Rotating Compost Drums

[Guerri Stevens]

Sorry, but this is not a political comment!

I am always attracted by those ads for rotatable compost drums. I resist because of the price and the size. They are much smaller than our non-rotating bins, made of 4' high fence wire with 2" x 4" openings. Our bins provide a larger quantity of compost, slowly, and with some aerobic and weight training exercise along the way.

The drums look neat, and the claim is that they produce compost faster. So, knowing that within the TAPCIS community there is always someone with experience/knowledge on any topic ... has any of you tried one of these things? Do they work? What are the drawbacks?

[sidney]

I'm sorry that this isn't a helpful comment, and maybe it only seems funny to me because I am reading it before drinking my first cup of coffee in the morning, but I have this image in my head of a hamster wheel like device powered by worms crawling round and round.

[Judy G. Russell]

I'm sorry that this isn't a helpful comment, and maybe it only seems funny to me because I am reading it before drinking my first cup of coffee in the morning, but I have this image in my head of a hamster wheel like device powered by worms crawling round and round.ROFL!! Ewwwww...

[Judy G. Russell]

The drums look neat, and the claim is that they produce compost faster. So, knowing that within the TAPCIS community there is always someone with experience/knowledge on any topic ... has any of you tried one of these things? Do they work? What are the drawbacks?My cousin has one, says they work well, but are pricey.

[Guerri Stevens]

My cousin has one, says they work well, but are pricey.Yes, they are pricey, which is why I haven't just gotten one to experiment.

Just how well does your cousin say they work? How much effort is involved, how fast does it produce compost? Is it necessary to have all the materials on hand to fill it up all at once? How easy is it to remove the completed product? Has your cousin tried more than one brand/model?

What I am really hoping for is a big reduction in price and then I can justify experimenting.

And for Sidney, I actually considered worm composting (called vermicomposting) but there you are dealing with living organisms that have to be kept at a reasonable temperature for them, and otherwise cared for. Plus I think you don't get a whole lot for your effort. And what would you do with the worms when you decided you didn't want to do it any more? I don't think you can just throw them out in the yard because there are different types of worms and the composting type might interfere with the ecology.

[Judy G. Russell]

Just how well does your cousin say they work? How much effort is involved, how fast does it produce compost? Is it necessary to have all the materials on hand to fill it up all at once? How easy is it to remove the completed product? Has your cousin tried more than one brand/model?Her answers: (a) Not well enough to justify the price. (b) Not any more than in a regular composter, and not twice as fast. (c) Not with hers. (d) No different from a regular composter. (e) No.

[Guerri Stevens]

Her answers: (a) Not well enough to justify the price. (b) Not any more than in a regular composter, and not twice as fast. (c) Not with hers. (d) No different from a regular composter. (e) No.
Thanks for that information. I would expect the effort to be less, because you'd be turning the drum which I am assuming doesn't require much strength or energy. Our composting is now done in wire bins, and from time to time we turn it. This means lifting off the bin and shoveling the whole pile into the now empty bin. Then again, maybe the periodic bin rotating adds up over time to one shoveling operation.

I will not waste my money on one of the rotating ones!

[Judy G. Russell]

I will not waste my money on one of the rotating ones!As long as you're in physical shape to do it manually, it doesn't sound like it's worth it.

[Lindsey]

Our composting is now done in wire bins, and from time to time we turn it. This means lifting off the bin and shoveling the whole pile into the now empty bin.

Yeah, I used to use those. Then one afternoon when I was turning the pile into an empty bin, I felt the pitchfork shake after I lifted it, and looked down just in time to see a snake launching himself off of the tines. He landed in the grass, and both of us froze. I looked at him, I'm sure he was looking at me, and for a long time neither of us moved, and then finally he went gliding off into the taller grass.

That was the end of composting for me.

(OK, it was just a garter snake, and I have to admit that it had a certain beauty and grace, but that doesn't make me any more comfortable around them!!)

[Judy G. Russell]

(OK, it was just a garter snake, and I have to admit that it had a certain beauty and grace, but that doesn't make me any more comfortable around them!!)The dislike of snakes is something humanity is born with, I'm convinced. Even when Duncan was a little bitty guy, he'd see a snake on TV or in a picture and start to shake...

[fhaber]

>Even when Duncan was a little bitty guy, he'd see a snake on TV or in a picture and start to shake...

He was just revving up his fever prior to infecting you. (RDVVF).

[Judy G. Russell]

>Even when Duncan was a little bitty guy, he'd see a snake on TV or in a picture and start to shake...

He was just revving up his fever prior to infecting you. (RDVVF).It wouldn't surprise me. That kid is an absolute Typhoid Mary where I'm concerned.

[Lindsey]

The dislike of snakes is something humanity is born with, I'm convinced. Even when Duncan was a little bitty guy, he'd see a snake on TV or in a picture and start to shake...

Yup! I remember reading somewhere that primates have three inborn fears: fear of the dark, fear of falling, and fear of snakes. And certainly those things would be three primary threats to existence for creatures who evolved living in trees and depended primarily on their eyesight to recognize danger.

Fear of snakes may extend to reptiles generally; I remember reading a National Geographic article about one of the gorillas who had been trained to use sign language -- Koko, I think it was? Anyway, anywhere they didn't want her to go, they put down a small rubber alligator. She wouldn't go anywhere near it.

[Judy G. Russell]

Fear of snakes may extend to reptiles generally; I remember reading a National Geographic article about one of the gorillas who had been trained to use sign language -- Koko, I think it was? Anyway, anywhere they didn't want her to go, they put down a small rubber alligator. She wouldn't go anywhere near it.Interesting! I know infant monkeys won't go near small rubber nakes.