Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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crackapple
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compstingI have just aquired a tumbling composter, the kind that is on a frame that needs turning, how often do i need to turn it and can i use rose cutting and laurel leaves? any advice is welcome.
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judith
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Turn it as often as you remember to do it and whenever you put a lot of new stuff in. At least once a week is good.
I wouldn't put in rose cuttings - they too long to break down. They will eventually, but you will have to sieve them out and send them round a few times or risk stabbing yourself on the thorns. Ditto with laurel leaves - unless you can shred them really finely they will just take too long to break down. Since the space in the tumbler is limited, it is best to put in materials that break down quickly.
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sean
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Aren't they supposed to be good for dealing with grass clippings?
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judith
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Yes, they are good at stopping the grass turning into silage. And turning the tumbler is a lot easier on the back than mixing grass clippings into hen bedding to acheive a similar effect (she says rather ruefully).
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crackapple
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how full should i fill it. one of the reasons i got it was because i situated my last compost bin in the shade (i can hear your groans from here!) and the grass clippings have turned silagey if thats a word. i am hoping to transfer this to the tumbler, would this be ok?
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dougal
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| crackapple wrote: | | how full should i fill it. one of the reasons i got it was because i situated my last compost bin in the shade (i can hear your groans from here!) and the grass clippings have turned silagey if thats a word. i am hoping to transfer this to the tumbler, would this be ok? |
I've never had much luck with a tumbler. It never got warm and dried out quickly.
That said, moving/turning over a heap thats not doing well would be an excellent thing to do. And mixing a variety of stuff into the tumbler would be helpful.
Obviously, there's no point in stuffing it so that no mixing occurs as you tumble it, (but it will rot down, so seem to get emptier). I wouldn't go much more than about 2/3 full to start with, but once I thought it was going, I'd be tempted to top it up just once more to the 2/3 level.
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judith
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It is a while since I had a tumbler, but I did find it worked very well for me when I had a tiny garden.
Since it doesn't have the volume of a normal compost heap, I found that you had to add a lot more "greens" into the mix, rather than the normally recommended 2/3 browns to 1/3 greens. If you don't, it doesn't heat up well enough.
You also need to feed it regularly - I would fill it to about 2/3, and then give it a good tumble. After a week, the volume would have dropped to about 1/3. Fill this up to 2/3 again (perhaps using more browns this time), tumble and wait. Repeat until the volume stops dropping significantly. Then allow it to cook, tumbling once a week or so, until the compost is done (you may need an injection of greens if it seems to have stalled).
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