The history of composting piles isn’t new. We’ve come a long way from the days of composting piles in our backyard which would take a lot of time, effort, manpower, and land. Thanks to modern technology, you can now prepare compost much quickly and efficiently.
Either you’re composting kitchen scraps for your plants or to prepare fertilizer for crops, and either you have a house with outdoor space or you live in a tight apartment; here are the essential things that you must know before choosing the best compost bin.
Why do you need a compost bin?
You should ask yourself these three questions to determine why you need a compost bin and how you’re going to use it.
What do you want to compost?
Does your kitchen produce a lot of food waste? Do you own a garden full of grass clippings, shrub trimming, etc.? The amount of kitchen scraps, green waste, organic matter, and waste material will largely determine the size and type of your composter. If you only want to manage the green waste, organic matter, grass clippings, and garden clippings from ending up in the garbage bin, you can choose a small-sized composter that can be placed inside or outside your house.
Kitchen waste is less compared to both kitchen and yard waste. If you need a composter designed to handle green waste and organic matter, you can choose a worm composter with a worm factory or a food waste digester, countertop processor.
Composting a large amount of food and yard waste requires a larger bin. You should go with a tumbler or batch composter.
What will you do with your nutrient-rich compost?
Most people choose to compost waste to prepare fertilizer for their gardens, lawns, and house plants. If you only desire to reduce the amount of food waste you put in the trash, a small-sized composter will do great. If you require fertilizer for your lawn or garden, then you should choose a composter that can compost a large amount of kitchen and yard waste too quickly.
If your only concern is to deal with the food waste, you can choose a food waste digester or countertop food waste processor that can easily be fitted inside the house.
To prepare fertilizer for the yard or garden, you would need to prepare a nutrient-rich compost pile in batches so you can keep using it.
Where do you plan to compost?
Not everyone has a big garden or a lawn. People with absolutely zero outdoor space can still compost, but the type of composter you choose will be very different than a composter meant for the outdoors.
If you’re comfortable with composting inside your house, you can go with a worm bin or worm composting with a worm factory that doesn’t take much space. A countertop food waste processor is another great option for compost indoors.
If you want to set up a composter on your balcony or garage, you can choose a slightly larger composter such as a stationary composter or tumbler.
If you own a big yard and you need to prepare a large amount of fertilizer, you can choose a composter that continuously keeps composting such as a tumbler with a dual-chamber. This will provide you with a faster turnaround time.
Many stationary composters or worm bins are great for an indoor setting. The tumbler composter is better suited outside because of its size and accessibility.
If you’ve visited the home depot, you must have seen that the store is flooded with different styles, shapes, and sizes of compost bins. Don’t Panic! You should pick your choice depending on your need.
Some compost bins can prepare compost in a short time and are well-suited to keep inside the house. For a large garden, you’d need an outdoor compost bin that comes with a built-in turning mechanism that helps aerate and mix your pile faster.
What are the different types of Composters?
To help you decide better, let’s talk about the different types of composting bins available in the market.
Stationary Composters
A stationary compost bin is the most common type of composter found in most homes. You can basically add food scraps and other organic materials to the top through an opening lid. Once added, you can close the lid to keep the rodents and pests away. After a stipulated time, you can remove the finished compost pile through a door located near the bottom of the composter. Likewise, you can keep adding waste to the top and retrieve the finished compost from the bottom.
Stationary composters are not properly aerated; hence it may take months to prepare the compost. However, they’re low maintenance compost bins.
Compost Tumblers
Compost tumblers or batch composters are a common type of garden composters. Compost tumblers are fixed with a rotating drum that can spin by cranking a handle or a unit itself. One composter may contain several compartments that you can fill batches of compost pile hence the name “batch.”
One big advantage of a garden composter or outdoor composter like tumbler is that it can prepare a large amount of fertilizer in a short time. The tumbling action turns these piles into fertilizer efficiently and quickly. It may or may not contain a well-aerated design. Although a batch composter is the fastest way to create compost, you must turn it in daily and check for sufficient moisture levels.
Worm Composters
Worm composters are also called indoor composter because of their compact and indoor-friendly size. They can easily fit inside your house. As the name suggests, they use the power of worms to convert your food waste into compost –also known as “vermicomposting”. They’re fitted with different compartments that allow you to keep adding or removing material.
Food waste digesters
Unlike garden composters, food waste digesters or “Green Cone” are designed to liquefy the food waste and send it directly down into the ground. The green cone is directly connected to the ground via an open bottom. Microorganisms pass through the opening and eat away your food waste.
The digester can take care of 90% of your food waste. They can prepare mulch quickly hence you can even consider adding the bones, leftovers, pets waste, etc.
Countertop food waste processors
Countertop food waste processors work slightly differently than conventional composters. Instead, they dehydrate the food waste to turn it into usable fertilizers. They’re well suited for colder climates where outdoor composting isn’t possible because of the cold temperature. These processors can also save space by fitting inside your house easily.
They can chop and dehydrate the food waste within 3 -6 hours, which is simply amazing.
Basic Q&A about Composting
We have already talked about what different types of composter you can buy, now let’s discuss basic queries that arise in the mind of every new compost bin owner.
What size composter do I need (Gallon capacity)?
It entirely depends on the quantity of your food waste. For a family of 4 people, we recommend a basic composter that can process at least 4.5 cubic feet of piles. If you further add garden waste, an outdoor composter with a capacity of 15-20 cubic feet will do.
Do I have to keep turning my compost?
In old days, backyard composting would require you to turn the compost on a certain interval of time. It’s true that turning the compost helps to decompose it faster. But with most modern composters, you needn’t turn the piles. They’re fitted with aerators that allow the air to pass easily through the compost without the need to turn them upside down.
How some composter works so quickly while others take months?
Outdoor composters like tumblers or batch-composter can expedite the composting process and turn the food waste into mulch quickly because the turning mechanism fitted in the composter can aerate and cook the pile efficiently. Stationary composters take months to turn food waste into mulch because the waste is simply resting throughout the time.
What is the best composter for indoor composting?
If you don’t have space for an outdoor composter, you can consider buying composters that can easily fit inside the house. Worm composter and countertop food scraps processor can easily fit inside the house. Also, the secured latch helps to keep rodents and pests away.
Should I choose Vermicomposting over usual composting?
There’s no right or wrong in any of these composting methods. It entirely depends on your choice. Vermicomposting is a decomposition process that can certainly decompose the food scraps into mulch quickly because it uses worms to eat away the pile. Worms can process about half their weight in food waste per day. So yes, it’s quicker.
Is my composter organic?
All composters can make organic material if you add organic waste. A composter basically decomposes any waste; hence it’s your choice to add only organic waste into your composter. It’s wise to choose organic material for composting at all times.
How long does a good Composter last?
A quality composter from the renowned manufacturer can easily last from 15 to 20 years. They’re also low maintenance equipment. That’s why you should choose a quality composter because it’s a one-time purchase. Many composters are made out of recycled plastic to help reduce carbon emissions. Looks for the recycled plastic tag in the composter you choose to buy.
Can I add plastic compost to my pile?
You shouldn’t add plastic compost to your compost pile. The plastic doesn’t pass through the decomposition process hence the tiny fragments leave microplastics that can then end up in our soil.
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