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In our compost tumbler reviews we see that more people starting to realize that kitchen scraps and garden clippings can be turned into valuable compost.
Starting a compost pile was always a lot of work and most of the time if you did not have a big yard not easy to do.
With the compost tumbler reviews we did here it is very easy to make compost on a small space.
The tumbling part of these compost barrels makes it that you do not have to use a spade anymore to turn your compost pile.
A few tumbles of this composting machine and you are ready.
What is a compost tumbler for
When we started out with the compost tumbler reviews we found that many people do not know what it is. A compost tumbler is a compost maker that is most to the time in the shape of a barrel that is fully sealed. This barrel hangs horizontally in a frame and has a door. The whole barrel can be rotated and this turning motions does the same as we are used to do with the spade in the old way of composting. It turns and mixes all the ingredients. This also allows oxygen to get into the compost and in this way makes the best home made compost.
all you have to do is move the content of your kitchen compost and your garden clipping into this rotating compost bin. You can read more in the how do you compost part.
Our top 5 best rated compost tumblers
Most of us do not need a dual chamber compost tumbler that is why we looked at the best 3 regular compost tumblers in our compost tumbler reviews.
Mantis easy spin compost tumbler – 37 gallon
This is a very nice compost tumbler for small gardens. It holds 37 gallon and received some nice customer reviews.
With 3.8 stars it is my opinion that it is under rated.
One of the complaints was that is heave once it starts to fill up. That remark can be put at any rotating compost tumbler, but it will always beat the option to turn your compost pile by hand in my opinion.
The assembly that is required was not hard at all I read although some people mentioned having some problems and needed a Youtube movie.All together it takes about 30 minutes. We read some remarks that the quality of some part looked a little cheap, but no complaints about not fitting.
Envir BPA free compost tumbler and compost tea maker
Some people called this a organic tumbler composter since that plastic is BPA free and you can use it to make compost tea as well.
I found over 320 people who agreed with that and gave it an average of a 4.7 star rating in their reviews.
One of the most mentioned things was that is build like a tank and very strong. Every design got its flaws and it seem that the door in this case sometimes gave some problems. But only in a very few cases.
The capacity is not really high and we recommend it for smaller families. The best option is that your van choose to make compost tea with it by using the option to let the water run into the base and use this to water your plants.
Lifetime 65 gallon compost tumbler
The Lifetime 65 gallon compost tumbler is in my opinion under rated with its 3.7 stars. Most complaints were that it hard to assemble and that is in my opinion not a point for a product review because after that initial problem about everyone mentioned that it worked perfect.
Assembly seems to be not too easy and might require the help of a second person. The screws that come with it are not of top quality someone mentioned and he went to the hardware store to get better ones. I even read that someone had to drill more holes.
Dual chamber tumbler composters
We found the two highest rated tumbler composters with 2 chambers for the one under our readers that need one of them. This makes our total of the top 5 compost tumbler reviews complete
Yimby tumbler composter
This is the best seller and comes with a 4.2 rating from over 1550 people who bought this composter.
This Yimby compost tumbler is the number one selling product in the largest online store and with an average of 4.2 stars from over 1550 people that must be true than.
If the saying that you get what you pay for than according to many people this one is worth it.
The only minor complaint I found was that it is not to large and just big enough for a small family. If you eat a lot of fruit and have a lot of kitchen scraps someone advised to look at a large bin.
Good idea dual chamber compost tumbler
This Dual Tumbler composter from the Good Ideas company got an average of 4.1 star rating from over 330 people.
It is available in two sizes. 7 cubic foot and 11 cubic foot and comes fully assembled.
Made in the USA and can also be used to make compost tea. One tip for this is to place it one some type of base to make it possible to drain the tea from the bottom plug.
The opening of the bin seems to be a little too small for a standard shovel with its 76 inches.
How do you compost with or without a compost tumbler
Starting with home composting can be frustrating if you do not use the right method and materials. All you have to do is layer garden clippings, kitchen vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters and egg shells. If you do this and turn it over once a month in the cold season and ones a month in the growing season, you will have compost in about a year time. If you use one of the composters we recommend in our compost tumbler reviews your compost can be ready in about 3 months and that is about average how long it takes for compost to be ready to use. Adding one of the compost starters is a good practice and will speed up and improve your compost. You can read the recommended Dr. Earth compost starter on this page.
One way to check if your compost is doing good is by keeping an eye on the temperature inside the pile. There are thermometers for that but you can also just stick your hand in there to feel. Although most people don’t like to do that.
Two recommended compost and soil thermometers
We did research and found two thermometers that are made for compost piles and can also be used to test the temperature of your garden soil before planting.
Cate’s garden compost thermometer.
With a 2 inch diameter and a 20 inch probe this thermometer is easy to insert and very easy to read.
We found over 150 reviews and an average of 4.8 stars for this compost and garden soil thermometer.
Click on the picture to see the price!!
REOTEMO compost thermometer.
This one also has a 20 inch probe length and that is about a standard length for this type of thermometers.
I only wonder why to made two versions. One for Fahrenheit and one for Celsius.
The probe length is 20 inch and 1/4 inch thick and this makes it a very sturdy product that will last for many years.
Click on the picture to see the price!!
Moisture is also important and needs to be checked. if to dry just add water with your garden hose. To wet, add some dry materials like dried leaves or grass clippings. I personally use the cardboard where my eggs come in and shred those in my compost.
A way to test the moisture is to squeeze a handful of compost in your hands.
- If water comes out it is too wet
- If it crumbles and fall apart it is too dry
- If it stays compacted it has the right amount of moisture
What never to put in your compost
What you should never put in your compost is cooked food and meat leftovers. These are not suppose to be in a compost pile. They will not compost, will attract all kind of rodents and ruin your compost pile.
Also try to avoid weeds with mature seeds and of course plastic and treated wood.
Cat litter should also never be in the compost pile since it contains cat feces.
compost tumbler reviews and our opinion
I am probably a little biased because I use a compost tumbler myself, but I started out with just an old garbage bin and put all my scraps and garden clippings in it. This worked fine but was very labor intense and using a shovel to turn it over was not easy.
The Compost tumbler I use now makes it so much easier and although it might still be a little hard to turn it, compared to the shovel and garbage bin it is a lot easier.
I hope you enjoyed the compost tumbler reviews and found the one that will help you make some nutrient rich compost for your yard or garden.
For more tips and ideas about gardening have a look at our garden product reviews in our garden section.