Mantis compost-twin , Pro or con? Ready to buy one!

Hubby said I could finally buy a mantis compost twin. I have been wanting one for ages! They are expensive, but I think they'd be well worth it, as I compost A LOT! I've been vericomposting for several years, but hubby wants the worms OUT! lol....
He says they no longer are allowed to live indoors, lol...

So! The worms will get a new home in the garden, and ready to purchase the mantis. I've heard MANY nice things about the mantis compost twin, but the one negative concerns me.

I've heard they are hard to turn...I cannot ask hubby to turn it every few days. Is it really that hard? Too much for a woman to turn?

I'd appreciate ANY input, as I am really wanting to buy one, before hubby changes his mind, or before he sees how much it really costs, lol...!
-T

I have one and love it,I think every relative has used it as well.
Great for getting in small tight places,starts easy,cleans easy,runs great,I've had mine about 7 yrs now.
But if you want to make composting easier for you,get a shredder,and shred everything into small pieces,before you put it into the compost pile,makes tilling a lot easier.

I think you have the tiller mixed up with the twin composter, Tropicman!
:-)

Tropicman-
Thank you for your input! I would like one of those, too! lol...

Maggiemoo-yes, you are right. I am referring to the composter. I actually went ahead and ordered one earlier today, so hope there aren't any strong objections, because it would be a little late, lol...(but they have a one year money back guarantee, so not at all worried).

I really think I'll love it. I compost EVERYTHING and way outgrew the worm bins years ago...
-T

I have the smallest (Back Porch) of the CompostTumblers, thought I didn't have enough material to supply it much, plus my yard is small.... But I have LOTS of stuff to compost, wish I had some kind of twin system! They are just a bit too big for my yard though.

Caught me reading without my glasses again!!!!!
I've learned just to compost right back in the beds I grow everything,and use it as mulch!
Then when frost comes,cut everything down chop it up,till it with my mantis,as often as I can until the ground freezes,then tarp cover for winter,but I can to that,because I dig my tropicals up and repot and overwinter indoors,sure beats having to shovel and haul compost come springtime!

We "juice" a lot with our juicer and I'm afraid I cannot put that kind of wet stuff directly into my beds, or it would attract flies.

I do have a paper shredder and shred tons of paper and cardboard. I do put that directly into the beds, especially in Fall. Then cover it(since some of the paper has color) with a layer of mown-over leaf and grass clippings. We have a lot of trees, so MANY leaves in Fall...(I've even been known to snatch the neigbors leaves that they set out for "trash".), lol...

I've had MANY tropicals come back from this, and even some beans and veggies that are not supposed to come back.. I explained more about my "electric blanket", in this thread : http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/529330/

Great thread,yes they might draw flies,I've never had a problem with them.
If you were to spread it out and around so it's not gathered in one spot,it might not be a problem,let us know how your composter works.

It should be here next Friday, and I simply cannot wait! Neither can my husband. He isn't excited about the composter(he isn't "into" gardening), but he is really excited about no longer having worm bins in the dining room and a scrap pile of cardboard in the computer room by the shredder...

My house will be cleaner! lol...(and smell nicer, too, lol...)
-T

Didn't know worms smelled!!!LOL
I just can't believe those adds compost in 14 days!!!
Always took me a least a month,and that was working hard at it!!!

The worms don't smell, and usually the worm bins have a sweet earthy smell, but I occasionally get it too "wet", and it can really stick up a house quick if you don't keep it perfectly balanced...
I knew I needed to add some more shredded junk mail and cardboard, but was too slow at it, this time!
Then again, it was the stench that led my hubby to offer to get my new toy! lol..
so kinda glad it happened...
-T

LOL
Sounds like a lady with a plan!!!
LOL
Just kidding!!!

So...you have had the twin composter for a while now. How is it working? Is it hard to turn?

Gwen

I've had it assembled now for only seven whole days, lol...not long enought o know how long it is taking to be finished compost, but long enough to know I already LOVE it, and it is not hard to turn.

I did pack it to the gills, but greased the parts they recommended lubing, and it turns very easily, just can tell the compost is heavy.

-T

Any finished compost yet? I've thought about one of those for years too and haven't gotten around to buying one. We live in the country and I can do piles away from the house so compost smell or flies aren't a problem. The chickens usually do my turning for me and eat many flies, etc.

Well, It has been several weeks, but I cannot say I have followed the directions! lol...

I added more of the wet stuff(nitrogen) than I was supposed to, to the dry browns...

I've also continued to add stuff as I need to, instead of letting it finish before adding, again...(which you aren't supposed to do...)

I didn't use the compost accelerator they gave me, either...
I'm bad!

Just been so glad to have such a large container to finally put all my "trash".

At least I have been pretty good about turning it almost every day. It does seem to have gone from completely full, and cannot cram another leaf in there, to 50% less mass in just a matter of a couple of weeks. It also has that sweet earthy smell as opposed to the raw smell of the kitchen scraps I first put in there...

I'm still glad we bought it, and look forward to that first time I get to spread around "homemade" compost!

Honestly I just cannot say how many days it REALLY takes until I do it like I am supposed to. I can say this...it sure is faster than a worm bin, and many times faster than a compost pile! I can just tell that, already...
-T

Seedpicker - How much dinero are we talkin'?

Sorry, edited to say, I didn't mean to be nosy. I was wondering if we could afford one. :)

This message was edited Aug 31, 2005 2:19 PM

PrairieGirlZ5-Oh, no problem! It is public information, anyway....

Mine was(with tax and $50 shipping charge) right at $500!

Hubby asked if in my whole life I'd be able to recoop that money from not having to buy compost...

I just blinked and said..."uh...no...", lol...

but makes me feel better about knowing the ingredients of my compost, and in my own little way saving the world from a little less trash in the landfills...

I love my mantis tumbler. I am also learning not to keep adding stuff.. Let it decompose
first. My question is once the compost is ready to use it, can you bag it up until you are ready to use it..
I know how to make it I just don't know if I can bag it and save it. Help

That is a good question! Have you called mantis to see what they say about it?
-T

Well I talked him into an electric, battery-powered mower, that was close to $400, but with price of gas esp. NOW, I bet I couldn't pry it out of his hands if I wanted to. LOL Making your own compost in as little as two weeks is bound to save you money, if you consider the benefits of feeding the soil and not throwing chemicals on the plants (well I don't, but some people do), not having to weed as much due to better soil (sweat equity!) and the price of compost itself (we use mushroom compost which costs about $5 a bag!!, which means I still have LOTS of clay soil) I'd say you'd definitely come out ahead, but I don't need to convince you. I thought the idea with the twin bins is that while one is cooking, the other one is ready to go? I really, really want to make my own compost, but don't have the strength to be forking piles, so this sounds great. My girlfriend even had the idea of planting cannas or sunflowers next to the compost pile, in order to disguise it a little.

Yes, that is how you are SUPPOSEd to do it, but I knew I was getting one, so saved even more stuff to put in it, and as huge as they are, I ended up with so much to put in it, that I had to pack both barrels completely full!

I even had so much left over, that a lot of cardboard is still sitting in the two wheelbarrows parked underneath.

I was READY for a composter! lol....

Seedpicker, your just a gal who knows what she wants and goes after it, nothing wrong with that!!

Seedpicker, Congrats on your compost maker. Have to agree with PrairieGirlZ5 on the value of what you are making. Bought my ComposTumbler about a year ago and am on my 10th batch. Yes, add up the dollars not spent on bags and bags of quality compost $$$. I keep my extra/backup/stash of compost in plastic/rubbermaid-type of garbage cans and that works great. This time I should have plenty of finished compost to tide me over the non-mowing season into spring when the mowing and making of compost begins again. It is the most valuable investment we made in our garden/yard. With my broken arm this summer, hubby has taken over the temperature taking and the tumbling and the changing of the batches. And he likes it, too! He transfers the finished compost from the 'holding cans' into 5-gallon buckets that are easier for me to handle. :)

Well you two are so reassuring!...here I've been feeling guilty about my expensive splurge! lol...

Guess that answers nashflowers question, although I never even gave "saving it" a thought...I'd just figured when my compost is ready, that it will get scattered immediately...

Good to know, if I find I need to store it.

well, you don't have to store it, if you're willing to share. Maybe you could sell it on the "black gold" market! LOL nice to know what brands to look at, do you always have to take the temperature too?? Is it built in, or just how do you do that? This is really sounding better and better! :)

I've not taken its temperature...that was an extra $20, and I was already feeling the pressure of the $500, so passed on it...

I will say this...every time I open the "hatch" it does seem like a lot of heat comes out, and the smell is that sweet earthy smell, like it is supposed to smell like, when the ingredients are right...

-T

When we bought the ComposTumbler the loonng thermometer was a 'freebie'. They have different freebie offers at different times. We really enjoy that aspect...taking its temperature. I even have a temp. chart/garden notes form I've adapted that works well. Ties temp. and garden items of note to the right date. Tracking the temp. is helpful in a fast-cooking compost environment, I've found. It let's you know if you've got it hot enough to cook the weed seeds so there's not all that weed sprouting going on when you use the finished compost. It also allows you to watch the progress of the batch of compost, tracking the temperature during the 2-week+ process. You can watch the 'cool-down' and compare it with other batches (compost content mixes) you've made. Simple pleasures.lol

I probably should have gotten it...now you've got me convinced, lol...
-T

I have been considering one of these things also. I've hesitated because there are few leaves in our area; we have the Live Oaks that shed tiny little waxy, hard leaves. Tons of pine straw but no nice oak or maple leaves. I usually use shredded paper in my compost for the browns.

Then I got the idea that perhaps pine cones, which we have millions of, might make decent browns. Do you think they would break down in a reasonable amount of time? I could run over them with the lawn mower.

ardesia,

I was afraid I wouldn't have enough material, either. You'd be amazed how much stuff you have once your mindset is in that direction! I had mostly pine straw, and little else when I got mine. Pine cones are fine to use, but even running over them with a mower they take a while to break down. Sometimes I screen the compost, so they stay in the bin for the next batch, and sometimes I just go ahead and let them be part of the compost (it depends on my mood more than anything else.)

Saving the compost for next season.. I have in the process of putting my beds to sleep for the year.. I bought a green house and have big hopes for my compost and my new plants.. Something to get me through the winter months...

As maggiemoo mentions, those live oak leaves sometimes get left in the Tumbler for the next batch to break down. I don't have a mulcher/shredder and those leaves are tough!

This is probably more work than necessary, but since I'm so impatient, I try to break stuff down as much as possible before placing it in my little Back Porch ComposTumbler (it doesn't get as hot as the regular ones.) First I mow over the stuff using a bagger. Then I vacuum it out of the mower bag with my leaf vac, which breaks it down some more. Still, some stuff will be around for awhile, but it's all good.
:-)

We have a live oak forest!(well, almost...), and have tons of those leaves.

I do like Maggimoo. I run over them in Fall with the mower and catch them with the bag.

Around November or December(here in TX) is when the grass goes dormant. We scalp it, so we can plant rye grass(gives us a winter green), and use the straw like clippings to cover our beds.

Then, the following few mows, the live oak leaves have fallen and (since it breaks down so slowly)this is what we use to cover over the grass clippings in the flower beds as the top layer of mulch. The live oak leaves actually make a really nice decorative covering, in mass...

The grass is smaller and breaks down quicker, so creates fast heat, and the live oak leaves help hold it all in, and they usually last into Spring, before breaking down.

The composter gets any excess, and all my shredded paper and boxes, as well as kitchen scraps.

That is our system so far...I had stufff come back last winter that should have never come back, lol...

Well SeedPicker, you live in Texas, so we know what the temp is in the composter, HOT! :)
Wow, and oak forrest...I find the oak leaves make the best compost. I compost my EE with the oak leaves that from next door, they are so big I can walk underneath the EE leaves.
So I see you've had some results, still liking it?
I'm going to be putting together some potting soil this weekend. I take my mulch from the right - throw it in the left and mix up my perlite, minerals, lava soil, bat guano and alphalpha pellets- a few twists and this dream mixes it all up in a few turns.
Happy mulching!
Rj

Yes, I am still loving it, and loving the idea of using it as a "mixer".

It certainly is packed too full right now, to use it that way, but I do a lot of my own "custom mixing" of potting soils...some sharp draining , some more acidic, etc...

It is always a hassle to mix, or turn evenly with a spade...the mixing in the barrels is genius!

If I EVER have an empty barrell (LOL...)I'll have to try that...
-T

How is the tumber doing?
I see that they are giving $50 off the price now. Regular $350 for 300. Does this one look like yours? http://compost-twin.com/home.asp?forcenewtestcookie=1&from=2& If you were to buy extras, like the thermometer, what would you buy?
Linda

This message was edited Dec 16, 2005 6:43 PM

I have had my Mantis Twin about 3 years and love it. Hubby got it for me because I was struggleing to keep my "pile" turned. The tumbler does work much faster than a pile. I do fill only one side at a time and use the finished side. I don't have a really good sunny place for it tho, it is behind my GH and only gets sun at one end and then only a few hours in late afternoon. Still, It is one of my favorite tools. I have hubby put all grass clippings in it and my kitchen scraps - coffee grounds, egg shells, and veggie peels. I just keep a small plastic tub in the kitchen for them and dump it in everyday.

My friend gave me a small container of red wigglers a couple of years ago as a joke. I dumped it in the composter and to my surprise, these things just keep on having babies! I was afraid they would fry in there, but they did not. Every time I take out a bucket or so to use I find more baby worms. I never totally empty it, just take out what I want to use at a time. When planting any shrubs, plants, etc, I mix compost in the "holes" to help break down my hard clay and feed the new plant. In fall and spring, I spread a new layer over my flower beds, someday I will have a good thick layer of decent soil.