Compost Scoop

Author: Nadia Osman

Composting is no easy task. It requires hard work, dedication, and persistence—unless, of course, you own a compost tumbler . In that case, composting requires little work, some dedication, and not much persistence at all, all while mixing compost the same way you would with a giant compost heap in the backyard. How easy is that?

Although open composting has its advantages, using a compost tumbler saves time and keeps your compost pile aerated with little effort. Instead of manually turning over your compost pile, a compost tumbler does the work for you in its internal chamber. There’s no need to turn over your compost with a pitchfork; you simply turn it—no fuss, no muss. By keeping it aerated with just a few turns every few days, you can rest assured that the microbes are actively eating and decomposing the matter. All you really need to do is carry your kitchen scraps out to your compost tumbler , throw them in, and turn.

The compost tumbler doesn’t just stop at minimizing the work time needed to compost. Some tumblers are built raised off the ground, while others maximize heat absorption, which makes your compost decompose faster. Some include dual chambers that allow mixing up compost while throwing in new scraps, thereby aerating old compost and allowing for new stuff to decompose. Then there are tumblers with screened vents to ensure even air flow. Many tumblers come with optional tea collectors that create “compost tea”, a nutritious liquid drawn from food decomposition. It sounds gross, but that’s probably because it’s not for drinking; it’s an excellent dilute fertilizer. Moreover, open compost piles can attract rodents and other creatures. Let’s just say it could get hairy. But if your compost pile is in a tumbler, it’s well protected from the animal kingdom.

Give your flower bed a breath of fresh (er, actually, not-so-fresh) “black gold”. Turn your waste into something useful. Help save the environment. Composting allows you to do all that, and the compost tumbler allows you to do so without much maintenance needed. Alleviate the stress and labor that comes with composting the old-fashioned way and get yourself a tumbler! Now, wasn’t that easy?

About the Author:

For a large selection in composting supplies like lawn sweepers and compost tumblers, be sure to stop by Composters.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Easy Composting: the Benefits of the Compost Tumbler

Author: Anthony Tripodi

If you’re looking to turn your garbage into gardener’s gold and do it in a hurry, then you should try a compost tumbler. If you have a compost bin then you know how great it is to add compost to your flower beds and vegetable garden. But making compost takes time and it’s usually in short supply. A compost tumbler is a great time saver when making compost.

Some gardeners believe that compost is better than fertilizer because it doesn’t just feed your plants, it also improves your soil. Improving your soil keeps your plants healthier so they grow stronger and more capable of fighting off diseases or beating droughts. Compost is decomposed organic matter and is high in nutrients that plants love. Bacteria and other micro organisms help break down that decomposing organic matter and their short life cycles become part of the process itself. When they reproduce their offspring continue the process while the parents bodies break down and add to the organic matter. It’s nature’s way of recycling.

Creating compost will usually take a couple of months. If you get the ratio of browns to greens right, turn the pile to keep it aerated and don’t let it dry out you’ll be rewarded with fresh earthy compost. The more you tend your compost pile, the quicker your garden waste will become compost. Neglect the pile and it will still become compost but it’ll take a lot longer. For an example of this examine the rich soil in a forest. As leaves and tree litter fall to the ground, there isn’t anyone there making sure it’s the same wetness as a wrung out sponge. But by the time the next season rolls around, a lot of those leaves have begun decomposing and in the process, they’re feeding the trees and the cycle continues without any help from man.

The gardening season can be very short depending on where you live. In the Northeast we have about 4 months of time to grow the flowers, fruits and vegetables that we love. So unless you have a huge bin of compost ready to go on the first day of spring you’ll need some more during the growing season. A compost tumbler is perfect for making compost fast. Now you probably won’t make enough compost to fill new beds but the amount you can make is perfect to give your plants and nice top dressing.

Or if you are a composter with a pest problem, the compost tumbler will keep the critters out of your pile. The most popular tumblers are sealed up and only have holes for air. If rodents or snakes have been problems for you in the past then the compost tumbler is the solution that you’ve been looking for.

There’s a few things you’ll need to do a little differently if you’re used to bin composting. First off, you’ll need to add all the raw materials at once. Don’t continue adding or else your compost will never be done. Add what you want and then start turning. Try to turn it everyday. If not everyday then at least a few times a week. The first few batches will take the longest unless you already have some compost that you can toss into the tumbler. Or you can use a compost activator. That’s all activators really are anyway. Just someone’s else’s compost to help get your pile started. The bacteria and micro organisms have to get in there somehow.

Be sure not to over water when using a compost tumbler. Moisture doesn’t escape as easily inside the tumbler as with a regular compost bin. And most likely your ingredients such as grass clippings or coffee grinds were already moist to begin with.

After about 3 weeks the compost should start to look like compost. It should be an even color and you shouldn’t be able to tell what you put in the tumbler. If your waste is still recognizable then let it decompose a while longer. And don’t forget to smell your compost. It should have a nice earthy smell to it.

If you’re looking for a neat

About the Author:

Anthony Tripodi is the webmaster of WatchItRot.com – The Compost Guide. For more information about Compost Tumblers and all of your composting and gardening needs, please visit WatchItRot.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Why You Need A Compost Tumbler For Your Garden

Author: Vicki Duong

Lots of novice gardeners believe that their plants and vegetables only need plenty of water and sunlight in order to sustain a healthy and fruitful lifespan. However this is not entirely true as plants also need healthy soil rich in nutrients to be able to survive and grow properly. The solution to this dilemma is composting.

Now, most of us aren’t too sure of what the heck composting is or what it even entails – I know I didn’t! An easy way to explain it is composting is a way for us to give back to the earth by using organic materials such as food scraps, vegetable scraps, grass clippings, leaves and manure from grass eaters like cows, sheep and rabbits. In general, composting is a wonderfully organic process that benefits your garden and the environment tremendously. In today’s article we’ll go ahead and talk about the benefits of composting, what you should and shouldn’t compost, and some composting systems you should consider investing in.

We all know that when anything dies it starts to decompose – humans, animals, plants, it’s all a very natural process. But did you know that in turn, the soil becomes very rich in nutrients and new life starts to grow? That’s the true benefit of composting and that’s what you want for your garden. In addition to improving your soil, it saves you money, makes for terrific mulch for your garden, and places less burden on landfills.

Before you start undertaking a large composting project, there are a few key things you should keep in mind, like what you can and can’t use for composting. Let’s start with what you shouldn’t compost; this includes weeds full of seeds and/or diseases, pesticide infested plants, wood ashes, lime, barbeque charcoal, meat, grease, bones, dairy products, cat, dog and/or human waste, plastic, metal, glass, branches, wood chunks, anything contaminated, and large loads of soggy matter. Obviously anything in the aforementioned list would have an adverse effect on your compost, or won’t decompose properly, especially the bones, but we’ll go more into that later on in a future article.

With that said, it’s highly recommended that you use grass clippings, leaves, non-diseased and seed sprouting weeds, dead plants, food scraps like fruit and veggie wastes, cow, sheep or llama manure, straw/hay, coffee grounds, and even hair and lint when composting. These items break down quick and easily, giving you the end result that you’re looking for.

The next thing that you need to keep in mind is where you’re going to be doing all of this composting work. While some don’t mind working on their compost heap out in the open, like in the woods or in an open area preferably away from prying eyes (I never said it was a pretty looking process), I suggest looking into a compost bin or tumbler system. There are a couple of compost bin systems that you should consider: the one bin and multi-bin systems. For the money conscious the one bin system is the preferred method since it is easy and most municipalities even work with manufacturers to make this method available to the public. In addition, it’s easy to move about, most can hold heat well and is sturdy enough to keep rodents and other wildlife out. The multi-bin system is for households that produce a lot of waste; it generally does the same thing as the one bin method but it allows you to stockpile your materials in one bin and in the other when more materials become ready. Both methods take anywhere from three to eight months in terms of ready to use compost.

Another method you can consider is working with a compost tumbler, which isn’t cheap, but it is small if you’re working with limited space. Think of the benefits though: tumblers rotate which keep your compost aerated and generate heat, which in turn means that you’ll have a batch of ready to use compost in about three weeks. The wire collector is another option to weigh. Great for garnering up quick, ready to use composting, it’s cheap and you can even make one yourself out of rabbit wire or field fencing. However, I don’t really recommend it too often because it’s easy for wildlife to break in to and it doesn’t hold in heat very well. But the great thing about it is after your compost is done and ready, all you have to do is just remove the wire covering.

Do keep in mind the laws of your city. You wouldn’t think it, but check with your local government agency to see what your city will let you compost, like food scraps and what not. After all being cited for not composting within the legalities of your city isn’t very green. And when choosing the ideal composting system, think about your needs, how much waste you can you’d regularly add to it, how animal-resistant it is, and whether you can easily remove your ready to use compost. I know it’s a lot to think about before you begin, but trust me, it’s well worth the effort. In our next installment I’ll go ahead and talk about the science and art of composting – stay tuned!

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

About the Author:

For a wide selection in compost bins, lawn sweepers and rain barrels be sure to stop by Composters.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Composting for Beginners – Do’s and Don’ts, Bins and Tumblers

Author: jamiehanson

Well to make your lawn look fresh, green and lively it is a brilliant idea to try a compost tumbler. Although to make a compost is not an easy job, it needs time, skill and hard work. Compost added to flower beds, grasses, plants and vegetable fields aids its better development and they indeed thrive well. Compost tumbler is much simpler and does not take too much time comparatively. You can get a great variety of products needed to compost with a lot of different techniques, similar to the compost bin, but the compost tumbler is the best and an efficient method to compost. While composting you might seem frustrated due to the odor released while decomposition of biodegradable waste, which is further converted to active, fertilized and organic rich soil. The tiny bacteria called microbes aid in decomposition process that die while compost because of the lack of sufficient oxygen, this compost is deserted for some time and thus gives out odor. As the compost remains neglected it takes time to decay. To avoid all this trouble and to save much time and energy, a compost tumbler is your finest option. A compost tumbler is easy and convenient to manage as the biodegradable waste is turned into organic rich soil in a small span of time and the compost tumbler is never ignored, turned frequently and nor does it smell, isn\’t that wonderful? Usually the decaying process takes a lengthy time from six months to twenty four months! And all this depends on the sort of waste decayed. But the compost tumblers are far more useful and quicker as the humus is developed in less than a month or two, for which you have to pay a little of attention. Therefore, the decaying period for a compost tumbler is half the period needed in other techniques. While buying a compost tumbler you need to pay attention on certain points so as to get a sensible and a helpful item for decomposition. A range of sizes, shapes and materials are offered in compost tumblers. According to your own particular requirements, height of the tumbler and your physical potency, you pick from the range. But then these compost tumblers do not actually need a lot of effort to turn it. The next thing is to see what material the compost tumbler is made up of. The best one is food grade material that is used in its manufacture, as its very tough, it saves from UV rays and is very ever-lasting. Some may include metal parts but then these tumblers get corroded because of climatic conditions. Food grade plastic material is the best option as it gives proper warmth for the bacteria to survive in the compost. Lastly you need to check whether it is simple to move as there are some conditions when you may sense the necessity to shift your filled compost tumbler to different location for valid reasons, so chose a model which has wheels that helps you to move the tumbler around the lawn, turning it while shifting around. Hence make an intelligent choice by picking a perfect compost tumbler that is mobile and an excellent material appropriate for compost to decay better. To get greener lawns and gardens use the best compost tumbler that is useful, mobile and simple to handle. This is an excellent and easy way of composting with a compost tumbler.

About the Author:

Looking for a compost tumbler that is easy to handle and gives you best results within short span of time, check at Compost Oven To convert the biodegradable waste to organic rich soil for greener lawns look at Healthier Soil with a Compost Tumbler To get the best results from the compost tumbler take help at CompostOven.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A Clean And Easy Method Of Composting With A Compost Tumbler

Author: Vicki Duong

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 don’t mean, “In my garden,” or even, “In my houseplant’s 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 can’t commit to watering down my compost constantly if it’s out in the open in addition to turning the pile on a regular basis. However, that’s 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 you’re 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 you’re 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 it’s ready to be removed, which can be easily done. But the big reason why I like compost tumblers is because they’re fun! Sorry to the folks who have open compost heaps, but I don’t 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!

About the Author:

For a wide selection in compost bins, chipper shredder and rain barrels be sure to stop by Composters.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Compost Tumblers Make Composting Fun