Remember a few weeks ago when I had a couple of little frogs in my worm bins? Well, I thought they were long gone, but yesterday, I decided to lift the bottom Worm Factory tray off to see if there was some reason that I haven’t gotten any leachate (worm tea) out of the spigot. Well besides the excitement of seeing a fair amount of worm castings, there was the surprise to both me and several tiny frogs who began jumping out of the tray to get as far from me as possible. I don’t know why they like the worm bins, but until I bothered them, they must have been living quite happily there… or maybe they had gotten in, but couldn’t get out. I don’t know, but after I removed all the worm castings, I looked around the porch and didn’t see a single frog. It’s not a big deal, since the bins are outside… and if the bins were inside the house, the frogs never would have gotten in.

As the worm tray in my Worm Factory 360 has really filled up, I’m starting to wonder when it will be time for another tray. I would guess that 1/3 to 1/2 of what is in the tray is worm castings and the rest is a combination of food waste and shredded paper… Lots of shredded paper. My guess is that I’ve overdone the shredded paper, the worms still look healthy and I’ve never had any bad odor, so I guess if you’re going to error, that’s the mistake you want to make. Although the tray is full now, when I open it in a few days, I know that it won’t be quite as full since the food is broken down and the water in it drains out. I think what I will do is add food three or four more times and then add my next tray.

The reason I’m anxious to get to the next tray is that I think I will know better how to do it. With the first tray, I kept lifting up the shredded paper and putting the food waste below it and then adding more paper on top. Now I realize that I would be better off layering it – each time putting in a layer of food and then adding shredded paper on top.

I know some of the worms will crawl up to get the new food in the new tray, but I feel fairly sure that enough will stay behind to eat what is left in the bottom tray. I’ll keep you posted!

You can learn a lot from reading composter reviews. I probably learned 1/4 of what I know about composting from the reviews I read when researching which composter to buy. Today I was looking at a review of the old model Worm Factory and read that someone gets a quart of leachate out of it every couple of weeks. I have yet to get a drop. I don’t feel like my bedding is too dry, but I will be looking into this further to see if I’m doing anything wrong.

Compost Aerator

The only gadget that I learned about at the home composting workshop I attended was the compost aerator. If you have a compost bin rather than a worm bin, you can use it to turn the compost. You stick it straight in like a spear and when you start to pull it out, it’s wings open up creating air passages. It seems that it might require less effort than turning it with a pitch fork. Either one will work, but for some people, this might be the way to go. The reviews on Amazon are pretty good.

This is just an unofficial Composphere Compost Tumbler review. I saw one of these at my composting class and decided to give try rolling it, which is what you’re supposed to do to aerate the contents. First of all, it wasn’t easy to roll even though there wasn’t supposed to be that much in it. When I did get it to roll, water started pouring out of the holes in it. For me those two points, difficult to roll or tumble and fills with water when it rains would be deal breakers. I don’t know if others feel the same, but my instructor really didn’t like the fact that so much water was inside it. I’m open to having my mind changed if anyone has some good experiences to share.

Envirocycle Backyard Compost Tumbler

One of the composters that I got to see during the Home Composting Workshop was the Envirocycle Backyard Compost Tumbler.  It made me laugh when I realized my perception of its shape had been distorted by my wide-screen monitor which makes everything look wide. Other than that, it was as I expected – small enough to have on my porch, although bigger and more obvious than the Worm Factory 360. It turned easily, but there wasn’t much in it and it seemed that it would do the job of keeping critters out. I could definitely see using this if I had room for two composters on my porch or in my backyard. Maybe at my next house!

This is the Compost Bucket they were using.

I mentioned that in the Home Composting Workshop that I attended yesterday, they were using a compost bucket in their break room. I asked the instructor if they had any problems with odors or fruit flies and she said they did not. The compost bucket they were using has a filter in the top and she said they haven’t changed it since they bought it two years ago. It’s one of the containers I had originally considered for my own kitchen and it may be in my future, but so far I’m getting by nicely with my large plastic storage container in the fridge.

This compost container comes in a 9.6 quart size or a 5.5 quart size. I think the small one would work well for me right beside the trash can in the pantry.

I attended a Home Composting Class put on by the U. of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences through our county’s Extension Service. I was happy to discover that I was familiar with most of the material covered since I started composting at home about one month ago. I had tried to do my research and am glad to know that you can actually find a great deal of factual information on the Internet.

This is similar to the bin I received in my Home Composting Class

I did get a few of my questions answered and really enjoyed seeing the different types of composters that they had on site. It was also very impressive to see the amount of nutrient-rich humus (created from compost) that they had generated at their small office.  In the kitchen, they kept a compost bucket that employees used for coffee grounds and fruit and veggie scraps. I don’t know how big their outdoor space actually is, but their gardeners contribute lawn and garden waste. As a result, they have six or eight very large compost bins filled with humus. They also have several compost bins that are “in progress”.

If you haven’t started composting yet, this is a great way to get started. They even provided the compost bin included in the $15 price of the class. They say that the price is only to cover the compost bin, so if you don’t need one, it might be worth asking if you can come to class for free.

Even if you’ve already been composting for awhile, you will probably learn something and it is nice to meet others who share your interest in composting.

I’ll continue to share specific things that I learned in class in upcoming posts.

To me the term urban compost tumbler would indicate a compost tumbler that was suitable for a small indoor space or a small porch, deck or balcony. Otherwise, why use the term “urban” to describe it? That’s the definition that I’m using and so far, I haven’t really found anything that would qualify. The closest thing would be the Envirocycle Composter which is fairly small compared to most compost tumblers. It sits low and fits in a fairly small space (H 30.5 x W 25.5 x D 20.25). The only problem is that once it is full, you must wait several weeks for it to turn to compost before you can add more. That means that you either stop composting until it’s done, buy two Envirocycle Composters or else store your food waste until you can empty the composter.

That’s the reason I didn’t end up buying an urban compost tumbler. I wanted something small to which I could continually add food and paper waste and discovered that an upward migration worm bin system would fit my needs very well. You add food to the bottom tray until it is full and then put on another tray and start adding to it. The worms will leave the bottom tray when they are out of food, leaving behind nutrient-rich compost. You can pull that tray out and use the compost while the worms are happily working in the next tray. I haven’t needed a second tray yet, but the Worm Factory 360 that I am using fits my space and aesthetic needs perfectly and has required very little work on my part.

Another option that I originally thought might work for an urban composter is the Bokaski method. However it also needs to be filled up and then left alone for 10 days or so, leaving you in the same boat as the Envirocycle Composter. I also realized that Bokashi doesn’t complete the composting process, but requires being spread around on the ground to finish.

Of course the option that I am still considering is the Naturemill Composter. It requires a little bit of electricity as it is automatic, but otherwise seems like a great idea for an urban composter. It’s small, can be used in your kitchen and even works on meat and dairy. It’s fast and you can keep adding to it all the time and then empty the compost tray at the bottom when it’s ready. The biggest downside is that it’s pretty expensive. The reviews on the older models are mixed with then negative reviews usually reflecting problems issues with the hardware itself. I’m waiting to see how the reviews are for the newly released Naturemill Plus XE and Naturmill Pro XE.

I’ll continue my search for the best urban composter and maybe someday there will be something that qualifies for my definition of “urban compost tumbler”. For now, I’m happy with my choice of the Worm Factory 360 even though I never would have imagined having worms in my life. In truth, you barely know they are there.

photo credit: We-Present: Travel-UggBoy-The-Photographer!

In spite of my uncertainty, all seems well in the worm bin. When I lift the shredded paper to see if the food I’ve previously put in is being transformed, I am seeing a little bit of food, quite a few wriggly worms and lots of worm castings. Yeah! I can’t wait to add a new tray, but patience is important.