Jack's Tumbling Composter

... and Compost Comes Tumbling After

Jack's Tumbling Composter represents the union of two important practices: re-use—the barrel started life as an olive or pepper barrel—and gardening. Load up your Jack's Composter, maintain the proper moisture level, spin it every other day, and during warm weather you'll have finished compost in just six weeks.

The key to success with any tumbling composter is to add the proper mix of nutrients. I often tell people you W-A-N-T four things to make compost:

1. Water
2. Air
3. Nutrients
4. Temperature

The Jack's Tumbling Composter does a great job keeping water in, so your compost remains moist. It also does a pretty good job mixing in air as you tumble it. As far as nutrients, those depend on the materials you add. In general, keep in mind that you need both "greens" (fresh garden cuttings or kitchen scraps) and "browns" (dried leaves, sawdust, wood chips or coconut coir).

A common problem is that people put in lots of greens but forget the browns. If you do that, you're likely to have a stinky mess on your hands. Things will eventually break down no matter what ratio of greens to browns you add, but you'll produce faster results with less odor if you remember to add about an equal amount of browns in with your greens.

The Jack's Tumbling Composter is not insulated, so in cold weather the composting action will slow down and eventually stop. You can extend your composting season by placing your composter in a sunny location. In the dead of winter you can still add material; it will simply freeze. When warmer weather arrives, you can start tumbling it again to make compost.

With the Jack's Tumbling Composter you'll make compost in batches. Once the barrel is about three quarters full, stop adding new material and let the contents "cook." Spin the barrel every few days. When everything looks uniformly black or dark brown, it's time to empty the barrel. I find that putting a tarp down and dumping my compost onto it works well. I can then drag the compost to wherever I want to use it, or shovel it into a wheel barrow. To make fine compost, push it through a compost sifter.

Why Compost?

Composting is nature's way of recycling. Compost is a dark, crumbly material that looks and feels like potting soil. It forms naturally, when organic waste decomposes. Organic waste is any material that was once alive, such as vegetable cuttings, fruit peels, eggshells, coffee grounds, leaves, cardboard, paper and wood. These items take up unnecessary room in our landfills and should be composted.

Compost is an excellent soil conditioner. It loosens the texture of heavy clay soils, making them better for root growth. It helps sandy soils retain water and nutrients. Compost is also a source of minerals and nutrients that are essential for plant growth. Any soil can be improved by adding compost.

Home composting is the least expensive way to manage your organic waste. You can recycle nutrients where they can best be used: on lawns, in gardens, around trees and bushes, and with houseplants.

Product Features

• Barrel is a reclaimed food grade commercial container
• Made from UV stabilized high density polyethylene (HDPE, #2 plastic)
• Stand is untreated, rot-resistant cedar.
• Capacity: 7 cubic feet

Dimensions: 30" x 44"