Should I get a Compost Tumbler?

I am back from the compost hiatus. Last Sunday, we (and when I say “we,” I mean “my husband”) cleaned out the

gutters.  There was some serious composting already happening in there.  My fellow garden tweeters let me know that gutter compost is good stuff.  It sure looked it!  We made a pile of it in the backyard so that I can incorporate it into my new scheme.

 

Compost Tumbler Investigation

I’m trying to decide if I want to have a compost pile, compost tumbler, or a compost bin.  On my last compost post, several people wrote in about their alternate methods.  Zach uses two trash cans.  Chris recommended that Zach rig the cans so that he can roll them around and aerate the compost more.  He should poke holes in them and rig the lids to stay on while they play a giant game of “kick the can.”  That will let oxygen in, which will speed up the composting.

I may not want to wrestle with a giant trash can filled with compost. A compost bin is certainly a step up, but I’ll have to take my pitch fork and sift it around a lot so it gets the air it needs. I get exercise, but maybe a little too much?

A compost tumbler is a neat idea. It’s basically a barrel suspended in mid air on stilts, and you can roll it around. This means it gets the oxygen within, which the little microbes inside need in order to eat up all my wastes into turn it into compost.

Before I get to a couple tumblers I might try out, here’s another option. A worm farm!

The Worm Factory

I actually met the man who developed this system, and it looks pretty great for people that want to farm worms. The screen system allows worms to start at the bottom, and move up as they digest everything in their current tray.  You can continue to add scraps as the worms eat.  The spigot at the bottom allows for moisture-control and siphoning of concentrated compost-tea.  I have been interested in “worm farming” and this one looks pretty easy to manage.

Also see: Which is better? Compost bins or worm farms?

 

Lifetime Compost Tumbler

This is currently the best selling tumbler on Amazon. It’s a decent size at 75 gallons, and has insulated walls that help keep the heat inside (the warmth will speed up the decomposition process). It’s not the prettiest tumbler, but it is functional and very straightforward and easy to use. This also has the largest lid out of the tumblers we’re looking at today, so it’s going to be very easy to load your waste material and unload the compost when it’s done. If you’re looking for something that gets the job done, then this is your best choice, if you’re looking for something a bit more special, then let’s take a look below at some more unusual choices.

 

CompoSpin Tumbler.

This appears to be the Cadillac of composters.  I love the style of this one, to be honest!  It reminds me of when I lived in Seattle and it was cloudy for the first month after I got there (surprise!) and then one day, the sun came out, and BAM there was Mt. Ranier.  It literally looked like a planet hovering just south of the city.  Maybe if you’re a sci-fi fan you’ll think it’s more like the Death Star. The reason for it’s shape is that this bin would let me roll around the compost on a little stand with casters, and appears to be, by far, the easiest bin to manage.  It would be kind of like a big lawn ornament that does something helpful, and would prove to be an interesting talking point. It would also protect my compost from the elements, so I would not lose a lot of nutrients. Plus, it makes compost tea in the base. Brilliant!

 

Rolly Pig Composter

If I had kids, this is DEFINITELY the one I would get, hands down.  It looks like a giant pig, which is just awesome.  To put compost in, you feed it through the snout.  (I might want this even if I don’t have kids!)

 

 

 

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Compost Tumblers

Above I have described compost tumblers and a worm bin.  They are not really the same, and all have advantages and disadvantages.  The advangage of a tumbler is that, when set up well and used properly, it is easier to aerate the compost, and less messy.  Instead of needing to fork the pile every few days, I would be able to turn a crank or send the earth into orbit (if I had the blue planet composter) and easily aerate the pile.  With the worm bin, the worms would do the heavy lifting for me.

Disadvantages to the tumblers are that I am limited in the amount of compost I can make at one time, and they can be a little pricer than the bins.  I need to weigh convenience vs. price vs. amount of compost.  The disadvantage of the worm bin is that I have to figure out a place to keep the worms in the winter.  I have an unfinished garage, and it usually (today is a BIG exception–it is about 17 degrees here. NOT NORMAL!) is not that cold here.  I could keep my pet worms toasty warm all season.

Let’s take a review of the bins I’ve mentioned: