Compost Tumblers For Sale

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A great number of people maintain gardens and have a huge amount of organic waste from leaves, grass and dead plants. It is unfortunate however that this potential composts are just thrown in landfills. They are throwing those things that can be of great help for gardening.
This garbage that the people are throwing can be made as an important supplements for garden as substitute to commercial fertilizer or chemical. If only you know the process of making compost, you can have this garbage be beneficial to plants that you are growing.
The usual practice in making compost is by maintaining it at the backyard. Some others put it in a distant to ensure that it does not generate foul odor ( as they may think it is). But, if only you manage it in the proper way, you are able to have a compost that does not produce a foul odor and to avoid some common errors like preventing piles from oxygen, producing foul odor, etc.
When you select area for your composting, you must consider a bigger square footage, length of the side must be greater than its depth. It is because, when you make a pit that is deep, you are not letting materials in it to be exposed in some catalysts for fast decomposition. It is better to spread it over the area because it hasten the process of decomposition and prevent the materials from producing foul odor.
You can include some organic garbage coming from your kitchen, yard, garden like leftover foods,grass, leaves or even newspaper. Actually, if only you have a barrel that can be used as storage, this can be filled up for just a couple of weeks. It is simply to obtain compost, the difficult part is to gather those needed to the area for composting.
After you have gathered all the needed materials into the pit, you must moisten the whole pile because this hasten the decomposition process. Chopping every elements into smaller pieces also making a fast decomposition.
If managing a compost pile sounds interesting to you, start considering the various placement alternatives. Make it known to your self that the hardest part in managing a compost is selecting the most appropriate site for this. Remember also that appropriate depth is necessary to make it decompose in the shorter time. Making its every component cut into smaller pieces also allows them it to hasten its decomposition process.
If you are able to this right, surely, you will have a plant supplement that is really effective for your gardening.

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Earlier we’ve talked about the differences between compost bins and compost tumblers, and let you, our wonderful composting audience, decide for yourselves on what you thought would work better for your needs. Well, let’s put our differences aside and talk about worm composting, also known in the composting world as vermiculture or vermicomposting. There’s really not much to it, we use worms, right? Right, but not just any worms; red wiggler worms or night crawlers are the preferred types of worms to use. Why not earthworms, you ask? Well, I’ll explain that in a second, but let me first tell you why red wigglers and night crawlers are so beneficial to the composting process.

Red wiggler worms, also known as red worms and by their scientific name of Eisenia fetida, are recognized as the best kind of composting worm. Thriving in darkness and swearing off light, red worms are hardy workers and can eat half of their own weight. Additionally, they have hearty appetites and can live off of food scraps such as banana peels and chicken mash (a yummy mix of cornmeal and chicken meat, this is usually used only if you plan to raise your red worms as fish bait). Red worms also live well in damp places, and as fish bait, will wiggle around on the hook since they can survive in water for several days at a time.

Night crawlers which are popular amongst fishermen can also be used as composting worms. With the same performance level as red worms, they’re not really considered your number one composting worm. One reason may be that even though they thrive in cool, shady areas, they don’t seem to fare too well if there’s too much moisture; in fact, once they hit water they’ll pretty much just die. Unusually enough, fisherman seem to like using night crawlers as bait probably because they’re pretty big and fat.

Using earthworms such as the kind that show up when it starts raining is not recommended. Earthworms are great burrowers and excellent soil aerators, but they won’t digest the organic matter and leave behind worm castings, which is what you want. Your best bet is to stick with red wiggler worms. Though not necessary, mixing red wigglers with night crawlers is okay, but you’re fine with sticking to one or the other.

Vermicomposting can be a fun activity for families, classrooms, or even just solo. Just be sure to feed your worms and watch them as they do the work for you.

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Who would’ve thought that other than singing and conversing with your plants that composting would be another great way to solidify that wonderful human-plant relationship? Not only is composting a terrific way to add needed nutrients to prolong the life of your plants and garden, it’s also a fun way to bond with and get involved with your plants.

Like feeding and caring for your child or pet, composting for your plants is an ideal process to jumpstart your plant’s life. Composting is much easier than you think as long as you’re committed to the process. Even if you’re the type of person who’s always on the go and doesn’t really have a lot of time, all you really need is just food scraps to add to your plants’ soil. Granted that this is a simple premise, not every single food waste can be composted. No-no’s like dairy products, bones, meats and fats can’t be composted. Not only that, they won’t decompose properly, smell real icky after a day and attract unwanted visitors like rodents.

Scraps like fruit rinds, vegetables, crushed eggshells, and even coffee grounds are terrific for composting. Coffee grounds especially act as activators (they generate heat) because of the high amount of nitrogen that they turn up. The aforementioned goodies act as a buffet for itty bitty microbes, making the composting process quick, easy and effortless. (Disclaimer: by quick I mean anywhere from three to eight months).

After you’ve gathered up your food scraps and have placed them in your compost bin or directly into your soil and burying them (the latter method is probably best for composting in the garden), we play the waiting game. Yes, it takes a while, but patience is a virtue. After a few months, you’ll have a wonderful pile of rich compost ready to add to your garden or house plants. Simply mix in your newly made batch of compost to your soil and your plants and garden will thank you with wonderfully blooming flowers, healthy and deliciously yummy fruits and vegetables, and a long lifespan that both you and your plants will truly appreciate.

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Adding organic material into your compost can sometimes be a sticky situation, especially if you’re new to the composting game. You’ve probably heard of some stuff called “green matter” and “brown matter,” too. Now, as gross as that may sound to some of you, it’s really not what you think. This all stems back to the carbon/nitrogen ration (C/N ratio). Green matter, which is chock full of nitrogen, usually consists of yard wastes such as grass clippings and non-diseased weeds, fruit scraps and humus. Chicken manure and rotted manure also falls under this category. Brown matter, which is full of carbon, would usually be dried leaves, hay, sawdust and wood chips.

How much green matter to brown matter you want to throw into your compost bin is really up to you. However, there are a couple formulas you can start with until you find the right plan that works for you. The first thing you should keep in mind is to achieve the ideal batch of hot, fast compost is to try to stick to the 30:1 ratio. With 30 parts carbon for every 1 part of nitrogen, all the beneficial microbes will be able to reproduce and decompose all the organic matter quickly and efficiently. An easy method I use to achieve this ratio is by mixing half of the brown matter and half of the green matter by weight. Keep in mind though that yard waste and food scraps weigh more than dried leaves and hay so there’s a possibility that you’ll have to include three to four times the amount of brown matter to reach the same weight of your green matter.

Once you’ve got your own formula (or are even using the 30:1 formula), it’s time to start throwing everything into your compost tumbler or bin. Assuming you’ll be composting in your backyard, set up your compost bin in a shady area and near a water source. Throw in a pile of dried leaves that’ll fill up about eight inches in your bin and turn the hose on it to dampen them just a bit. Afterward add in some green matter like grass; remember to keep in mind the half greens, half browns weight. Mix well so that everything is evenly distributed and damp. For an added boost, sprinkle on some rich soil, but not a shovel full!

Check on your compost regularly to make sure that nothing’s too damp or too dry, and to make sure your pile is shrinking. After a few weeks and regular turning of the pile you should have some ready made compost to use in your garden.

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It’s not difficult to make compost you can do it in your back yard with no experience at all. Simply spread mixed amounts of ingredients atop one and other, make sure that they receive the air and moisture necessary and churn the piles to make sure that there is activity amongst the important bacteria.

The ingredients you use can be just about any natural ingredients. Coffee grounds, banana peels, grass clippings, sawdust, bark, vegetable matter, mulched leaves, grass, or branches. Any of this can be used as long as there are no chemicals present in the matter.

You can create compost either in special containers specifically designed for compost, or simply in piles that you designate for compost, funny enough called: Compost Piles. Each have their pros and cons. Piles can be tilled and churned more easily however a bin simply looks more orderly in a garden. Bins can also better provide the moisture necessary for composting to occur, as well as good temperature control. You will also find that if you begin with a compost pile / pit, that it also will attract earthworms which will assist with breaking down the ingredients of the compost pile.

Make sure you select a sunny spot for you project and start by placing a layer of plant waste; straw, hay, leaves, branches, old vegetables and fruits are excellent to use. Add a layer of manure and bedding, approximately 3 inches deep. Add a layer of top soil about ¼ inch thick (topsoil which has urine in it is considered to be a high quality ingredient however you need to confirm what the animals were fed so as not to introduce undue chemicals to your mixture). Sprinkle a small amount of lime on top of this, you can substitute this with dust or wood ashes to add to the mineral content of the compost. Make sure to add water often, continue to add layers and make sure to keep the compost loose and free to breathe.

The heap will begin to shrink and heat up within a few days. Turn it after 3 weeks with a hoe or pitch fork and do so again 3 more weeks after that. Make sure to turn out the entire pile so as to expose all of the internal bits that require aeration. Although, make sure not to turn the pile too much, heat needs to build in order to facilitate the decaying process, keep it moist but do not make it wet. Your compost should be ready in about 3 months.

When applying compost; timing and method have a lot to do with the age of the pile and the degree of composting that has already occurred. If fully matured, this pile will be rich in nutrients and the scent will be musky and earthy. If half completed, the smell and look will be far less rich and bits of fiber will still be seen in the pile. You should probably let it finish maturing at this point. You usually want to apply compost about month or so before you plant in order to let it properly mix with the existing soil. Store or cover your compost if it is to be kept for a long or cold period of time.

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Compost is valued by gardeners as a soil additive. Compost created when garden debris and other organic matter is allowed to breakdown and decay. Its ideal for the garden and for use in the greenhouse as a potting soil conditioner. The benefits of compost go beyond the nutrients it provides. It helps sandy soils retain moisture which would otherwise drain away and prevents clay soils from becoming too compact.
Any organic matter added to your compost pile will eventually decompose. Its basically a way for the earth to fertilize itself. Leaves, grass clippings and sod are some of the materials which make good compost. Creating a pile for use in the garden speeds up the decaying process and results in a fine soil additive.
Deciduous leaves offer great composting material though they generally provide little nutrients. Evergreen needles should be composted separately since they take longer to breakdown. Broadleaf evergreens tolerate acidic soils so since pine needles and oak leaves are acidic, they make an ideal compost to be spread around these shrubs. Other material suitable for composting includes vegetable and fruit peelings, seaweed, teabags, coffee grounds, spent annuals plants, dead leaves and spent plants from hanging baskets or containers.
If you have a large garden which produces lots of garden waste, two piles are a good idea. One pile can consist of material which breakdown slowly, such as twigs and brush, the other pile can be for softer material such as grass clipping, weeds, leaves and deadheaded flowers. Also, consider starting one pile for the vegetable and flower gardens and one for shrubs beds and trees.
Use the compost as a soil conditioner, to cultivate into containers and potted plants, to raise garden beds which require highly nutrient soil. It can also be used to seasonally top dress annual or perennial beds. This will replace lost soil nutrients. Used as a mulch layer, compost will help conserve soil moisture and help prevent weeds.
There are several ways you can make a compost pile. For example, you can use old wooden pallets to contain the pile. Having a few placed in a row is a good idea if you have the room. Each pile can be at a different stage of decomposition.
To promote decomposition of the compost the pile must be aerated. This can be accomplished by occasionally turning the pile over with a shovel or loosening it up with a pitchfork. You can also add straw or some fibrous material which will allow air to circulate though the pile. Drier material such as oak leaves will decompose more quickly if mixed with moist grass clippings. Counter the acidity of the compost pile with the addition of lime, wood ash or ground dolomite. Adding seaweed to the compost pile will add nitrogen making the pile useful as a fertilizer rather than just a soil conditioner. Heat is important to kill off any weed seeds. The heat can be enhanced by covering the pile with straw or a tarp.
Rather than tossing out your garden waste, consider starting a compost pile. They’re easy to make and can actually save you money. Instead of needing to buy bags of hummus at the garden center, you’ll be able to use what your own garden has created.

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It is estimated that around 40% of what we put in our refuse bins could be turned into compost – add to this the amount of green waste we take to the tip or burn on bonfires and you’ve already got a rich source of ‘fuel’ for producing compost.

Choosing the right compost bin

You’ll need to think about how big a compost bin you’ll need before you start. A 200-300 litre bin should be fine for a small to medium sized garden – try to find one which allows the compost to be mixed up as it will encourage it to break down more quickly. The ‘tumbler’ style compost bins are a good investment or there is now a spherical bin available (known as a composphere) which can be rolled to wherever you need it.

If you have a large garden or smallholding I’d suggest having several large bins in an area where they can be easily tipped out. Fill up your first bin and leave it while you fill up the second – once this is full, the compost in the first one should have broken down to the point where it is useable. Once you have used it, tip your second bin out and shovel the contents into the first bin – this will break it up and introduce air to help it break down. Then start filling the second bin and repeat the process. If you need more bins you can just add them to this system.

What should you put in a compost bin?

You can put any kitchen vegetable scraps, egg shells, grass cuttings, dead bedding plants or flowers, trimmings from shrubs, newspaper or other types of uncoated paper (shredded credit card bills etc), used compost, tea bags, coffee grounds, sawdust and wood shavings, straw bedding from vegetarian pets, wood ash from fires and barbeques and fallen leaves.

The smaller you break up green waste, the quicker it breaks down – if you have a garden chipper this will help, or you can just use a shovel to break it up. It is possible to chop up cuttings etc by putting the on the lawn and running your lawnmower over them but be extremely careful!

What can’t I compost?

Avoid putting in cooked food of any type or any meat, fish or dairy products – they won’t break down and will attract rats! Also avoid any dog or cat mess or disposable nappies (common sense really). I’d also avoid putting weeds into your composter (take them to the tip or burn them instead) and any wood, woody growth or stumps as they take forever to break down and just get in the way!

If you are planning to use this compost on or near potatoes, I would also keep out potato peelings to cut down on the chances of getting the dreaded potato blight!

How long will it take?

You can have a useable compost in 3-6 months (sometimes less) but the longer you leave it the better it will be. Check it regularly and try to mix it up – it may have pieces of stick and egg shell visible but once it is dark brown and ‘earthy’ smelling is ready to use.

Fruit Cages

Fruit Cage

Garden Netting

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Compost is good for the garden and great for the environment. When kitchen scraps end up in landfills, they give off methane gas, which is bad for the environment. When used in the garden, compost adds nutrients to the soil that your plants need to be as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, it will probably not give them everything they need, so you will need to augment your compost with organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion or kelp that can be found at your garden store.

Buying or Building a Compost Bin

If you are handy and like to build things, you may want to build your own compost bin. There are probably some fine plans for building a bin like this online. Otherwise, buying a compost bin such as the Earth Machine, which is what I have, will work great, too. Some cities actually provide free compost bins to residents because it helps cut down on the amount of trash that goes into landfills. The location that you choose for your compost bin may have an impact on how fast your compost happens. Compost will generally happen faster in a sunnier location.

Getting Your Compost On!

Once you get your compost bin set up, you can either follow the directions that come with the bin if you purchased one, or start with 4 to 6 inches of “brown” material, such as dead leaves or straw. Then you can begin incorporating “green material” in the form of kitchen scraps such as eggshells, fruit and vegetable scraps, rice, pasta, teabags, coffee grounds, and houseplant cuttings. Do not put meat, bones, or other animal parts into your compost pile. Also, do not put any diseased plant matter from your backyard into the pile. Whenever you add green material to the pile, be sure to add some brown material and give the pile a stir to incorporate the additions into the pile.

Turning the Pile

To insure that your compost is running at maximum efficiency, you will want to turn the pile frequently. How often you turn your pile depends on how fast you want to produce compost for your garden. Some people turn the pile every 7 to 10 days, while some turn it once a month. Figure out what is best for you and plan accordingly. Turning the pile more frequently will produce faster results. Also, if the compost pile is dry, you should add some water to moisten it. If it seems overly wet, try to increase ventilation to dry it. The Earth Machine has a lid with ventilation control that allows you to control airflow to interior of the compost bin.

Compost Tea & Compost Starter

You can find recipes for a compost activating tea online or buy a compost starter at your local garden store that will activate your compost pile faster.

Using Compost

Once you have created your compost, you can either dig it into your garden soil if you are doing a fresh planting, or spread it on top of the soil around your plants. This will benefit your soil and your plants.

Even if you do not use the compost in your garden, you will be doing a service to the environment by putting less garbage in the form of food scraps into the landfills. Your compost pile will keep breaking down even if you do not remove the compost for garden use, so you don’t need to worry about it filling up.

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Compost is part of a solution to our current state of pollution. I choose to grow organically because I do not wish to introduce synthetic chemicals into the food, air and water supply. The process of making compost is a sensible alternative to the commercial petroleum based synthetic 10-20-10 fertilizers. Compost builds the health of soil and provides nutrients for plant growth.

Our landfills are overflowing with organic materials that could have been recycled as compost. By creating a compost system we reduce our needs for more landfills and municipal services locally. On a global level, composting is a method to reduce our dependence on distant sources of oil.

There are many possible recipes for making compost. It is similar to creating a soup of leftovers, an artistic expression of organic degradation. The process involves recycling anything that is organic (once living) into a form that serves as plant food. The household is the best source of materials, obviously toxics should be avoided.

The following is a list of possible ingredients; grass clippings, kitchen waste, wood ashes, weeds, leaves, garden residue, pet and human hair, shredded paper, twigs and wood chips, and animal manures.

Here are some exceptions and considerations. Dog, cat and human manure should be treated separately considering disease pathogens. Garden residue should be avoided if pesticides or herbicides had been applied, or if the plants were diseased. Kitchen waste that includes meat must be treated carefully to avoid odor and local scavengers.
The site location and the mixing of the proper ratio of ingredients determines a successful compost pile. Sites should be accessible, convenient to dump the daily kitchen waste. Depending on the scale of the system, it may be appropriate to plan for tractor and trailer to transport material to build the pile. A common system is the three pile method.

Compost piles can be contained by fencing, this allows the pile to be built vertically and provides air ventilation. The size of the pile is determined by the ability to turn the quantity of material. The freshest material is layered into the first pile. Oxygen, water and biologic factors begin to degrade the material. This process generates heat, this heat spurs microbial activity and kills weed seeds and disease pathogens.
After a period of time, dependent on the type of materials and the ambient temperature, the compost is turned into the second pile. In the second pile the biologic activity builds until a point where it stabilizes and becomes useful for plants. At this point the compost is stored ready for usage in the third pile.

The proper ratio of raw ingredients and water determines the compost process. The ratio of Carbon to Nitrogen is crucial. A ratio of 30:1 is ideal for compost. Materials high in nitrogen like manure and kitchen scraps need a lot of leaves and wood chips to achieve a proper balance. Otherwise, the bacteria are over-stimulated by the available nitrogen, over multiply, and die before they decompose the high carbon material. A properly balanced chemistry is required.
Likewise the right amount of water is essential. A wet pile becomes a stinky anaerobic mess that is difficult to turn, dryness also prevents decomposition. The ideal is damp but not over saturated.

Finished compost material is not recognizable as what it was. Properly prepared, compost is a stable, odorless plant food. We can nourish crops by building the life of the soil. Compost is the alternative to petroleum based synthetic fertilizers that pollute food and water. Households, restaurants, schools, and municipalities can use the simple science of compost to more efficiently use resources.

Josh Trought is a member of the Pemigewasset chapter of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. He lives, works and practices organic farming at D Acres Organic Farm & Educational Homestead www.dacres.org.

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Not too many people realize it, but composting is one of the best ways to return your resources back into the earth. In a way, composting is our way of saying thank you to Mother Earth for providing us with the resources needed to feed ourselves and our families. Simply put, composting is a lot like recycling, except you don’t take your reusable goods to a recycling center, but rather you put it in a compost bin or tumbler and back into your garden.

Let’s start with a common scenario for households of two or more. In the beginning, there was food, and it was good. Fruits and vegetables were abundant, but so were the leftovers and food scraps. Instead of tossing all the food scraps into the trash where it would take up unneeded space in landfills, why not recycle it all back into the earth? Food scraps are easy enough to compost because there’s always such an abundance of it lying around, so what have you got to lose other than the scraps themselves?

Always consider what you can and cannot compost. For instance, it’s strongly advised to never, ever compost bones, meat and dairy products, fats and oils since they take too long to decompose or won’t decompose properly at all, smell really foul after half a day, and they attract all sorts of critters and wildlife. Unfortunately, not everything can be composted; I would recommend that you toss the aforementioned items in your trash and properly dispose of them. Veggie stalks, fruit rinds, apple cores and even coffee grounds are the goodies you want to compost. You wouldn’t think it, but coffee grounds are great for the composting process since they’re rich in nitrogen and aid in adding heat to your compost pile.

We know that composting is great for the earth, but why and how? Well, if you think about it, composting cuts out a lot of costs. You would be saving a lot of money on water and garbage bills just by making free natural and organic soil fertilizer for your garden and houseplants. And did I mention it would improve the vitality of your soil? By returning nutrients back into the soil that will be released over the course of a couple years, you would be maximizing the growth and health of your plants and veggies. The soil itself would also have improved aeration and drainage. And even if you’re not an avid gardener, composting takes very little of your time and like I’ve mentioned before, what have you got to lose other than your food scraps?

*Special thanks to C. Forrest McDowell, PhD and Tricia Clark-McDowell for their compost guide Home Composting Made Easy, available on Cortesia Press.

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