There is something magical about home gardens, even simple ones. Fresh vegetables and fruits for family and loved ones, beautiful fresh flowers, environmental friendliness, and physical and emotional health all can be provided with a home garden. And as many small-lot homeowners are finding, small raised bed gardens and small backyard gardens don’t even need a whole lot of space! There are a few gardening items that can be of significant aid to home gardeners, and high-quality compost is among the most important. The cheapest way to get compost is to simply create a compost bin on the ground, but many gardeners have embraced the Turnable Compost Bin to save valuable space, improve efficiency, and keep the garden clean.
In this article, we will look at the features commonly found in compost tumblers, and the advantages and disadvantages of these gardening tools. We will also suggest a few options for those who are interested in purchasing a tumbling composter.
The Turnable Compost Bin
Compost Tumblers can make gardening a little bit easier, in a variety of ways.
Raised Design
They generally sit up on a stand, and often users can drive a wheelbarrow directly underneath the unit so as to be able to empty from the compost bin directly into the wheelbarrow without shoveling.
Enclosed System
The compost bins are enclosed barrels, and typically cannot easily be infested by pests, large insects, etc. This keeps the compost ratios pure, and there are no worries about animals stealing your kitchen scraps!
Compact
Many compost tumblers are fairly compact, relative to ground-based compost areas. The tumblers can be easily stored inside for winter, or when not in use, and some even feature wheels on the base for ease of movement.
Low Maintenance
Most compost tumblers only require approximately one turn per day, and turning a tumbler at waist level is often easier than mixing a ground-based compost bin with a pitchfork, shovel, or rake. These bins are generally designed to be able to survive in an outdoor environment, and typically do not need to be painted or maintained more than a general cleaning from time to time.
Single vs Dual Chamber
One of the biggest differences among rotating compost bins is the number of chambers. Typically, compost tumblers will come in one of two designs: single chamber and dual chamber.
Single Chamber
Single chamber compost bins have one large compost area, and only one batch can be processed at a time. If you add new compost during the cook, essentially the time to cook restarts.
This means that once you’ve started cooking a batch of compost, you’ll need a place to store kitchen waste and yard waste until the current batch is done, and you can add more. However, a large, single-bin compost tumbler will help keep everything well mixed and keep temperatures fairly high.
An example of a single bin compost tumbler is the Lifetime 60058 Compost Tumbler, shown here. This unit has a nice design and is relatively inexpensive.
See our review of the Lifetime Compost Tumbler for more information.
Dual Chamber
The other common design for turnable compost tumblers is a dual chamber design. With two chambers, you can have two batches going at once, in different phases. This can be quite useful in order to keep a steady stream of compost and to have a place to house lawn and kitchen scraps regularly.
A nice example of a dual chamber composter is the Yimby Compost Tumbler, shown here. It is also relatively inexpensive, and a good choice for many.
For a review of the Yimby, click here.
Compost Capacity
One of the biggest factors to be concerned with when considering a composter is the amount of capacity the composter has. Common sizes for composters range between 60-gallon capacity and 150-gallon capacity.
The number of chambers will impact the size of the overall compost cook: a single chamber 60-gallon compost tumbler will have a larger single cook than a two chamber 80-gallon compost tumbler.
Generally, the larger the volume of material, the easier it is for the tumbler to achieve and maintain an appropriate temperature for high-quality compost, so this could be a concern if you purchased a smaller two-chamber composter.
Ease of Use/Turning
Another important factor to consider is the ease of use and ease of turning the compost tumbler.
Stationary compost bins placed on the ground generally require the compost to be stirred with a shovel or pitchfork every so often. The amount the compost gets mixed depends solely on the amount of effort put into stirring it.
Compost tumblers, on the other hand, do not require the contents to be stirred. They work by rotation of the compost within the bin. Users must turn the bin over, generally once a day on average, to encourage even mixing of the contents, and an efficient cook process inside.
That said, there are two common methods used when turning a compost tumbler: arm cranks and hand grips.
Arm Cranks
Some compost tumblers include geared arm cranks for ease of use. If you’re concerned that you will find it difficult to rotate a large bin filled with 80+ gallons of kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, etc., you probably want to lean toward a tumbler with an arm crank.
These units are geared, and when full, tend to be much easier to rotate than tumblers that just use hand grips.
A nice example of such a tumbler is the Mantis ComposTumbler, shown here. For a complete review of the Mantis Compost Tumbler, click here.
Hand Grips
If a tumbling compost bin doesn’t have an arm crank, typically it is rotated by pulling down on the barrel itself, like the Showcase Showdown on Price Is Right. But for compost instead of money. Just push down on the top, using the hand grips, and the whole tumbler will rotate.
Some users will find this method to be difficult, especially when the bin is filled to near capacity. If this is a concern for you, look for one with an arm crank, or one with a lower capacity.
An example of a tumbler bin with hand grips is the Lifetime 60058 Compost Tumbler shown here.
Time to Cook Compost
It’s hard to say how long creating quality compost takes because there are many factors at play when processing waste food and yard clippings into compost. Temperature, sunlight, types of materials, mix ratios, etc. can all impact the time it takes to make compost.
That said, most compost tumblers can make a batch of compost in from 2-6 weeks, depending on the size of the batch, temperature, and ratios. If everything goes swimmingly, you could have compost in two weeks, which is pretty great compared to most ground-based compost bins.
Ground-based composting systems can take months, or even a year, to cook batches of compost, so the turnable bins can be quite effective at making quick, small batches of compost in a steady stream, perfect for home gardeners.
Quality of Compost Output
The quality of the output compost will depend on a variety of factors, but it may take you a little while to produce compost that looks like store-bought compost in your own tumbler bin. You’ll need to learn to manage the temperatures, ratios of kitchen waste to yard waste, etc.
Typically the first few tries at making compost with a tumbler will be too wet, too dry, or under-processed, and as you use the system and figure out how it interacts with your environment, you can tweak your recipe for your individual environment, and hopefully dial in the perfect compost process.
If at first, you don’t succeed, turn, turn again!
Common Accessories
There are a few accessories that can make using a turnable compost bin easier. Among these are a compost thermometer, a kitchen compost bin, and some compost starter/accelerator.
Compost Thermometer
Perhaps the most important one is a high-quality compost thermometer. A good compost thermometer will help you to monitor the temperature of your compost and take action if it goes too high or too low.
If your compost tumbler is set outside in a sunny area, it’s possible the bin could overheat, so you may want to move it elsewhere if necessary.
If the temperature of the compost gets over 160′, the microbes may die off, and the composting process may cease, so try to keep the temperature under that level.
Alternately, if it’s getting chilly, moving the tumbler out into the sun may help keep the compost processing even in those cold months.
Kitchen Compost Bin
Keeping a good quality kitchen compost bin handy, such as the OXO Kitchen Compost Bin, can help the logistics of composting. You can store your kitchen waste in a sealed container in the kitchen, and keep it handy for quick access while cooking and cleaning. When you’re ready, you can carry it out to the compost tumbler and dump it in to get things rolling.
These aren’t completely necessary but are helpful in keeping everything clean and organized.
Compost Starter/Accelerator
These microbe-infused compost starters and accelerators are optional, but many gardeners find that they help speed up the composting process, and improve the final output of the compost at the end.
We encourage users to experiment with their systems in order to find the sweet spot, and a starter/accelerator may be part of that experimentation.
Final Thoughts
We wish you luck on your journey to high-quality compost, and hope you have many pounds of fresh, homegrown fruits and vegetables in your future! Composting is very much like cooking, and we encourage you to tweak your recipe and your system until you find the right method for you.
You’ll be doing good for the planet, growing fresh vegetables and fruits for the family, and helping the Earth get greener!
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