What Are Composting Tumblers?

Types of Tumblers

• Compost tumblers have four basic designs, which include crank-operated drums, center-axle drums, base rolling drums and rolling spheres. The crank-operated drum sits horizontally and is high off the ground with a manual crank on the outside, which spins the drum, mixes the material and adds air. Center-axle drums are built similarly to the crank-operated drums, except the drums stand up vertically. Base rolling drums sit horizontally on a base and are rotated by hand, while rolling spheres are basically giant balls where the organic material gets mixed up by rolling the ball around the yard.

Sizes

• Compost tumblers come in a number of different sizes to meet the composting needs of individual gardeners or large-scale composters. Sizes generally range from 45-gallon capacity to 185-gallon capacity tumblers. The benefit of larger-capacity tumblers is that large batches of material can be composted at once. However, a significant drawback is that as you add more material, the tumbler is more difficult to rotate. Also, the larger capacity tumblers are only effective when an entire batch of organic material is added at once, because the time it takes to have a completely composted batch of material is calculated from when the last bit of organic matter was added, not the first batch.

Getting the Right Mix

• When starting a new batch of compost, you'll first want to add some already composted material to introduce the tiny organisms that will break down the organic material. If you don't have any compost handy, you can buy compost starter. You'll want a 2-to-1 ratio of brown organic matter to green organic matter. Brown organic matter is non-woody dead plant material, such as dead and dried leaves or grass clippings. Green organic material consists of any freshly cut plant material or organic kitchen scraps. Pulled weeds, fresh grass clippings and fruit and vegetable scraps will work well. Do not add meat or cooked vegetables to a compost pile. Keep the compost in the tumbler moist, but not soaking wet.

Advantages of Compost Tumblers

• There are a few advantages to using compost tumblers instead of having an open pile of compost in the corner of the yard. Tumblers have a door that closes when not in use, which keeps out unwanted animals looking for food. Rotating the material is much easier because you can crank a handle or roll the tumbler to mix the material, instead of having to dig in with a pitchfork on an open pile. Also, Mother Earth News reports that in testing, compost tumblers retained moisture much better than open piles because they are enclosed and sealed.