We had one of the square ones at our first home. It had slide up gates on all sides but they would jam and it was also very hard to extract the compost out of them.
At our previous house, we had a Tumbleweed which was very slow to make compost, became very heavy to rotate as it filled up, was very hard to extract the compost out of it and we left it when we sold the house without it having been opened for years.
At our present home, we put the lawn clippings and vegetation on the edge of the nature strip behind our yard so as to mulch the plants growing there, and the kitchen scraps gp in the bin.
We only have a small yard and we do not need another compost drama.
When planting things in our garden, we use a mix of Fine Farms Chicken Manure, Fine Farms Sheep Manure, Richgro Mushroom Compost, Peanut Shell and Blood & Bone.
I have never bought a tumbler as I have no need. For those with limited space who want to do fast composting in principle a tumbler is intended to help as it aerates the mix and reduces layering.
The problems that I forsee are that the design is self-limiting in that while it is small it will never hold the heat and with a comparatively larger surface to volume ratio and rotation it will tend to dry out, both of these work against hot composting.
On the other hand if the tumbler is made larger it becomes much more expensive to make and (as others have said) it will become even harder to turn by hand. It doesn’t seem to be workable to scale down an industrial design (which are much larger and mechanically turned) and achieve the same sort of results on a domestic level for a much lower volume. Some designs are not scalable. The square-cube law is as applicable today as in Galileo’s time.
We have had tumblers, which with time rusted, became very cluncky, and hard to turn. To top it off, the compust was smelly (anaerobic) and not usable.
For years now in two homes we (the wife woman) has been digging a large hole in the garden and filling it with our scraps, and covering it with a thin layer of dirt. This is repeated until the hole is slightly mounded over. Start a new hole… In fairly short order the scraps break down and the mound returns to be level with the surrounding garden.
From this process we have serendipitiously grown stone fruit trees, and avocadoe trees, as well as lots of vegetables regenerating and springing from the compost.
The best thing with lawns are to get a mulcher mower that fires the clippings back into the lawn. No issue with having to deal with lawn clippings. As we don’t currently have one of them, we just spread the clippings along our fence line, and that hold the weeds back until the clippings break down.
I agree, I had at one stage a huge compost pile against an old brick wall. It has a lot of green therefore high nitrogen lawn clippings. I watered the pile to keep it just damp, and turned it every few days, if I didn’t, the internal heat ashed the material, went to grey ash. I kept this going and would get an amazing green composted product. The compost, however you do it, requires aeration so it does not become anaerobic and poisonous.
The microorganisms have to be nurtured.
My now ex husband intervened in Sydney, transferred my small compost into a big garbage bin, crushed it down to fit, probably trod on it. Watered it, then put it on my veg and flower garden growing saucer sized pansies. Poisoned the lot. That garden would not grow anything after that.
Anaerobic compost isn’t poisonous, but they do have different microbes which can live in the reducing/anaerobic environment. There are many commercial composting plants that used anaerobic composting instead of traditional aerobic composting methods…
One of the challenges with anaerobic composting is that it not managed well it can led to unwelcome odours (and potentially things maggot infestations) from the production of things like hydrogen sulphide, volatile organic compounds etc.
There can be problems if the organic materials being composted is waterlogged (which means it is placed under water) as this can lead to some organic toxins such as organic acids, methane and ethylene, high availability (soluble) of iron and manganese and also rapid loss of nitrogen. Waterlogged ‘compost’ is different beast to anaerobic composting.
If one wants a good text on composting and soil media, this one is a worthy buy if one is scientifically minded…
While it isn’t cheap, it is a good reference for Australian conditions. I have a copy of a previous edition and it is often referred to for advice and information.
Sure, I followed a trialed procedure developed for Fiji when I was in fiji for composting. I produced some green jelly from big volume lawn clippings from mowing our compound. I had phenomenal growth from this.
I experienced 100% killed plant growth which persisted in a previously highly productive garden after anaerobic ferment of a big bin of compost including and mostly lawn clipping.
Home gardeners need the simple warning, aerate your compost, Aerate the lawn clippings, brown stuff and whatever mix you have. Watch out for ashing.
I speak for a small batch not big volume commercial. Similarly my parents farm compost heap digested shot foxes and old sheep but not fur or wool. We joked that better to go in the compost rather than exorbitant funeral.
We have three types of systems. My husband has open bin for the dry compost with the lawn clippings and prunings from the soft shrubs plus gum leaves cut up with the lawn mover for the brown. It takes a long time to break down, we usually have 2 or 3 piles and use it twice a year to mulch our fruit tress and plant new shrubs. I have a rotating tumbler one which all the kitchen scraps go into except the meat and pastry scraps. No rodent problem but also no worms.I use either lucerne or sugar cane mulch to add as the dry stuff. Each time I make a new side I add a handful blood and bone, a handful of manure and a handful of complete fertilizer as shown by a nursery demonstration. I empty about every 4 weeks and put on my veggie garden so each bed gets some each time in rotation. By the end of winter all 6 have had a top up during the year… The things like spent veggie plants or rhubarb leaves etc go into the square bin on the ground. We put bricks around the base so it could not be dug under by rodents but since no kitchen scraps go in it has not been a problem. No one system is perfect. I do not compost any weeds or small sticks and large gum leaves, they go in the council green waste. We have a half acre block with poor soil and large gum trees taking moisture so we need all the compost we can get. I have tried a couple of different mulching machines with no great luck, stuff is too wet, too dry and climbers get tangled.
The two examples you gave of your successes and failures is not strong evidence to generalise from. There is too little data and no way to know whether the observed result in each case was in fact due solely to the composting method as you claim.
There has been some diversity in the expressed views on composting.
There are many types of gardens and plants.
Is compost universally beneficial?
IE soil type, plant type, preferred growing conditions, compost source materials, etc
We predominantly work with natural vegetation and rehab. Traditional composting is intended to improve soils to better grow vegetables, fruit trees, flowering plants, mostly from environments not always found in typical Aussie backyards. Our natural environment has developed around sandy alluvial soils that are naturally acid and low in nutrient (leeched). The strategies for best managing our soil profiles are not the same as those best suited to growing veges, traditional flowers or tropicals. 99.99% of our garden/bushland waste is treated more as mulch or left to decompose naturally in small piles. No bins required.
Similar strategies can be applied to the backyard. Yes, it can look untidy, and yes, it provides homes for all sorts of critters. But it may also suit the type of plants and garden you have. Great for gardeners who prefer to be time efficient and enjoy a more natural landscape.
P.S.
As noted previously we alternate between two compost bins. This is primarily to manage kitchen waste. We get a coarse product that is loosely spread or mixed with natural leaf litter to feed a small number of exotics.
Where we lived before there was a big buffalo lawn which produced lots of clippings. Half of the clippings I left on the pavement for a couple of days to dry, and then mix together with the fresh clippings and vege scraps in my compost bin. Every day gave it a stir. Two weeks later I had the bin full of black soil ready to transfer into my garden.
Where we live now we have a couch grass. I do not use a compost bin any more - not enough green mass. Instead I collect my kitchen scraps and weeds, make a sharp cut into the soil with a shovel, carefully place my scraps into the cut, take the shovel out and return the upper soil into its place, make another cut 15 cm apart, and so on. This technique adds organic matter to a sandy soil, quickly decomposes it, and not hard at all to do.
It all depends on how big the garden is, and the volume of the green waste.
As buffalo grass is coarser than many other grasses used for lawns, it also makes a great garden mulch (can substitute sugar can or hay bales).
It goes breakdown quicker but add organic C to the soil improving its physical properties.
This can also be used as a mulch if used in relatively thin layers (1-2 inches/2-5 cm) due to it being finer. It also need to be placed loosely so that any rain/water can penetrate dampening tye underlying soil. One should also avoid placing mulch against plant stems as it can cause fungal diseases in the plants. Usually 5-10cm buffer between mulch and plant stems is only needed.
We currently have a couch lawn and use catching when collected as mulch in the vege patch…providing it is free of weed/couch seed.
We use a squarish plastic compost bin with a plastic tumbler alongside. Leaves, lawn clippings, and kitchen fruit/veg scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves go into the plastic bin, and get turned with a fork every few days. When the level gets high, I take from the bottom of the bin and transfer some to the tumbler for ‘finishing’. I also add some lime to the tumbler as our compost is otherwise often too acidic.
The bin has a reasonably tight fitting lid and we use a brick to prevent critters ( I think limited to ringtail possums these days ) lifting it off.
Plenty of worms in the base of the bin, and they will even survive in the tumbler for extended periods if the weather is right.
After replacing a section of our rear fence, I took the old treated pine fence rails and palings to the Council Waste Transfer Station today.
Much to my surprise, the person at the gate said to take them to the big green shed, and when I queried whether she meant the green waste area, she said no.
I asked when they had changed things to which she replied that it was a while ago.
Even our local Council has finally woken up to the fact that treated pine does not belong in garden mulch.
It is okay in mulch, but not suitable for composting or burning (if greenwaste is sold/provided to say the local sugar mill for producing heat/cogeheration).
I expect that the treated timber received at the transfer station is bulked and not separated for different uses.
Our local council has just implemented a Food Organics and Green Organics (FOGO) waste collection service. That is food scraps, tissues, raw bones etc. as well as green waste - lawn clippings, twigs leaves and small branches.
The rationale for providing this is provided here:
(pardon the pun)
