composting

[Hound Dog]

Just received a flyer in the mail today advertising a "compostumbler."

It's a very large drum on a pipe stand which is turned using a geared hand-crank.

Among other claims, the ad states you can compost your waste in just 14 days. (??)

Does anyone have an opinion as to the value of this composter.

Hound Dog

[Janice]

All depends on how much compost you need, and how much access you have to dry matter to go with the green.

My father had one of the larger compost drums, and he used it for awhile, but as he almost always did, he found it lacking in some manner and sold it. He had to go find wood shavings to add to the green matter and that wore on him after while.

If your garden isn't too large, and your needs aren't too great, you might find it of some use, but I'd try to find folks in your area who have one and use it and see what they turn out. Talk to your local extension agent or the master gardeners that staff the phones. Since there will be several of those, you can get more than one opinion.

Personally, unless you just have money laying about that you have nothing better to do with, I'd put it back in your pocket and just make a compost pile, don't let it get too big and turn it regularly. Or just pile stuff into bins and let nature take its course after 2 or

3 years you'll have something you can mix back into the ground, but it will not likely be much more than organic matter by then. I tend to do the let nature take its course type of composting due to an inability to get around much nowadays and can't afford to pay folks to do that stuff.

Maybe watch the ads and when one of the compost tumblers shows up in the paper from someone like my dad, you can pick it up a lot cheaper than buying it new and paying that shipping!

Janice

[Jutta Haas]

I read some info on it, and from that I gather that much is promised (compost available in only a few months) and not so much delivered. You also have to turn it around very often. Hmm