Tips For Efficient Envirocycle Compost

By Margaret Olson


Gardeners often have a need for enhancing the soil they grow in. Environmental concerns about waste are high on most peoples' list of issues. Buying fertilizer and other soil enhancements can be expensive. Combining the environmental concern for waste and the need to improve soil quality creates a great opportunity to attack both by using a tumbler such as the Envirocycle compost tumbler. There are many different brands available and you can even make your own. Doing so will help save money and dispose of a large quantity of your household waste.

The device must be stored in a place that is dry. Having added moisture affect the mix is bad and could ruin the mix. It would essentially turn it into a soup rather than a soil additive. Using a garage or shed is best, but a covered porch or secured tarp will do the job as long as you can keep adding water out of the mix.

Everything should be put in at the same time. If you're going to close the tumbler and start the process, you need to be sure that you're done adding to it. Once the material begins to break down you need to keep the lid closed and locked. Some people will keep a second one or use a large plastic bin to store the organic food in until the working tumbler can be emptied.

Two forms of material can be added to the tumbler. The most important piece of information is to avoid adding any plastics to the mix. Other items such as coffee grounds, tea bags, grass clippings, and other food or organic material are referred to as green waste. Wood chips, paper towels, newspapers and the like are considered brown waste.

The waste ratio needs to be maintained for it to work properly. It should be maintained as a single green part to three parts of the brown type of waste. The green waste is more easily broken down and needs the tougher, rougher material to absorb and slow the process so it all mixes together well. If the mix ratio is not correct you will notice some strong, unusual odors emitting from the tumbler.

Use the hand crank to turn the device. It is suggested that you turn the crank one full turn. This will not completely rotate the tumbler but will instead move it far enough to get the mix to shift and help with the processes that are going on. Doing this every day until it is done composting is an important part of the process.

Strong smells indicate a problem. If there is a strong rotten egg smell, there is too much moisture in the mix. This could be from leaks or from too much waste that was saturated, such as coffee grounds or tea bags. An ammonia smell also indicates a bad mix. In either case, adding more brown waste should help balance it out and get the process going correctly.

It will take between two and ten weeks to create the best compost. Don't forget to keep other scraps out of the mix until you have dumped the first material and are ready to begin again. Keep some of the material back as a starter for the next process.




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