How to Use a Tumbleweed Composter Tumbling Compost Bin
The benefits of a composter to your household and your community far outweigh the physical effort of frequent maintenance. The biggest task for a composter, turning the material, has been simplified with the invention of tumbling composters. If you invest in a Tumbleweed composter, the ease of use will reward you with rich organic soil in as little as four weeks without ever having to lift a pitchfork. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Select a location for your Tumbleweed. Choose a flat place with enough room to rotate the composter without hitting a wall or fence. garden shed or in a corner of the garden is usually chosen because it is convenient to the garden where materials will move to and from the composter.
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Open the top of the Tumbleweed by twisting the lid about a quarter of a turn until it comes off. Add kitchen scraps, leaves, twigs, grass clippings or plant cuttings. Do not include dairy products, animal fat cuttings removed due to disease. Close the lid and twist to secure.
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Rotate the body of the composter by half a turn making the "top" you just added into become the "bottom" of the bin. When the Tumbleweed is rotated, the bar in the middle of the bin breaks up the material so clumps don't form. Sending the new materials to the bottom helps them start breaking down even quicker.
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Keep a routine of rotations going even when you don't have new material to add. By rotating the Tumbleweed every couple of days you aerate the material keeping the compost "cooking" which creates a hot pile that kills off disease, breaks down quickly and produces compost faster.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure you place the composter in a convenient location. On cold winter days the last thing you'll want to do is trek through the snow to dump kitchen scraps. Don't let your compost go dry or the process will slow down. If necessary, add water to your composter when it looks dry so the material doesn't stop decomposing.
Don't place the composter on a deck or patio. While the ease of turning the composter is wonderful and the compactness of the Tumbleweed makes it tempting, the compost will produce juices which need to leak or drip out of the composter. If the compost "tea" drips on your deck or patio it may stain the surface permanently.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Margaret Telsch-Williams
