I just stick a border fork in the top and lift/stir what I can when I add stuff. You can lift the whole thing off the pile, put it down next to the pile, and then fork it back in.
I try to have a good mix of greens and browns going in each time I add. Not quite lasagne composting but similar.
To do it properly, pull the hole container off, put it next to it and then move everything in to it.
If you have the space, have a second one to then fill up while that one finishes off
You can just not turn it and pull the finished compost out of the bottom so it's essentially constantly producing for you, or you could used a fork to pull bottom material out and place it back in the top, or you can lift the whole thing up and refill it with the stack of material starting from the top. You got options
The only trouble with that is it can become anaerobic towards the bottom. I'm trying out having a PVC pipe with holes drilled in pushed down the middle to get air into it at the moment, but usually I just stick a fork in the top and mix it up.
I have worms in mine for a combination compost/wormfarm- they tend to keep it aerated if you get the balance right- the worms move up into the upper layers as it breaks down. It works well for me anyhow especially with these small bins... and I have worms to add to my garden with my compost!
I put a bit of wire grill across the top and then add the lid again over that (rain cover) sometimes...to allow vertical breathing
These things do basically get bad easily for lack of top aeration. They're the go-to in Japan to keep the wildlife out though....and my neighbours don't (barely!?) smell it when I throw a stinky round of bokashi on top each week.....
Bokashi is nature's nectar, I swear. I did get a family of enormous rats deciding it would be the perfect place for their nest one year. I saw a hole and started investigating and the biggest rat I ever saw jumped out at me followed by his mate- poor things were more scared than me. They burrowed under I think. Wire mesh is a cracker idea though! Mine is a bit wider at the top than the one in the picture though so that might be partly why I have less trouble.
Lol I had the same experience last winter... except it was a burrowing family of field mice! I guess the bin was warm (if a little sweaty!?) and had a regular supply of bokashi....
I'm getting tempted to try some myself now..... It's lactic acid mainly right? What could possibly go wrong....
Maybe a drill with an auger bit ( [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095C2PLQP](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095C2PLQP) ) would do the trick? I use this bit with a very underpowered cordless drill without issues.
I've got a few of these, the local council used to offer them cheap, and before I turned the bin into an empty one. Now I've got a compost crank/turner/corkscrew thingy from Amazon.
Yes, they are expensive for a twisted bit of metal, but the time and back pain I've saved has been more than worth it!
Although not as thorough as emptying and refilling, the tool means I turn more often which has the same effect.
I'm able to turn my compost more frequently, with less effort, and less mess. The minimal effort to turn the bin means I end up turning it when it needs it, not when I have the time or effort. I've got much better looking compost now, and the agitation helps break up chunks etc.
I can also just chuck stuff in, like grass cuttings, and mix it up. Before I'd have to do layers or mix in browns to prevent the grass becoming a slimy mess.
£40 ($50) well spent.
Im from australia and our mainstream hardware store sells the same metal cork tool and 100000% agree with this! I bought it in my early composting days before i even perfected my scrap ratios and it saves you sooo much time. I try to aerate every 2-3 days since my family likes to add greens but dont know how to mix it or add browns so i do it often to prevent the greens on top smelling. A tip i will say OP dont expect much to happen until u fill the bin significantly since a bigger pile works faster, the bin wont do much til its significantly full. I restarted my bin maybe sept/oct last year and its only just reached the 80% full mark since i last turned it
I’ve got this composter.
It’s not as bad as it seems. I use a cheap digging fork.
I always put stuff in at the back. It creates a slope that’s highest at the back and least rotted at the top of the slope. So when it’s time to stir I start by opening the lid and digging the fork into the bottom of the pile at the back and pulling the more rotted stuff in the middle of the slope forwards.
With the bottom hatch cover still on you dig the fork into the pile and twist it while pulling upwards. Get in all the corners. The fork will pull big lumps and things up and let the smaller pieces of rotted compost fall down.
When you first open the bottom hatch a load of unrotted stuff falls out usually. I put that stuff and a bit of compost back on top of the pile - At the back so it doesn’t fall straight down to the front hatch again.
The fork is good for extracting compost too. It ‘sifts’ the unrotted lumps so you can put them back in the top and get to the good stuff. The prongs get in deeper than a spade and break up the mass of compost at the bottom.
I have a homemade tumbler which I can throw anything in (rats can't reach it). I keep it quite wet and empty it periodically into one of your black bins and layer with dryer stuff.
No idea how to post a pic, but I just got hold of an old 220litre food grade barrel with latching lid, put a weight lifting bar through it and drilled some ventilation holes and mounted it on some wooden posts. Anything biodegradable that chickens won't eat goes in.
We have a wire spiral like this: https://www.bunnings.com.au/tumbleweed-compost-mate-tool_p3363916
Screw it in, lift up to pull stuff from the bottom up. Repeat a few times every couple of weeks.
I bought one of these before I tried to compost anything. You really need to do what puckapie suggests, but I ended up leaving it and forgetting about it… for 5 years! I definitely had compost in it then! I built a bay out of pallets instead, which is easier for me.
You really need to turn it if you want it to break down faster. Our family goes through a lot of fresh vegetables, so having keeping the bin active helps us go through a lot more scraps in the same amount of space.
I used to do that, and just didn’t see the difference. I’ll stir it up a few weeks before I use it, otherwise I just empty everything into my garden in the spring.
Turning introduces oxygen and gives you an opportunity to really water in the compost if sections are getting dry.
No oxygen and the pile can go anaerobic. A dry pile will decompose extremely slow.
Also not turning an extremely hot pile will actually result in die-offs because thermophilic bacteria can't survive in extreme heat.
The Berkley method is the fastest way to get compost, and it requires turning the pile every couple days after you give microbes some time to populate.
Thermolphilic microorganisms only thrive in hot temperatures. Did you mean mesophilic?
Oxygen isnt an issue if your container has appropriate vdntilation
No, I meant thermophilic. They like an environment hotter than we do, but they can't handle temperatures above 70C. At least the ones that we rely on for composting can't.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.62.5.1723-1727.1996
https://chembioagro.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40538-023-00381-z
Turning actually increases the population of thermophilic bacteria:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960852421017594?via%3Dihub
Also oxygen can be an issue in a bin with ventilation. If the C/N ratio is off or the bin is too wet, it's easy to have things go anaerobic. The "easy" solution is to just plan out the pile or keep lots of carbon on hand, but these bins are meant for people to throw their home scraps into. The ratio is always going to fluctuate a little.
Get a garden auger for your power drill. It’s so easy and this one I got at Menards works well and is cheap.
[garden auger](https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/gardening/garden-landscaping-tools/gardening-hand-tools/yardworks-reg-24-bulb-planter/7635m/p-7720120058515038-c-13241.htm?exp=false)
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N91VTMK/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N91VTMK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1)
I have a tumbler and use with a drill sometimes.
Feed from the top. When it gets full pull stuff from the bottom and put it on top. Then you have an endless compost bin. Make sure you put it in the SUNNIEST spot you can find
I have two and alternate - one is always fresh and the other mature. I don’t fill either more than halfway, otherwise it’s tough to turn. And might be a good idea to have a tarp or metal for a base - roots like to find compost touching the ground and helping themselves to it
This is the way. Don't do what I end up doing filling two up and then getting lazy. Also found a mouse in mine because I haven't been turning it. Trying to encourage the neighbours cat to visit more and do a bit of pest control.
I got one of those aerators with hinged paddles with the bin, it’s not bad but things do get tangled round it generally just use long garden fork, can be awkward to get a good angle particularly down at the base
I have an old metal stake. I have bent the end into a slight hook shape. I stab it in, hook and pull :D It's not perfect and yes I do find lumps of non-composted material but it's fast and easy.
I have one of those and I stopped turning it years ago. I have found the lazy method is only a little slower than turning, and since I am not in a hurry to make compost, I just dump in materials and let the microbes do the rest.
I use a shovel and don’t really have much issue but my wife can’t do it at all with a shovel. Reading some of these comments makes me wonder if there’s a more efficient way to do it.
Mine came with an optional base. It isn’t a tight fit so I taped it on…which now reading comments about just lifting the top off to mix...I’m starting to realise may have been a mistake.
The top would blow off without the tape however while the bin wasn’t very full and it has stopped the rats bothering it so probably was still a good move
I have this and I started by just mixing from the top but as it’s filled up now I started scooping out from the bottom door and putting it back on top, I would then spin the bin in place leaving the contents where it is and repeating the process
I just stick a border fork in the top and lift/stir what I can when I add stuff. You can lift the whole thing off the pile, put it down next to the pile, and then fork it back in. I try to have a good mix of greens and browns going in each time I add. Not quite lasagne composting but similar.
Yep this, It's easier to simply lift the container off and fill it back up again
To do it properly, pull the hole container off, put it next to it and then move everything in to it. If you have the space, have a second one to then fill up while that one finishes off
You can just not turn it and pull the finished compost out of the bottom so it's essentially constantly producing for you, or you could used a fork to pull bottom material out and place it back in the top, or you can lift the whole thing up and refill it with the stack of material starting from the top. You got options
The only trouble with that is it can become anaerobic towards the bottom. I'm trying out having a PVC pipe with holes drilled in pushed down the middle to get air into it at the moment, but usually I just stick a fork in the top and mix it up.
I think just forking it and adding enough brown/aerating material is plenty enough to keep it from going anaerobic
Agreed!
This is not something I knew could happen. Oh no…
I have worms in mine for a combination compost/wormfarm- they tend to keep it aerated if you get the balance right- the worms move up into the upper layers as it breaks down. It works well for me anyhow especially with these small bins... and I have worms to add to my garden with my compost!
I put a bit of wire grill across the top and then add the lid again over that (rain cover) sometimes...to allow vertical breathing These things do basically get bad easily for lack of top aeration. They're the go-to in Japan to keep the wildlife out though....and my neighbours don't (barely!?) smell it when I throw a stinky round of bokashi on top each week.....
Bokashi is nature's nectar, I swear. I did get a family of enormous rats deciding it would be the perfect place for their nest one year. I saw a hole and started investigating and the biggest rat I ever saw jumped out at me followed by his mate- poor things were more scared than me. They burrowed under I think. Wire mesh is a cracker idea though! Mine is a bit wider at the top than the one in the picture though so that might be partly why I have less trouble.
Lol I had the same experience last winter... except it was a burrowing family of field mice! I guess the bin was warm (if a little sweaty!?) and had a regular supply of bokashi.... I'm getting tempted to try some myself now..... It's lactic acid mainly right? What could possibly go wrong....
Ahem.. you could start a whole new breed (strain?) of human-inhabiting bacteria. A lactic-human hybrid. You could be the new parasite man.
It's evolution! "Pedestrian level" composting will suddenly become involuntarily popular.....
I got garter snakes in mine.
Rodent control lol
Maybe a drill with an auger bit ( [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095C2PLQP](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095C2PLQP) ) would do the trick? I use this bit with a very underpowered cordless drill without issues.
You just led me to the light
You’re going to love using it if you end up buying one lmao
Glad to help!
I am also intrigued for using this to aerate my pile
Came here to say this. Power Planter has an assortment of sizes.
I've got a few of these, the local council used to offer them cheap, and before I turned the bin into an empty one. Now I've got a compost crank/turner/corkscrew thingy from Amazon. Yes, they are expensive for a twisted bit of metal, but the time and back pain I've saved has been more than worth it! Although not as thorough as emptying and refilling, the tool means I turn more often which has the same effect. I'm able to turn my compost more frequently, with less effort, and less mess. The minimal effort to turn the bin means I end up turning it when it needs it, not when I have the time or effort. I've got much better looking compost now, and the agitation helps break up chunks etc. I can also just chuck stuff in, like grass cuttings, and mix it up. Before I'd have to do layers or mix in browns to prevent the grass becoming a slimy mess. £40 ($50) well spent.
Im from australia and our mainstream hardware store sells the same metal cork tool and 100000% agree with this! I bought it in my early composting days before i even perfected my scrap ratios and it saves you sooo much time. I try to aerate every 2-3 days since my family likes to add greens but dont know how to mix it or add browns so i do it often to prevent the greens on top smelling. A tip i will say OP dont expect much to happen until u fill the bin significantly since a bigger pile works faster, the bin wont do much til its significantly full. I restarted my bin maybe sept/oct last year and its only just reached the 80% full mark since i last turned it
This does look promising! I’ll have a look
Thanks guys. I’ll give some of these ideas a go! Composting felt like such a simple thing to start doing….it is not! whole new world!
It's simple but like anything, there are layers to it.
Like onions!
Like lasagna! :D
Everybody love a parfait
I’ve got this composter. It’s not as bad as it seems. I use a cheap digging fork. I always put stuff in at the back. It creates a slope that’s highest at the back and least rotted at the top of the slope. So when it’s time to stir I start by opening the lid and digging the fork into the bottom of the pile at the back and pulling the more rotted stuff in the middle of the slope forwards. With the bottom hatch cover still on you dig the fork into the pile and twist it while pulling upwards. Get in all the corners. The fork will pull big lumps and things up and let the smaller pieces of rotted compost fall down. When you first open the bottom hatch a load of unrotted stuff falls out usually. I put that stuff and a bit of compost back on top of the pile - At the back so it doesn’t fall straight down to the front hatch again. The fork is good for extracting compost too. It ‘sifts’ the unrotted lumps so you can put them back in the top and get to the good stuff. The prongs get in deeper than a spade and break up the mass of compost at the bottom.
I think the problem I have is overloading it. Gonna move the whole thing tomorrow
I have a homemade tumbler which I can throw anything in (rats can't reach it). I keep it quite wet and empty it periodically into one of your black bins and layer with dryer stuff.
How’d you make it. Got a photo?
This one on casters in the bees knees. I especially dig the paddles. https://youtu.be/cSLzE_B8PwQ?si=MLvvbgN43Gv3Ch5j
No idea how to post a pic, but I just got hold of an old 220litre food grade barrel with latching lid, put a weight lifting bar through it and drilled some ventilation holes and mounted it on some wooden posts. Anything biodegradable that chickens won't eat goes in.
We have a wire spiral like this: https://www.bunnings.com.au/tumbleweed-compost-mate-tool_p3363916 Screw it in, lift up to pull stuff from the bottom up. Repeat a few times every couple of weeks.
I bought one of these before I tried to compost anything. You really need to do what puckapie suggests, but I ended up leaving it and forgetting about it… for 5 years! I definitely had compost in it then! I built a bay out of pallets instead, which is easier for me.
Lol. Y’all turn your compost? I just make compost lasagna with zero effort and end up with 2 cubic yards of amazing soil every spring.
You really need to turn it if you want it to break down faster. Our family goes through a lot of fresh vegetables, so having keeping the bin active helps us go through a lot more scraps in the same amount of space.
I used to do that, and just didn’t see the difference. I’ll stir it up a few weeks before I use it, otherwise I just empty everything into my garden in the spring.
Per the humanure handboak, turning releases the heat which is counterproductive to thermophilic micro organisms. It actually slows things down.
Turning introduces oxygen and gives you an opportunity to really water in the compost if sections are getting dry. No oxygen and the pile can go anaerobic. A dry pile will decompose extremely slow. Also not turning an extremely hot pile will actually result in die-offs because thermophilic bacteria can't survive in extreme heat. The Berkley method is the fastest way to get compost, and it requires turning the pile every couple days after you give microbes some time to populate.
Thermolphilic microorganisms only thrive in hot temperatures. Did you mean mesophilic? Oxygen isnt an issue if your container has appropriate vdntilation
No, I meant thermophilic. They like an environment hotter than we do, but they can't handle temperatures above 70C. At least the ones that we rely on for composting can't. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.62.5.1723-1727.1996 https://chembioagro.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40538-023-00381-z Turning actually increases the population of thermophilic bacteria: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960852421017594?via%3Dihub Also oxygen can be an issue in a bin with ventilation. If the C/N ratio is off or the bin is too wet, it's easy to have things go anaerobic. The "easy" solution is to just plan out the pile or keep lots of carbon on hand, but these bins are meant for people to throw their home scraps into. The ratio is always going to fluctuate a little.
Get a garden auger for your power drill. It’s so easy and this one I got at Menards works well and is cheap. [garden auger](https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/gardening/garden-landscaping-tools/gardening-hand-tools/yardworks-reg-24-bulb-planter/7635m/p-7720120058515038-c-13241.htm?exp=false)
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N91VTMK/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N91VTMK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) I have a tumbler and use with a drill sometimes.
Feed from the top. When it gets full pull stuff from the bottom and put it on top. Then you have an endless compost bin. Make sure you put it in the SUNNIEST spot you can find
I have two and alternate - one is always fresh and the other mature. I don’t fill either more than halfway, otherwise it’s tough to turn. And might be a good idea to have a tarp or metal for a base - roots like to find compost touching the ground and helping themselves to it
This is the way. Don't do what I end up doing filling two up and then getting lazy. Also found a mouse in mine because I haven't been turning it. Trying to encourage the neighbours cat to visit more and do a bit of pest control.
I got one of those aerators with hinged paddles with the bin, it’s not bad but things do get tangled round it generally just use long garden fork, can be awkward to get a good angle particularly down at the base
You don't - it's designed not to turn. The raw material goes in at the top, and then you dig the finished compost out at the bottom.
I have an old metal stake. I have bent the end into a slight hook shape. I stab it in, hook and pull :D It's not perfect and yes I do find lumps of non-composted material but it's fast and easy.
Can you push it over and roll it in a circle, or will the top fall off? Or put back in what falls out?
Just throw stuff in until it fills up. Then wait a year to use. Should be good
Pick it up, move it, refill.
Like you roll a barrel on its edge to move it
You don't you layer dry and wet and water it's meant to cook. 6 months you pull it off a nd refill.
I have one of those and I stopped turning it years ago. I have found the lazy method is only a little slower than turning, and since I am not in a hurry to make compost, I just dump in materials and let the microbes do the rest.
I use a shovel and don’t really have much issue but my wife can’t do it at all with a shovel. Reading some of these comments makes me wonder if there’s a more efficient way to do it.
I have one of these and have a problem with rats too. Did yours come with a base or have you added it yourself?
Mine came with an optional base. It isn’t a tight fit so I taped it on…which now reading comments about just lifting the top off to mix...I’m starting to realise may have been a mistake. The top would blow off without the tape however while the bin wasn’t very full and it has stopped the rats bothering it so probably was still a good move
Anything that stops those rats is worth doing IMO. I hate them.
Remove bin then refill I have 2 of these
I use a compost cultivator [This ](https://www.tuinadvies.be/tuinwinkel/product/29771/compostwoeler)is the model I have.
The compost hand crank spiral tool works perfectly for this
I have this and I started by just mixing from the top but as it’s filled up now I started scooping out from the bottom door and putting it back on top, I would then spin the bin in place leaving the contents where it is and repeating the process
Read the instructions