Has anyone ever used this type of composter?

I saw this in a magazine and then looked it up online, but don't know if this is a good type or not.

I like the design and look, but only if it would work.

http://www.europeangarden.com/composter.aspx

Thanks.

That one looks very much like the Biostack everyone was raving about another thread in here. Looks like it would be easy to work with.

I saw this at Costco for sixty dollars last week. They also might have them online.

Keith,

No, I don't think it looks like the Biostack. The Biostack has 3 stackable tiers. This one looks like one big solid piece with just those tiny doors at the bottom.

Karen

Karen, I agree with you that the difference between the Europeangarden compost bin and Biostak is that the Biostack has three tiers. That, to me, is the genius-part of the Biostack. I have three, and they are going strong after three years.

On the Biostack, I understand that there are three tiers, but the part that confuses me is how you "turn" it. I understand that it is not in the traditional manner of turning a pile, but I don't get the order that you stack and re-stack.

Thanks.

Shuggins, you just take the top tier off and place it on the ground next to the original Biostack. Then you fork (or shovel or whatever) the top layer of compostable materials from your previous top layer of the Biostack into the new tier that is now on the ground. Then when you have filled up THIS layer, you take off the second tier and place it on top of the first one and keep shoveling, removing the next tier as you go along, until you have completely filled the second tier -and so on, until you have a stack of three tiers filled up next to the first one.
It's harder to describe than it is to DO!
Hope that this helps.

CapeCod: You described it perfectly.

I agree that the Biostack works beautifully. I have 2 of them and can't believe how much better/faster they produce compost than my old bin. My first compost bin was similar to the one that shuggins linked above- it was one big unit with doors at the bottom. I found it next to impossible to turn and aerate the contents. I couldn't just pick it up and move it, it was impossible when filled with compostables. Even if I could have, it would have nearly killed me to fork each forkful that high in the air. The Biostack eliminates those issues. Another issue with that old bin was that the doors broke soon after I bought it. As inefficient as it was in every way, that's what I used for about 15 years.

I discovered the Biostack from other composters recommendations on compost forums. I liked it so much after using for about a year that last year I bought another. They are pricey, no doubt about it, but worth every penny to me. I'm a pretty small 55 year old woman, and have some physical limitations, but I can manage the Biostacks very well. They're worth every penny to me.

Karen

Karen...The points you bring up were my main concerns from that composter. I think I will look into Biostacks. I will try one and hopefully be able to get a second one. From everything that I have read, that is really the way to go. Also, it is best to keep them in full sun, so the sun heats them up, right? Finding a place to put it where it is not out in the open, but still in the sun is somewhat of a challenge. I am thinking that I may put lattice around it and grow a vine on it. Don't know, but definitely interested in getting one.

shuggins: Sun isn't necessary. The heat comes from the composting process. I guess for us northerners sun might help some in winter, but I don't think it would be an issue at all in Texas.

Mine are in full sun but I really want to move them to shade, only for a bit of relief from said sun in summer when I am working in/ turning/ playing in my compost. If I lived in Texas and had a choice, I'd put it in shade.

Karen

Do they need to me on the ground or can they be placed on concrete? Finally, do they smell at all? I can place them on my patio, so when I look out at my beds, I wouldn't have to look out at them, but since that is close to the house, I wouldn't want to put them there if they smelled.

Placed on soil is preferable so soil organisms can be introduced from the bottom, worms and other bugs can easily find it and access it... But if you put in organic matter it will rot eventually either way, just maybe better and faster if placed on soil.

Compost should not smell. It will smell if you lack enough browns (cure = add browns, high C ingredients), keep it too moist (cure= flip, let it dry out) , or let it go anerobic (cure=flip to aerate). You will get the knack only by experimenting. Mine still gets smelly sometimes, but rarely. Generally this happens only in circumstances like when my husband fills the bin with nothing but grass clippings........

Karen

After reading all about composting here on DG (and other sites) I asked for two BioStacks for my Mother's Day present. My friends all think I'm nuts, but I've already got the first one 1/3 full. I need to go flip it. My kids are really fascinated, too! I told DH to bag the next batch of grass clippings as he goes, instead of leaving it on the yard as usual to work back into the soil.

I'm having trouble finding enough browns this time of year--any suggestions? Does anyone have a good list of what is considered brown, and what is considered green? I put in coffee grounds every day, tea bags, food scraps (no meat/oil), egg shells, grass & weeds (hoping it will cook enough to kill any possible seeds). Wish I had access to a truck, so I could get some horse & rabbit manure from my BIL, but he lives 2 hours away, and it might get a bit smelly in my car. . .

Booker: If you google "compost ingredients" you'll find lots of lists. I'll link you to one:
http://www.composting101.com/c-n-ratio.html

Browns are scarce in summer. I collect fall leaves from the neighbors, and drive around and nab bags full from the curb on garbage night. I hoard them, shred them, and save them for my compost and lasagna beds. Other common browns for me are shredded junk mail, cardboard, dead plants. When I run out of leaves, I sometimes buy a bale of straw. It goes a long way, and really lightens the compost mix.

If composting is your thing, I think you'll really like the Biostack. Grass clippings really heat up fast, too. Just be sure you get enough browns mixed into it or it will stink to high heaven.

Karen

Booker, Karen's link provides some really good suggestions for both browns and greens for composting. I just want to reiterate that shredded or torn-up newspaper is one of the most available sources for browns, especially in the spring and summer when leaves are not readily available. I have three Biostacks, and as well as adding torn-up newspaper to the mix, I always place several layers of newspaper on the ground whenever I shift my Biostack layers to toss them. Earthworms flock to them, and make a real difference in speeding up the compost process.

Thanks! Just cleaned out a bunch of beds, deadheaded all my iris and poppies, and my biostack is now loosely filled about 2/3 full. Added any brown leaves I could still find lurking in my shade bed, but nowhere near 50/50. I added some cardboard, and will see if I can find some straw!

I do hate to go out and buy straw or anything else just for compost. However, a bale does last a long time. I prefer vegetative waste like leaves, straw, etc to paper or cardboard as carbon (brown) material. Because those have grown from the earth they provide more nutrients, minerals for compost than paper or cardboard. Those are carbon (browns), will keep the pile from getting stinky, and composting does keep them out of the landfill. But the finished product- compost- is better stuff, I think, if better more nutritious ingredients are used in the making.

It's kind of like the value of what comes out = the value of what goes in.

http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s-3-79-829,00.html

Karen

I could use part of the straw on my potatoes, too. I'm trying the garbage can method of potatoes, and have run out of leaves to pile into it! Maybe I should dig all those leaves back out, put them in the compost bin, and use the straw for the potatoes. . . ?

Where do you find straw? Maybe a silly question--can you get it at big box stores, Farm & Fleet, etc., or do you go through local farmers? How can you tell the difference between straw and hay? Can you tell I'm new at this? LOL

It depends on where you live. In rural areas you can get it from farms. I live in suburbia- no farms around here. I bought it at a local garden center.

I've never used hay. Apparently it has a solid center. A piece of straw has a hollow center like a drinking straw. Each stem takes longer to break down in my compost, but it's nice stuff that really lightens the mix. I tried weed wacking it into smaller pieces and that did make it rot faster, but it's just too much effort.

I'm using my leaf stash really fast so I might still be buying some straw soon too.

Karen