I want a composter!

[ceresone]

One of the fancy Mantis ones, that you just turn a handle! anyone use one? I know-other ways are cheaper--but I cant turn a pile--besides, Varmints dig it up. So anyone use one?

[mnn2501]

Yep, had one for 3 years now - does not work as fast as they claim. Not as easy to turn as they make it look when it's full.
I would suggest putting it fairly close to your house so it's easy to add kitchen waste and also you're more likely to turn it daily if you don't have to walk to the edge of your property to do so. Should also be in full sun to assist heating it up..
I usually get 2 batches a year out of it. Overall it costs way too much for what you get out of it.
Would I recommend it - at full price:no. If you could find a used one or a really good sale - possibly

[7thswan]

I had bought a used one for 50. tryed it once. I'm not the sort to turn it all the time-too busy. I gave it to a lady I met driveing down the road in a small town near me-she had a beautiful garden and when I saw that she used a composter , a not so nice one, I gave her the one I had.

[Maura]

I gave mine away. Could not turn it once it got loaded. For the fastest compost time it needs as much air as possible. A turn every two minutes. It also needs a minimum amount of compost, which those barrels do not have. Look for a large compositor with a little engine to keep it turning. My father in law developed a formula when he taught at Central Michigan U. You need a certain percentage of brown to green, certain percentage of water, and a constant turning. The students used cow manure and straw and had it fully composted in 72 hours. If you use horse manure (which is not as well digested) you need more manure than if you used cow. This just means your mileage will vary.

[Harry Chickpea]

Front loader washer...

Maura, your father in law was a smart man. The C/N ratio is also at the core of all the bio-gas production. (Adding pee will increase the nitrogen if needed.)

[halfpint]

We were given one years ago that the stand was broken on. My husband repaired it, and we have it sitting a little ways from our chicken coop in the sun (we had first placed it next to the coop in the shade, but it didn't compost well). I usually turn it once a day when I get eggs & feed/water the chickens, plus other times during the day if I'm out there. You can only fill it more than about 1/3 or it will not turn easily. I get 3-5 batches each year, depending upon how often we turn it. When we're out gardening or in the yard it may get turned several times a day, but the last week with all the rain, most days it's only been turned once.

It is nice in that instead of shoveling out the compost, I can pull the wheelbarrow under it and turn the composter to dump in the wheelbarrow.

Since we have a lot of compost between leaves, grass and the chickens, we made two home made composters where we took sturdy plastic round garbage cans that had lids that locked on well, and drilled holes all around it, including a few small holes in the bottom. We fill them about 1/2 full, and the kids used to like to roll them around the yard. Now that my children are grown, they don't get rolled around as much so it typically takes about 5-6 months to get the compost out of them.

Dawn

[dodgesmammaw]

Some friends gave me a tumbler last year. I love it.

[Bellyman]

Lots of YouTube variations to explore if you want to build your own.

[Belfrybat]

I have two of the upright barrel kind with a screw on lid. When the compost begins to make and reduce in volume, they are almost impossible to turn as they are bottom heavy. They do make compost fast (compared to a pile), but unless my neighbour is around, I can't turn them after a while.
If I were to get another one, I'd get the horizontal barrel kind.

[starlady]

I have this one: http://smile.amazon.com/Yimby-Tumble...dp/B009378AG2/

I paid about 15% less than the current price. I like it a lot -- it has two chambers so you can fill one up and it can be composting while you fill the other one. Pretty easy to turn - there are recessed "handles" all over it which help to tumble the compost inside and serve as hand-grips on the outside. Like all composters, don't believe the product on how fast it will make compost -- this one says "in as little as two weeks" but it really takes at least a month and more if you want everything fully broken down. Still, faster and easier than turning a pile. Assembly was a little difficult - if you get it, google it and read the written instructions and how other people have put it together as the instructions that come with it aren't very helpful.

edit: holy cow, I just looked up the price on the Mantis and the Yimby is a GREAT deal compared to that!

[myheaven]

I have one. Never did work for me. It makes a great feed mixer.

[Use Less]

Dad designed his own from a largish trash barrel. Can't turn it once it has a load of food waste in there. I'd save my money. If you are willing to wait, just use a double ring of chicken wire, and layer your food waste with leaves, grass and occasionally a little dirt from time to time. It took three years, but I emptied one last year of lovely black stuff. I did a second one and refilled it all season. Now it has a couple boards over the top so I don't keep adding.

[ceresone]

I made one from a barrel once-till i opened it find a ' possum inside! I have too many varmints to use a open one--my scraps, if I bury them in the garden get dug up by dogs/rats/skunks/'possums-you name it. price and turning it might pose a problem-but I think it would be better that the alternative. I have horses, so some droppings would help heat it, I think, as well as kill weeds seeds, don't you think?

[DEKE01]

Save money, time, and labor. Build a 3 bin system out of PT lumber. Surround it with hardware cloth if you are worried about critters. Make it 4' wide x 12' long and 4' deep. Make the front panels removable for easy clean out. Each bin is about as small as you can go to get good heating and weed seed kill.

Fill bin 1 till full, smash it down, fill it again, and then leave it alone. Never turn it, it is not necessary, it simply speeds the process of decomposition of your pile and back. In 6 - 12 months, you'll have good compost.

If you are a typical suburban lot kind of person, that 4 x 4 x 4 bin will take a long time to fill. If you are just using kitchen wastes, you might never fill a single bin. If you have access to neighbor's bagged leaves or grass clipping, you'll go much faster. When I was in the burbs, I would bring home a 30 gal bucket of manure from where DW boarded her horses. That filled the bins faster, smashed the leaves down, and got things heating.

[ceresone]

I live on a farm, and have a big garden, and orchard--I'm also almost 78 year old woman, so I'm wanting easy. something so simple, can be so complicated. One year, I built one 3 straw bales high, and 4 bales wide-it was smoking hot in January-but I cant turn that much anymore. Thanks, everyone, for your help, its appreciated

[motdaugrnds]

Ceresone, I have one of those large composters with the handle; and as long as I do not overload it, it works great. I keep it in the hot sunshine near my chicken house. (I can even put the guts of what I slaughter in it, which is great.) What I've discovered is that it wants to clump; so I'm going to get a couple of rods and run them thru the center of this composter to help break up clogging when it is turned.

I also have a couple of old tubs sitting waaaaaay out in my garden that I like to keep sawdust in for any animal that might have died unexpectedly on the place...one I'm not sure enough about to feed to my dogs...covering it with sawdust. These work well too. (I never turn anything. Just let it lay until it is all well done.)

I also am creating "raised" beds and have one almost completed. In this I place everything ( bones/skins/heads/feet/etc) from what I've slaughtered for the year. Cover all this with some barn bedding and wait until spring for the entire bed to be great for planting...as the soil is quite rich.