Our fruit and veggie scraps go to the chickens and most meat scraps are eaten by our dog, although the chickens get some of them too. Eggshells are crushed and fed back to the chickens and coffee grinds are scattered in our vegetable garden.
The horse manure and pine shavings from the horse stalls get raked into a wheelbarrow and piled out back under tarps to turn into wonderful soil for the garden.
The chicken manure gets tossed over the run fence and nourishes the grass in our horse pasture. We recycle all our newspapers and scrap paper. Not a lot gets put out for the trash man.
The horse manure and pine shavings from the horse stalls get raked into a wheelbarrow and piled out back under tarps to turn into wonderful soil for the garden.
The composter arrived via FEDEX several days ago. The very first thing that impressed me was the notice on the outside of the box encouraging customers to use the box, which is made from recycled cardboard and printed with water-based inks, as their first to 'contribution' to the composter. How neat is that ?
The composter itself is an attractive, sturdy plastic drum that sits on a base with rolling wheels and comes pre-assembled.
All you have to do is set the drum on the base, decide if you will be collecting liquids or not using the plug system (the base is designed to offer two options - either to collect the liquid "A.K.A." compost tea or have it drain right into the ground - described in more detail in the Operations Guide) and you're ready to get started.
There is a door on the top that flips up for easy access with a latch to provide protection from rodents...
and a plugged drain on the bottom to dispense your compost 'tea'. (The liquid is extremely concentrated, so you need to dilute it with 10 parts water for a 1/10 ratio before 'watering' any gardens or plants.)
There are air vents on either side and the whole thing measures just slightly smaller than a 20" cube.
All you have to do is set the drum on the base, decide if you will be collecting liquids or not using the plug system (the base is designed to offer two options - either to collect the liquid "A.K.A." compost tea or have it drain right into the ground - described in more detail in the Operations Guide) and you're ready to get started.
There is a door on the top that flips up for easy access with a latch to provide protection from rodents...
View of the inside...
and a plugged drain on the bottom to dispense your compost 'tea'. (The liquid is extremely concentrated, so you need to dilute it with 10 parts water for a 1/10 ratio before 'watering' any gardens or plants.)
There are air vents on either side and the whole thing measures just slightly smaller than a 20" cube.
It is made of recycled BPA-free plastic (and is recyclable) and holds 17 gallons of compost and one liter of tea. The tea is an added bonus that can be used on indoor and outdoor plants.
I had been reading up on the basics of composting in the days leading up to receiving the composter and this is what I learned (much of this information is also included on the instruction sheet that comes in the box with each composter).
Composting requires four basic 'ingredients':
1. Green (wet) ingredients which provide nitrogen and can include-
fruit and veggie peels, leaves, stalks and blossoms
coffee grinds and filters
tea bags
kitchen leftovers - avoiding meat, fish and diary
chicken, turkey, cow or horse manure - avoiding pet cat or dog waste
egg shells
*nothing moldy, diseased or oily
2. Brown (dry) ingredients which provide carbon and can include-
grass clippings
leaves and small twigs
sawdust and shavings - untreated
shredded newspaper
shredded paper boxes
shredded egg cartons
3. Moisture/water-
Add water as needed to keep the composting material moist but not soggy
4. Air which provides oxygen-
Oxygen is needed for the good bacteria to flourish
A ratio of 50/50 green to brown ingredients should be maintained. If the material is left to get too wet, it will start to smell. To alleviate this problem, add more brown material and rotate the drum. The drum should be rotated at least three times a week regardless to keep the contents mixed and the air circulating.
Remember that smaller pieces compost faster. Soil added in with the first batch can help to activate the compost. It should take roughly 4-6 weeks for your first batch to be ready to use and rotating the drum more frequently speeds up the progress. Finished compost should be uniformly dark brown, crumbly and have an earthy smell. Retain a handful of your first batch of compost to activate the next batch.
To use the tea, you can merely drain the contents of the base into a bucket, or thread a garden hose from the nozzle to your garden, remembering to dilute it into ten parts of water before watering your plants.
To use the tea, you can merely drain the contents of the base into a bucket, or thread a garden hose from the nozzle to your garden, remembering to dilute it into ten parts of water before watering your plants.
The composter will work through the winter, even in areas that get freezing temperatures and snow. In the winter, you want to only add organic materials and do not spin the drum. Come spring, the frozen micro-organisms will accelerate the composting cycle.
Visit
for more information, to watch a video or to purchase the Mini or Original Composter/Composteamaker.
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In summary, I am completely impressed with this nifty composter and enamored with the idea of making my own dirt! So much so that I really don't want to give the composter away after all...but I promised, so....
Visit
for more information, to watch a video or to purchase the Mini or Original Composter/Composteamaker.
__________________________________
In summary, I am completely impressed with this nifty composter and enamored with the idea of making my own dirt! So much so that I really don't want to give the composter away after all...but I promised, so....
Congratulations to Chris Mitchell from Eagle Hollow Farm who has won the contest!
Other resources for more information:
