Rich organic compost is the key to a successful garden. Investing in a compost tumbler could be a wise investment if you have more money than time.
Every day you throw away everything you need to successfully produce compost. Think about all of the kitchen waste, including eggshells, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and even newspaper and toilet tissue tubes that you would normally take out to the curb. Now think about how to recycle that waste into fresh grown food that you can enjoy all season long.
Creating compost by hand in an open area can take a couple of months, and you must keep working, feeding and turning it to get the right mix of oxygen. There is a pretty good chance that scavengers will make a mess of it, just as they will if you leave a bag of trash out on the curb. There might also be laws that prohibit open composting in your town.
A compost tumbler is essentially a large bin, often plastic, with a closeable opening through which you put your kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, leaves, etc. It is often mounted to a stand so that it can be hand cranked or tumbled, thus mixing the material contained inside. As bacteria slowly breaks down this organic matter it turns into food for your garden. The heat produced within the sealed container is a sign that your compost is cooking nicely. Just give it a crank every day or so to keep everything well mixed and you should have a batch of compost ready to go in just a few weeks.
To be on the safe side, plan to start your first batch of compost a couple of months before planting season begins so it will be more than ready to use when you need it. You can jump start it by adding a starter (usually some mature compost) to get things going. It’s the same as using sourdough starter to make bread. iced coffee glass
