Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Compost Tumbler (R) - any good
I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a
Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. Apparently the rotating drum will make great compost in just 14 days. Has anyone got one? Are they any good? Currently I have a nice heap made from 4 pallets with a little hatch in the bottom. It is a good heap this time of year - getting hot enough for me to find ash in the middle, but turning it is difficult, and the hatch design means I take from the edge not the middle (also the stuff from on top falls down). So for every spade of compost I takeout I have to shove a spade of compost mixed with still identifiable stuff back on top. I was thinking with this I could get a load of stuff off my heap, 14 days before I want it, shave it in, turn it once a day and two weeks later reap the rewards, but is is just advertising talk? Am I better off waiting until the end of the season, covering my heap, starting a mini winter heap and then in spring empty the big heap on to the garden and the little heap in to the big on? Mike |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
In article , Mike &
Karen writes I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. Apparently the rotating drum will make great compost in just 14 days. Hmm. I'd like to see that before I believed it. Currently I have a nice heap made from 4 pallets with a little hatch in the bottom. It is a good heap this time of year - getting hot enough for me to find ash in the middle, but turning it is difficult, and the hatch design means I take from the edge not the middle (also the stuff from on top falls down). So for every spade of compost I takeout I have to shove a spade of compost mixed with still identifiable stuff back on top. I think you'd be better to make another the same size beside it, then, when it's full, take the top layer off and put it into the new heap, continue filling the new one while you use the old one, then reverse the process - put top of new heap into old heap, start using new heap, and so on. I was thinking with this I could get a load of stuff off my heap, 14 days before I want it, shave it in, turn it once a day and two weeks later reap the rewards, but is is just advertising talk? Am I better off waiting until the end of the season, covering my heap, starting a mini winter heap and then in spring empty the big heap on to the garden and the little heap in to the big on? Almost certainly. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Mike & Karen wrote:
I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. At least snail spam is paid for by the sender! The chief knock on all these devices is that they don't make nearly enough compost to be useful, and take a lot of care and feeding. I'm of the "Pile it up. Let it rot." school myself. Though the Dalek-shaped ones intrigue me; I could "exter-min-ate" my household garbage. Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"Mike & Karen" wrote in message ... I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. Apparently the rotating drum will make great compost in just 14 days. Has anyone got one? Are they any good? Currently I have a nice heap made from 4 pallets with a little hatch in the bottom. It is a good heap this time of year - getting hot enough for me to find ash in the middle, but turning it is difficult, and the hatch design means I take from the edge not the middle (also the stuff from on top falls down). So for every spade of compost I takeout I have to shove a spade of compost mixed with still identifiable stuff back on top. I was thinking with this I could get a load of stuff off my heap, 14 days before I want it, shave it in, turn it once a day and two weeks later reap the rewards, but is is just advertising talk? Am I better off waiting until the end of the season, covering my heap, starting a mini winter heap and then in spring empty the big heap on to the garden and the little heap in to the big on? dont bother ........THERES NO SUBSTITUTE for good old fashioned 2 heaps principal......one empty and one full and forking one into the other every month ..........plus mix in a few buckets of urine and some horse manure if you can get it Mike |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"Martin" wrote in message ... On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 18:26:08 +0200, Martin wrote: On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:20:07 GMT, Mike & Karen wrote: I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. Apparently the rotating drum will make great compost in just 14 days. Has anyone got one? Are they any good? It says "in as little as 21 days" on the web site http://www.gonegardening.com/xq/ASP/...1100146/refere r./qx/gg_shop/product.htm plus another 14 days for delivery. I noticed that people who bought a tumbler for GBP62 also paid GBP32 for a packet of compost accelerator http://www.gonegardening.com/xq/ASP/...op/product.htm - had both gift wrapped at GBP5 a time and bought 5 potato sacks at GBP7.95 Somebody taking the urine or what? Mind you, you do get 25 Kg Garotta for that GBP 32. Who, other than a commercial enterprise, would want to have 25 Kg of Garotta? Franz |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"Gary Woods" wrote in message ... Mike & Karen wrote: I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. At least snail spam is paid for by the sender! The chief knock on all these devices is that they don't make nearly enough compost to be useful, and take a lot of care and feeding. I'm of the "Pile it up. Let it rot." school myself. Though the Dalek-shaped ones intrigue me; I could "exter-min-ate" my household garbage. I have been led to believe that household garbage can be composted as fast as it is produced by worms, once you have a dynamic equilibrium set up between the input and the output, with only a few weeks delay. Or has that been hyped up too much? Franz |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Mike & Karen" wrote in message ... I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. Apparently the rotating drum will make great compost in just 14 days. Has anyone got one? Are they any good? Currently I have a nice heap made from 4 pallets with a little hatch in the bottom. It is a good heap this time of year - getting hot enough for me to find ash in the middle, but turning it is difficult, and the hatch design means I take from the edge not the middle (also the stuff from on top falls down). So for every spade of compost I takeout I have to shove a spade of compost mixed with still identifiable stuff back on top. I was thinking with this I could get a load of stuff off my heap, 14 days before I want it, shave it in, turn it once a day and two weeks later reap the rewards, but is is just advertising talk? Am I better off waiting until the end of the season, covering my heap, starting a mini winter heap and then in spring empty the big heap on to the garden and the little heap in to the big on? Mike Hi Mike, I've got one, my Mum didn't want it any more. It takes up more space (it needs room to swing) than a regular heap, whilst taking a fraction of the compostable material, takes ages for anything to break down (I'd like to see it produce compost in 14 days) and when it swings back and catches your shins, you get the neighbours complaining about the swearing :-). Stick to the regular heap, or come and get the one I don't use any more. HTH Nick http://www.ukgardening.co.uk |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
It says "in as little as 21 days" on the web site http://www.gonegardening.com/xq/ASP/...op/product.htm The one I have been sent details of is closer to this... http://www.globeorganic.co.uk/compost.htm Coming in 2 sizes -- 635 litre and 315 litre. The deal in the leaflet is if I am interested I send back the postage paid postcard asking for more details. Interestingly the leaflet has no mention of price- the web link above suggests prices of 300 quid for 340L and nearly 400 for the 650L - a lot more than the free 4 pallets I currently have (and more than I would pay - I'd rather get a shredder or a rotovator) By sending back the post card I get a "risk free 30 day trial" - enough to make 2 batches of quality compost. I might just take them up on the offer - by the end of September I could make ~1m3 of compost - that should empty the pallets for winter!! Mike |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"Franz Heymann" wrote:
I have been led to believe that household garbage can be composted as fast as it is produced by worms, once you have a dynamic equilibrium set up between the input and the output, with only a few weeks delay. Or has that been hyped up too much? That might better be termed "worm assisted composting." I have a bin in my cellar, and all the vegetable trimmings, etc., as well as things like bean hulls go into it. Works pretty well; a 2X3 X1foot deep plywood box treated with polythene varnish can absorb anything I can throw in it. In the warmer weather, yard and garden waste go into a couple of conventional poorly managed heaps under some pine trees out of sight. Not that, where I am, anybody would see them anyway. Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
In article , Mike &
Karen writes By sending back the post card I get a "risk free 30 day trial" - enough to make 2 batches of quality compost. I might just take them up on the offer - by the end of September I could make ~1m3 of compost - that should empty the pallets for winter!! Make sure it's not one of these free trials that depends on your remembering to cancel a direct debit. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Kay wrote:
In article , Mike & Karen writes By sending back the post card I get a "risk free 30 day trial" - enough to make 2 batches of quality compost. I might just take them up on the offer - by the end of September I could make ~1m3 of compost - that should empty the pallets for winter!! Make sure it's not one of these free trials that depends on your remembering to cancel a direct debit. One other thing, if you are not happy after 30 days, do they collect? if not, how much would it cost you to send it back? I have a single compost bin in my small back garden, makes great compost, but it's hard work to get the compost out even with removable front slats. Once a year I empty it, sieve the compost, all the stuff that hasn't decomposed properly, goes back in the bin to start again. In my allotment I'm trying a bin built in sections http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/gg24.htm I've made it with wood recycled from pallets Griz |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
"Nick Gray" wrote in message ... "Mike & Karen" wrote in message ... I just got a bit of spam in my snail mail box that interested me - try a Compost Tumbler (R) free for 30 days. Apparently the rotating drum will make great compost in just 14 days. Has anyone got one? Are they any good? Currently I have a nice heap made from 4 pallets with a little hatch in the bottom. It is a good heap this time of year - getting hot enough for me to find ash in the middle, but turning it is difficult, and the hatch design means I take from the edge not the middle (also the stuff from on top falls down). So for every spade of compost I takeout I have to shove a spade of compost mixed with still identifiable stuff back on top. I was thinking with this I could get a load of stuff off my heap, 14 days before I want it, shave it in, turn it once a day and two weeks later reap the rewards, but is is just advertising talk? Am I better off waiting until the end of the season, covering my heap, starting a mini winter heap and then in spring empty the big heap on to the garden and the little heap in to the big on? Mike Hi Mike, I've got one, my Mum didn't want it any more. It takes up more space (it needs room to swing) than a regular heap, whilst taking a fraction of the compostable material, takes ages for anything to break down (I'd like to see it produce compost in 14 days) and when it swings back and catches your shins, you get the neighbours complaining about the swearing :-). Stick to the regular heap, or come and get the one I don't use any more. I have one and have had one for 6 months. I have nothing out of it atm. I think some of this is due to its not being so forgiving if you have too much of one thing or another. I feel at least with my normal heap something will happen eventually, it just feels this might never happen. It also dribbles on you when you turn it. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Urban Compost Tumbler - Fact or Fiction? | Gardening | |||
Urban Compost Tumbler - Fact or Fiction? | Lawns | |||
Tumbler Tomato question... | United Kingdom | |||
Tumbler Tomatoes | United Kingdom | |||
Tumbler Tomatoes | United Kingdom |