Tumbling Composters

[Doug99]

I'm considering my options for composting and the tumbling type appears to be a convenient option. Any views of their effectiveness?

I always understood that a normal compost heap builds up over a long period of time and the 'compost' is drawn from the bottom of the pile.

How does the tumbling effect produce the same? Surely by mixing the old vegetation with the new will just slow the process down. When the barrel is full it will then comprise of part fresh and part composted material. Do I then have to leave it for a period before it can be considered fully 'composted'?

Cheers

 

[JohnD]

not worth the bother IME

 

[Deleted2797112]

^^^^^ This.

Which? magazine tested 4 tumblers against two versions of a normal plastic bin. They turned the tumblers 3 times a week and watered as required. For one of the normal bins they forked it once a week, the other they left undisturbed. The tumblers and forked bin all produced well-rotted compost in 14 weeks. The undisturbed bin took 6 months. The best buy tumbler cost £204, the best buy normal bin cost £35.

 

[Graeme1983]

Tumblers seem gimmicky to me, the Czech gardeners mag also rubbished them as the compost wasnt well rotted enough compared to the box unit or a few old wooden boards arranged into a box.

Ive had no trouble with a chest high plastic composter with sliding doors at the bottom. My spud crop also jumped up when I started putting my log fire ash directly in the composter and mixing it in as opposed to just stockpiling it and then putting it into and turning in the soil.