork.  An important reason is that you save time and the amount of work you have to do is much less, and easier.

With a conventional compost pile and pitchfork, you must work at containing your pile to the area in your yard or garden that you have chosen to establish the pile.  This isn't always easy as rodents, dogs, cats, and other 'varmints' can dig around in your pile looking for something to eat, or worse, using it as their own personal outdoors toilet.

There is also the problem of the moisture level of your pile.  The edges may tend to dry out and, when it rains, the center and top of the pile may get too much moisture.  As a result, it won't be properly aerated and can turn in mush.

It is very important, if you chose to have a compost pile, to turn it over with a pitchfork often to keep the pile aerated and move the outside edges into the middle where the majority of the heat is.  The heat is what decomposes the materials and turns them into compost.

A compost bin has advantages over a compost pile in that the edges are contained so the moisture level is more consistent throughout the pile.  Also, as it usually has a cover of some sort, even if it's just chicken wire, animals cannot disturb the pile as easily.  Compost bins can be made of numerous materials, such as chicken wire, wire mesh, snow fencing, old wooden pallets, and many other materials limited only by your imagination.  You can even make one in a used plastic garbage can.  Of course, you can also purchase a compost bin.  You will still need your handy pitchfork, however.

Compost tumblers eliminate the need to manually turn the pile.  No more pitchfork.  However, they can still be a lot of physical work.  The simplest form  of compost tumbler is just a ball or sphere that you load with your compost materials and roll around your yard.  As the ball or sphere gets full, it can be a bit of exercise to roll it around but, when the compost is finished, you can roll it to the spot in your garden that you need compost.

The next level of compost tumbler has a handle going through the middle.  It can be horizontally or vertically mounted on a frame and you simply turn the handle to mix the contents.  There are also tumblers on stands that don't have handles, but are set up in such a way that you can turn them with your feet.  Good exercise!

The most sophisticated compost tumblers have a crank system with gears that make for easy turning.  Some also have baffles on the inside to aid in the aeration of the materials.  These are, by far, the easiest compost making systems to use. 

All of these systems that are mounted on a frame are usually easy to unload into your wheelbarrow so you can transport them to the area where the compost is needed.  Usually they will have some sort of container at the bottom to catch the compost "tea."  If not, you can buy one separately.

So, what system is right for you?  This depends on the amount of time you want to spend developing your compost, how physical you want to be, and where your compost making takes place.  If you have a large yard, garden, or farm, you can put a compost pile just about anywhere.  If you live in an urban area, you will probably want a less obtrusive compost system.  If you live in an apartment, and do a lot of container gardening on your balcony, a small compost tumbler would probably be the best solution.  The choice is yours.

There are two products that can help to keep your resolve for compost making firm.  These are the compost crock and the compost pail.  A lot of people just don't have the commitment to take a pile of stuff out to their compost tumbler or bin every night at the end of the day.  So, they may start a plastic bucket or some other form of container, with the best of intentions, to house the kitchen scraps until  they can get outside.  This can lead to problems with fruit flies, odor, and inconvenience.  Where do you put an unsightly container of basically, garbage?  A lot of times it will end up in the household garbage and eventually the local landfill. 

One solution is a very attractive ceramic compost crock. It actually looks like a cookie jar sitting on the counter.  Each day you just put your kitchen refuse into the crock.  It has a tight fitting lid and charcoal filters to help avoid any odors.  The filters usually last from 6 months to a year and you can buy replacement filters easily enough.  One company even makes a compost crock shaped like a big, shiny red apple! 

The other solution is a compost pail.  The small ones can sit on your counter like a compost crock and the larger ones can sit in a corner of your kitchen.  They are very attractive in stainless steel, stoneware, and there are even some beautiful bamboo pails.  These have a plastic container on the inside which can be put through the dishwasher. The pails have a charcoal filter holder in the lid for odorless composting.

Both the compost crocks and the compost pails usually have a bail-type handle so you can transport them to your compost making system easily enough.  What could be easier and more beneficial to our overcrowded landfill problems?