Which should you use?
Most experts agree that just heaping the ingredients into a large compost pile is the best method to produce true, humus-rich compost. A pile makes it easy to expose the cooking compost to air. Its other advantage is that, apart from your labor, it’s free. A good compost bin or tumbler can easily set you back $200 to $400.
However, not everyone can build an open compost pile. Many town and city governments frown on open compost piles because they can smell (if not built properly) and attract rodents and other critters. Such communities usually require that compost be in an enclosed bin.
Recycled plastic bins are sturdy and indestructible and will hold a large pile. Be sure to get one that’s well vented, and leave the top off if possible to allow more air to circulate. Compost kept in an enclosed bin can foster the growth of anaerobic organisms. The compost will smell and turn into an unpleasant sludge if it’s not kept aerated. You incorporate air into compost by turning the pile (recommended) or using a compost tool.
Stationery bins can make turning compost a bit difficult. Compost tumblers make it easier to incorporate air into the cooking compost. But they tend to emphasize speed and mix up the new scraps with the cooked compost. In a month, all you’re going to be producing is mulch, not true compost, or humus. True compost takes weeks or even months to “cook.”
If you do buy a tumbler, we recommend one with two compartments, like the ComposT-Twin
compost turner made by Mantis. You add leaves, grass, kitchen scraps and so on to one compartment. The compost “cooks” in the second compartment.
If you live in an apartment or have very limited space to compost, try worm composting. A worm composting system takes up little space and can be set up indoors or out.
The advantages of a compost pile–if it’s properly made–are numerous:
- You don’t have to turn it.
- It can grow as large as you need it to.
- It won’t smell.
- It produces true compost (humus), a colloid.
- It’s free. No need to buy bins, tumblers, starters and all that.
For more on creating colloidal compost, see Rod Turner’s very comprehensive ebook on the topic, The World’s Best Compost.
