Compost | Itcan be fun!

Compost Tumblers Make Composting Fun

by Duong Vicki

Before you start on your first composting project of the year, have you thought about what you were going to place your compost in? I dont mean, 'In my garden,' or even, 'In my houseplants soil,' those are all moot points. I mean, have you considered whether you were going to compost out in the open for anything and everyone to see, or perhaps in a compost bin or compost tumbler? After all, these are important points to consider and they may hold the key to a successful composting project.

There are quite a few methods when it comes to composting; some use the open composting method by building a pile of compost out in the woods or yard, others use compost tumblers and bins. I prefer the compost tumbler method out of all of them mainly because I lead quite a busy life and cant commit to watering down my compost constantly if its out in the open in addition to turning the pile on a regular basis. However, thats not to say that a compost tumbler is better than open composting; both methods produce the same amount of compost in the same amount of time so long as you keep your compost heaps aerated.

Moving forward, compost tumblers have a lot of great benefits, the most obvious being that if youre a busy person all you really have to do is toss all your food scraps and/or yard waste into your tumbler, turn it or flip it (depending on the design) about every few days and youre good. Tumblers of course, keep your compost aerated which is very important; you never want your compost to stay stagnant because that would bore the little microbes in your heap. They should be actively eating and decomposing all the matter in the tumbler or bin!

Another reason I prefer tumblers over other methods is that it keeps animals and rodents away from your compost. Your pile will stay securely in the tumbler until its ready to be removed, which can be easily done. But the big reason why I like compost tumblers is because theyre fun! Sorry to the folks who have open compost heaps, but I dont find using a pitch fork to turn my compost appealing at all. Something about spinning or flipping my compost tumbler while on a steady axis sounds easier. Call me lazy or what have you, but know this: my compost heap is still just as good as yours!

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