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This Post Has 15 Comments

1. 

   Shasha 10 Mar 2012 Reply

   Your videos are pretty cool. I wonder how much longer the composting will be if I don’t shred the browns or chop the greens? I don’t have a shredder and don’t want to use blender to mix the greens. Also when you say 1 to 3 ratio, is it by volume or by weight? Thanks.

   1. 

      tylerw 12 Mar 2012 Reply

      A fair bit longer. More importantly, the quality won’t be as good…unshredded browns lead to sloppy, slimy piles that are hard to get air circulating through. Do the best you can with shredding all your materials for compost and you’ll see much better results. A little shredding goes a long way!

   2. 

      tylerw 12 Mar 2012 Reply

      Regarding ratio, I would say volume is a good way to measure it. I wouldn’t get too caught up in it. It’s better to have too much browns and a slow pile than to have a slimy pile of greens.

2. 

   john 28 Apr 2012 Reply

   Tyler,
   what do you do for brown when the one tree in your yard is out of dry leaves? I use a tumbler about that size and have trouble figuring out what else to put in it. i know what other things to use but dont really know how much to use.

   1. 

      tylerw 28 Apr 2012 Reply

      I shred up cardboard and to a lesser extent paper from time to time to mix it up. You want at least twice as much browns as greens. I’d rather overdo the browns than have a slimy mass that needs work to get it rebalanced.

3. 

   S.H. 30 Jun 2012 Reply

   I’ve been using the apple cider vin and dish soap all week mostly for gnats and possibly fruit flies. So far caught 3 of the little suckers but I can’t tell which is a gnat and which is a fruitfly. Should it work for both bugs?

   1. 

      tylerw 30 Jun 2012 Reply

      It definitely catches the fruit flies, not sure about gnats…can’t hurt having the trap, though!

4. 

   rissa 31 Mar 2014 Reply

   I have always had a compost pile in the yard before. I started this compost 2 years ago and this is the first time I have composted in a tumbler like your black one. I juice daily putting the juice pulp in it and first it was way too wet with a ton of bugs and so I put a bunch of leaves, shedded paper and egg shells in it. Now it is well over a year later and it is dry and clumpy, with big clumps the size of walnuts. The egg shells haven’t broken down at all. I have just left it alone all cold miserable winter. I know it needs moisture . Should i put the juice pulp in it daily for a while or add water or what . I am a little overwhelmed. It obviously is not cooking.

   1. 

      tylerw 1 Apr 2014 Reply

      Hi Rissa,

      Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with the tumbler.

      Are your leaves shredded, and are there twice as much of the paper/leaves as there is food waste?

      I would add enough material to fill at least half of the tumbler if not more. Once you add the material, I would let it sit and avoid tumbling it as well. This will let the pile build some heat without being disrupted.

5. 

   Karen Thiemermann 16 Sep 2014 Reply

   Hi, Tyler~~
   I’m doing a diy compost bin from a plastic storage bin. I’m ready to start! Do I need to add browns each time I add food scraps to my bin? Also~ how often do I need to mix/stir it up? Each time I add to it?
   This is a patio project; I live in an apartment. I started container gardening last Spring and I’m hooked! I’m serious about being organic and “green”. Would you happen to have a list of items you can compost? I want to tape it to the wall in my kitchen so my husband will know what to do. Thanks!!!~~~Karen

6. 

   Lourdes and Roj Rodriguez 7 Sep 2016 Reply

   Hi Tyler!
   We are ready to start composting in our balcony. We will give the two cat litter bin a try. Will we need to add worms at some point? I wasn’t sure about it from the video. Any tips would be great.

   Thanks!

   Rodriguez family

   1. 

      tylerw 11 Sep 2016 Reply

      Go with the biggest sized container you can, preferably a trash can with holes drilled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0EPnJJw198

      Otherwise, no need to add worms…just a potentially fun and rewarding bonus, but by no means required.

      Kudos for taking action to start composting at home!

7. 

   Susan 19 Oct 2020 Reply

   Hi Tyler, your videos are fantastic! Thank you so much. I’m a brand new composter, and I have two questions: (1) I don’t have access to leaves or other plant-based brown material. Can I compost using only shredded newspaper and/or other paper/cardboard–or other materials you’d recommend? And (2) I’d like to compost year-round (adding new material all the time), and I’m a confused if this is possible with a single tumbler? That is, can I remove compost that is ready while I’m still adding more new materials each week? Or should I purchase two tumblers so one can “cook” while I’m still adding to other other, and I can keep rotating them? Thanks very much for your help! ~ Susan

   1. 

      tylerw 19 Oct 2020 Reply

      Hi Susan,

      Leaves, grass, hay, straw, and dead plants in some combination are necessary to balance out the food scraps in a compost pile. The items you mention are good for composting (shred them up into smaller pieces), but on their own they won’t work as effectively without adding some sort of plant-based materials. Hmmm what else could we use… are there any coffee roasters in your area? They would be happy to give you their coffee chaff (coffee bean skins), which is a carbon-heavy byproduct of coffee roasting. It’s light, fluffy and high in carbon… smells, great too.

      To answer your second question- yes, you should alternate between two separate composting efforts. I fill one compost bin for a year, then start a second bin and add to that for a year. By the time year 2 is up, the first compost bin is full of finished compost. Purchasing two tumblers could get expensive- I would recommend going with two large compost bins if possible- the bigger the vessel, the easier composting becomes. Tumblers, although aesthetically pleasing, can be tricky to manage in comparison to a simple bin.

8. 

   Susan 10 Nov 2020 Reply

   Hi Tyler,

   Thanks so much for your message, and I apologize for such a long delay in responding. You’re right about the tumblers being expensive. I like their convenience but don’t have the funds right now. Can you recommend a large compost bin that’s easy to assemble and use? I can’t find a source of coffee chaff, but I’ve found a source for some leaves, and also I have access to TONS of long-leaf pine needles available — could these two alone in combination work? Thanks again, very much!

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