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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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!

Good luck!

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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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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.

Good luck!

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I’m sure many of you have heard of Cesar Milan, also known as the Dog Whisperer, but are you familiar with Vern Culteur the Worm Whisperer? Unlike his canine counterpart, Culteur is well versed and in tune with the ways of the worm and its needs for a successful and fruitful compost. Compost, you say? What in the world does a worm have to do with composting? Well, my friend let me tell you more…

According to Culteur, known to his friends as Verny the Wormy, worms play a vital part in the composting process. In fact, there’s an entire composting process called vermicomposting or vermiculture which involves food scraps, yard wastes and worms. When visiting troubled gardeners and composters alike, Culteur adamantly but gently tells each one that if they’re going to start composting with worms, then they’ll have to adapt to a few changes. For instance, one of the first mistakes that many novice composters make is using the wrong worm.

Earth worms, though commonly found in the soil of any backyard and along sidewalks on rainy days, make for great fishing bait but not for worm composting. The reason, Culteur explains, is that even though earth worms aerate the soil they don’t properly digest the organic matter and produce worm castings, which is what’s needed for composting. “The best worms to use in the composting world are red wiggler worms,” says Culteur. “Night crawlers work well, also, but they don’t tend to survive for long in too damp of an environment. You’d be better off with red wigglers.”

Culteur also mentions that in order to ensure a successful composting experience, you’ll have to keep your worms happy, which means you have to regularly feed them. “Things like banana peels, chopped up vegetable stalks and leaves, in addition to some grit like a cup full of soil and some newspaper strips will keep your worms feeding and wanting for more.” After a few weeks, you’re most certainly garanteed to have rich, black gold known as worm castings to add to your garden’s soil. Before concluding, Culteur made sure to add, “Unlike dogs, you won’t have to maintain who’s the boss in this relationship; your worms will be the hardiest of workers!”

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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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For some, figuring out where they can start composting can be a bit of a challenge. After all, there are a few things one should keep in mind, like how far the compost heap should be from their home, how to keep it hidden away from nosy neighbors and prying eyes, and how to keep rodents and wildlife from digging around in the compost. And while there are a couple options like keeping your compost under wraps in a compost tumbler or compost bin, there are consumers out there who look for other aesthetically attractive options. One such option is a bench that doubles as a composting bin.

Dual functional furniture is always a plus, and owning a bench that offers a composting bin option is a terrific way to hide your compost in plain sight. You may want to consider this alternative versus a normal compost bin or compost tumbler if you feel that composting out in the open may ruin or distract from your natural landscape. With a composting bench, you can fearlessly hide your compost out in the middle of your garden without it taking away from the landscape.

Some companies offer dual functional composting benches, but it you’re the do it yourself type, you can make a building project out of it. Just be sure to keep about 20 inches of height from the seat to the ground for a good sized composting bin. Another good design feature to keep in mind is to add hinges to the seat so that you can lift it up whenever you need to add water or turn the pile. It’s also important to keep in mind that your compost needs ventilation in order for it to decompose properly, so make sure that there’s plenty of slits all around the bottom bin. Be sure however, to make them small enough so that small animals can’t get in. And don’t worry about any smells coming out from beneath the bench; as long as you’re following the proper carbon to nitrogen ration (green parts to brown parts), and you’re regularly turning and adding water to your compost, it should sm

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Composting can be a lot of fun for anyone, from avid gardeners to novices alike. But one of the misconstrued beliefs that arise when people think of composting is that it’s the result of smelly garbage that hasn’t been properly disposed of, which in turn is a recipe for pests and all sorts of other trouble. This myth is exactly that, a myth! Contrary to popular belief, composting is an organic process that creates nutrient rich soil, popularly known as black gold, from leftover food scraps and yard waste. If done properly, your compost should not emit a foul odor, but rather a fresh, earthy smell.

To ensure that you will have a successful compost heap and experience, here are a few things to keep in mind before you begin:

Assuming you live in a city or municipality that does not allow open compost heaps, go ahead and invest in a compost bin or compost tumbler. Having one place to add all your organic matter in to will make the composting process much easier, and in most cases will keep the process on a regularly consistent decomposing speed.

The next step is to start collecting organic matter to place into your compost bin. Food scraps such as cut up pieces of fruit rinds, cabbage leaves, vegetable stalks and coffee grounds make for great composting. Coffee grounds are especially excellent for the composting process because they act as activators, which create heat for your compost pile. Just remember to never add meat and dairy products, bones, fats and oils to your compost; these products won’t decompose properly, smell foul after a couple hours, and attract pests. Yard waste such as non-diseased weeds and plants, grass clippings and leaves are essential for your compost since they’re rich in nitrogen.

To nip the problem of pests, rodents and other wildlife rummaging around in your compost right in the butt, here are a few tips to keep in mind. Generally, animals are attracted by the smell of meat, dairy products and fatty foods; adding these items is like giving an open invitation for wildlife to invade your compost. In addition, you should always be sure to have a tight fitting lid on your bin or tumbler so that none of your compost is exposed.

If done correctly, your finished product should smell earthy and not putrid. Once you have enough organic matter, it’s time to add this rich, black gold into your garden’s soil to prolong a fruitful life for your garden. Remember, it’s all a trial and error process, so be sure to have fun!

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When starting to compost, one must ask, which exactly is better the compost bin or the compost tumbler? Really, it all depends on who you ask and what their current lifestyle is like. For instance, does this person have the time to commit to their compost and garden? More importantly, do you? Whatever your answer will be may well dictate whether you’ll go with purchasing a compost bin or tumbler. Let’s take a few factors into considerations to help you decide: Compost bins are easy to use and are just as easy to put together with little parts or none at all. Popular compost bins like the Garden Gourmet and the Expandable Worm Tower, both which can be found on Composters.com, require little parts and take no more than 20 minutes to put together. Those who use bins find it both therapeutic and satisfying to be personally turning their compost with a pitchfork; no one ever said that a little bit of the outdoors could hurt you! For composting bins like the Expandable Worm Tower, it’s the worms that do most of the work. All you would have to do is take the finished compost that the worms have produced (known as worm castings, black gold, or even just rich soil), distribute it around the soil of your garden, fill up the trays with more organic matter and dirt and repeat! As easy and efficient that compost bins are, they can get a bit messy at times. What if you happen to have a compost bin unlike the Expandable Worm Tower or Garden Gourmet where it’s easy to evacuate the finished compost? You may have to manually dump the finished compost into a wheel barrel, where it can get a bit chaotic and messy. Unless you have no other commitments and plenty of time on your hand, compost bins may not be the way to go. A bit more expensive but perhaps worth the extra cash, compost tumblers are ideal for those who don’t have as much time but would still love to have the resulting rich soil for their garden. What’s great about having a compost tumbler is that there’s no need to manually turn the compost. The whole point of a tumbler is that you can easily rotate it via a crank or just by spinning it, therefore aerating the compost inside. The con about tumblers, however, is that they too can get messy especially if you have to roll it around the yard when the compost it not yet ready. Additionally, you may have to purchase the compost tea collector separately, depending on the model. When it comes down to it, it’s really about personal preference. I’ve mentioned repeatedly that things could get messy, but that’s the beauty of composting; you’re allowed to get down and dirty! Whatever the decision you make, be sure to take your lifestyle and commitments in consideration to ensure a successful composting experience.

Good luck!