There's also undoubtedly a difference between the composts from a heap and a tumbler. Unless they're very well insulated, cold weather prevents them from heating up fully. Compost tumblers tend to be summer workers.(Some designs have a second chamber to solve this problem.) Adding more bulk part way through the cycle means that you have to wait longer, so that the later material can break down too. Add to this the time taken to fill it, and consider where you'll compost subsequent material while the tumbler's doing its stuff. To gain compost in three months, the tumbler has to be well filled in one go.A larger tumbler will produce compost more efficiently than a smaller one.A tumbler must be easy to turn, or you won't bother.Of course, lots of us don't turn compost weekly and wait considerably longer than 14 weeks for it, so cutting the time it takes to make compost may appeal.īefore you rush out and get one, do consider the following, though:

It's considerably cheaper and gives you more exercise. Surprisingly they found that, while the heap took around ten weeks, tumblers actually took a month longer to create usable compost.Ī decent tumbler makes turning easier, but if you want compost quickly and are happy to do the work, it appears that you might as well stick with a standard compost heap or bin, as long as it's easy to access the compost to turn it.

In 2011 Which? Gardening magazine in the UK compared turning five well-filled tumblers three times a week with turning a traditional compost heap of the same volume once a week (usually done with a garden fork or spade). So, is a tumbler something that you should consider? All suggest that they give you compost more easily and in less time than a bin which sounds very attractive. There is a lot of choice when it comes to compost tumblers.

Composting grass clippings