Compost Tumblers For Sale

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Why hello! I see you’ve made it just in time for our daily four o’clock tea appointment. I’m especially excited over today’s tea selection, it’s a homemade concoction that has been in the family for many, many generations and I’m proud to be sharing it with you. No, no, it’s not our usual black tea and milk, nor is it the spicy orange and cinnamon that we had the other week, this tea is different. My dear friend, allow me to introduce to you the wonderfully nutritious and rich compost tea!

Why are you making that face? No, no, we will not be drinking it! No I haven’t lost my mind! This is very special to me; allow me to explain to you why…

I took note yesterday that you complimented me on my fine vegetable garden, which is, of course the finest in all of this side of Southampton. Anyhow, my secret to having such a fine and award-winning garden lies in my commitment to providing nutritious compost and compost tea for the garden. What is compost tea, you ask? Well, simply put, compost tea is the liquid run-off that results from the vegetables, food scraps and plants themselves, mixed with water. After I harvested this tea, I would then dilute it with a bit of water, pour it into a spray bottle and refresh my vegetables with this wonderful liquid fertilizer. Some gardeners like to call this tea “liquid gold,” even though it sounds a bit crude. However, this tea is like gold for my vegetable garden; it is the reason why they’re so healthy and free of fungi.

Avid gardeners such as myself are fond of this special tea. I would not recommend anyone drinking it, per se, but I do strongly advise any passionate gardener to utilize this naturally organic resource for their garden. And now that I’ve finished offering you my explanation of my fondness for compost tea, would you like to take some home with you for your garden? No? Oh well, quite alright, let us settle down and enjoy a nice spot of tea…

Good luck!

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Summer’s just around the corner and you know what that means – barbeques, family gatherings, picnics, beach parties, and even more barbeques! This is the time of year that all your good dishware and silverware stay in their cupboards and drawers and you utilize nothing but disposable plates and cutlery. But did you ever consider how much waste that adds up at all the landfills? So many plastic utensils end up piling up landfills and aren’t being recycled, because who would even think to recycle that? A better alternative that does the job and is good for the environment that’s now catching on in the market is biodegradable cutlery.

Made from corn starch and other biodegradable “plastic” fillers, eco-friendly utensils are on the rise in popularity. Contrary to belief, they will not fall apart on you if you use them in hot items like soups, and they will not break if you use them in cold foods or desserts like ice cream. Biodegradable utensils work like their normal plastic counterparts; the only difference is that they won’t pile up in landfills and can even be used in your compost bins.

For the avid gardener who likes to compost, these eco-friendly utensils can be highly beneficial to your garden. After you’re done using these utensils, toss them into your compost bin or heap instead of the trash can. In most cases, the packaging that the utensils come in is also biodegradable, which means you can add that into your compost bin, too.

Since they’re made out of corn starch and other eco-friendly materials, these biodegradable utensils will not harm your compost heap, adding to your nutrient-rich compost. Do keep in mind that if you plan to toss these utensils into your compost bin that it can take anywhere from six to 18 months for them to fully decompose.

So the next time you’re planning your big summer barbeque or food outing, consider using the eco-friendly alternative versus the regular plastic ware. Not only would you be reducing waste at landfills and giving back to the earth’s soil, you’ll feel good knowing that you’re doing your part to protect the earth while enjoying the barbeque.

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If you’re thinking about starting up a family-friendly composting project, why not consider doing one that involves worms? That’s right, worm composting, also known as vermicomposting, is a fun-filled way to get the compost you desire for your garden. All you and your kids have to do is keep the worms happy by feeding them and they’ll do all the work for you. Here’s how you get started:

All you need is a plastic 10 gallon worm bin with drainage holes on the bottom (home made or store bought is just fine), a tight fitting lid to keep the worms in the dark, moist bedding made out of one inch newspaper strips or sawdust, a pound of red wiggler worms that you can get from your local fish bait shop or from internet retailer sites like Composters.com, and some food waste like banana peels, fruit rinds and vegetable stalks. Be sure to keep in mind that this will get a bit messy, so it might be best to do this outside especially if you’re children are going to be involved. If it gets messy, it’s okay!

Start by halfway filling the worm bin with the newspaper strips; moisten the strips once you’ve reached the halfway mark. Once the newspaper is damp, push it to one side of the bin and repeat the process until the bin is full but not entirely packed and make sure there are no standing puddles collecting at the bottom. Add half a cup of sawdust or soil so that the worms have some grit to work with. Go ahead and add your pound of worms and watch as they wiggle their way down into the soil and newspaper. Next, bury your food waste into the bedding a few inches deep and cover the bedding with a five page blanket of damp newspapers.

After a few days you should notice some positive results – the worms are digging in and out of the bedding, eating the food waste, soil and newspaper, digesting it and leaving behind worm castings (explain to your kids that it’s poop!). It’s the worm castings that you really want for your garden. To keep your worms happy keep adding food wastes every few days or so and they’ll keep producing that rich black gold for you. Have fun and don’t be afraid to get down and dirty!

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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.

Good luck!

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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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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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Composting for your backyard garden or for your indoor plants is a healthy and beneficial process for your plants and the environment. For those who want to start the fun and fruitful process of composting, you have to be sure to keep in mind the good stuff you want to put into your compost. If you’ve read my earlier article Blacklisted Items to Keep Out of Your Compost, then you should already be well aware that things like bones, meat, wood ash and pet waste can be very harmful to your compost and garden. This article will explain to you what you should include in your composting and how it’s beneficial to the overall process.

When you’re ready to begin composting, whether it’s in a compost bin, tumbler or even out in the open, be sure to include these excellent ingredients to make your ideal batch of compost. Food scraps are a great and easily accessible source of waste for composting mainly because every single household produces it almost daily. Scraps like fruit rinds, old vegetable leaves and stalks, and even coffee grounds make for excellent composting. Coffee grounds are especially rich in nitrogen and work as activators, generating heat and exciting microbes to keep the decomposing process moving. But remember, and I can’t emphasize this enough, never ever throw in any meat, dairy products, grease, oils and/or bones; these items will not compose properly or take too long to do so. They also smell bad and will attract rodents and other wildlife.

Animal manure is a great source rich in nitrogen that also works as an activator, which is always a bonus for your compost. The best stuff comes from grass eating animals like llamas, cows, chickens, sheep and rabbits. Never ever throw in any cat, dog or human waste into your compost because for one thing, that’s just disgusting! More importantly, pet and human manure carry all sorts of diseases, parasites and who knows what else, and you wouldn’t want that in your garden.

Leaves, grass clippings, dead plants and seedless weeds make for great composting ingredients. Leaves are especially great for composting because of their versatility; if they’re dry then they’ll release carbon and if they’re fresh they’ll release nitrogen in your compost. The same can be said about grass clippings. Weeds can be kind of tricky but as long as you carefully inspect that none of the weeds are ready to seed and are free of any pesticides or poison, you should be set. Other items like straw, hay, hair and even lint also make for good composting ingredients; talk about recycling!

Always keep in mind that as long as long as you include the aforementioned items and avoid the bad stuff, you’ll achieve the ideal black gold soil for your garden through this fun and organic process.

*Referenced from Home Composting Made Easy by C. Forrest McDowell, PhD and Tricia Clark-McDowell, 2002.

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Most folks love the fun process of composting in their home or backyard and even understand the science behind it all. But for the rest of us, composting is like another skill that we have to learn before we can even think about taking it head-on. If you’re thinking about taking on the challenge of composting, congratulations! Not only will you be reducing waste and cost by sending scraps to landfills, you’ll be giving back to the earth.

Generally, composting is an aerobic, or oxygen filled process that combines air, heat and moisture to break down matter, which is why you need to turn your compost heap every few days to maintain a good temperature. Composting is an effort shared by both you and by the many microbes, organisms and bacteria that are going to spring up in your compost pile. After you’ve added all the essential ingredients for composting (food scraps, vegetable stalks, fruit rinds, yard wastes free of diseases and seeds) into your compost bin, the billions of little microbes will take care of the rest. These little guys are responsible for the decomposition and temperature of your compost, which results in rich, ready to use compost. Temperature especially is vital to the composting process.

Here’s how it works and why:

Starting at 55 degrees Fahrenheit little to no breakdown happens; even for humans that’s pretty cold. Once it hits about 70 degrees Fahrenheit things start to heat up. This warm change in temperature is caused by cool temperature bacteria called Psychrophiles; they burn the carbon found in your compost heap, thus releasing heat and goodies in the form of amino acids.

As the temperature increases to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, another set of hard working microbes called Mesophiles eat through EVERYTHING, which can raise the heat to 100 degrees. This then sets the stage for the Thermophiles that can live in the sauna of your compost heap in up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit! These hot guys live for up to a five day period working extra hard to make sure that any diseases or unwanted germs are annihilated. In addition, they generate what’s called humic acid, which is like ambrosia for your plants.

After a few days the temperature in your compost heap will decrease gradually and you’ll be able to sift through the compost and add it to your garden or house plants.

*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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Here’s a cheery little thought that you can meditate over: have you ever opened up your compost bin and find all sorts of little critters ambling about in there? I can tell you that I have, and from what experience and many composting teachers have taught me, most of the time that’s normal and okay. Little roomies like fruit flies, fly larvae, and even worms will show up to feast upon the yummy organic matter you have stored in your compost bin. Even though you may not have sent out an official invitation, it’s kind of funny to see these little critters going to town in your compost.

How does it happen? Well, most of the time you’ll get visitors just by opening up the lid of the bin. Fruit flies will definitely show up if you’ve got fruit rinds and vegetable stalks in your compost. If you noticed them flying out of your bin when you opened it up, don’t worry, the flies probably flew through the aerating holes of the bin. Most of the time the flies will lay eggs in your compost and they’ll hatch, which may be another reason why you keep seeing them buzzing about. If you find that there seems to be an entire colony of flies and bugs hanging about your bin, again don’t worry. This happens in the beginning stages of composting, especially if you have a slew of fruit rinds in the bin. Once everything starts to decompose, there will be less and less fruit flies hanging about.

If you keep an open bottom compost bin in the ground for easy compost tea evacuation, you may have noticed some worms wiggling about in your bin. This is absolutely fantastic since worms are a vital part in the composting process. As the worms are wiggling their way around you compost bin and back into the soil, it speeds up the process, which results in rich, black soil. For an added benefit, you should add a pound of red wiggler worms in your compost bin in the beginning just so the composting process is sped up. Once there’s nothing left for the worms to munch on, they’ll move out of your bin and burrow about in your soil.

Critters like bugs and worms aren’t always a bad thing; for composting, they’re essential! Think of it this way; as long as they’re not bothering you and helping out with the composting process, everybody wins!

Good luck!