A while back we received a gift of a compost tumbler for making fresh compost. It may come normally with a stand by this is all we got and it still works OK. We just roll it instead of turning it. When you’re a non-profit you appreciate all you receive.

We make good compost from all kinds of things from grass clippings and hay. We shred up old newspapers, mail plus paper that would typically go into the garbage. The process is easy to do and reduces the amount of your outgoing garbage by over 70%. Sometimes we get a load of manure and add that to the mixture. I go out to rabbit farms and collect as many bags of rabbit pellets as they will give me.

When I go into the city I see so many bags of grass and leaves at the sidewalk waiting to go to the landfill while the owners go to the garden store to buy a bag of fertilizer. It doesn’t make sense to dump the natural and buy the expensive artificial stuff.

We put many plants into pots for resale and being able to make 18 bushels of our own quality compost in 2-3 weeks reduces our soil cost to zero. I collect a lot of free pots at yard sales.

It works best if you make your mix from two or more ingredients. The decomposing process requires a proper mix of carbon and nitrogen which makes it busy with microbe activity making the pile hot. The microorganisms, which are the decomposers, need carbon for energy and nitrogen for growth.  Materials high in carbon are generally brown and dry, while materials high in nitrogen are usually fresh and green.

Remember to chop or shred the materials for the fastest composting times.

Don't use any cooked foods, dairy products, meat or bones. don't use pine needles, redwood, cedar, walnut or treated wood.

Two 5 gallon pails is approximately 1 bushel

Frequent turning greatly increases air supply and accelerates the bacteria processing action. A standard compost pile may take a year or two where the rotating bins have rich black compost ready in just a few weeks.

Being enclosed it keeps wild creatures out and frequent turning makes it impossible for flies to breed.

It is important to put a date when you started the current compost batch and also to remember to crank the handle a few times. The hardest part is just remembering to do it. The easy spin handle means you won't hurt your back.

A rotating drum holding up to 18 bushels is top-loaded with organic matter, and then tumbled every days for a few weeks until the materials have decomposed. Then the door is opened and finished compost falls out the bottom.

One must remember these are batch tumblers that are filled once to process then emptied after a few weeks. Having a second tumbler is ideal for starting a second batch while the first one is still "cooking." Another way is to cut grass or collect the contents just after you emptied the drum.

Day 1 Gather up your old leaves, your grass clippings, sawdust, old dry hay, your garden scraps and put them in the tumbler. Close the door. Give the handle a few turns.

Day 2 through 13 Each day give the handle a few quick, easy turns to make sure air circulates inside. Add water if it feels dry.

Day 14 Open the door and you have the same rich, fluffy, sweet compost that used to take a year to make the old way.

* Comes in 2 sizes... the big 18-bushel capacity (shown here) or compact 9.5-bushel size.

* Interior fins assure thorough mixing and prevent material from sticking to the sides.

* Galvanized steel won't rust batch after batch, year after year.

* Attractive green finish becomes "invisible" in most garden settings.

* Easy access for loading your organic throw-outs and unloading your finished compost!

* It's superior, more nutrient-rich compost than you can get from a messy, smelly, fly-infested compost pile--because the nutrients can't leach into the ground!

* Builds disease resistance in all kinds of plants! Rewards you with bigger yields and better quality vegetables and beautiful flowers!

* As a mulch, it virtually "smothers" annoying weeds... retains moisture in your growing plants... and stabilizes soil temperature to ensure steady, healthy growth.

* Offers you a smart recycling solution for your organic waste--more important than ever in these days of overflowing landfills.

* Builds humus--living, actively decaying organic matter in your soil--that improves soil structure, texture, fertility, drainage and aeration.

* Makes hard clay soil more airy, so it drains better and moderates the soil temperature.

* Won't harm kids, pets, or the environment--it's completely safe and natural, unlike many store-bought fertilizers.

* Lets you make your own superior "custom" potting soil that grows hardier, healthier house plants.

Acts as an attractive mulch that feeds your soil while it helps to keep your yard looking neat and clean!

* It's easy to make--you'll have finished compost in just 14 days. You will enjoy what you get so much you will want to start collecting the extra leaves grass and manure from your neighbors. You plants will never be the same.