Mantis Twin Composter - Need advice!

Hi all,
I know Azalea has one and loves it, maybe some you have one too. My mom and I just bought one as a Christmas present to each other. (That's a you know you are a gardner if line) I got it put together today (took some doing but managed ok). Now what the heck and how much of it do I put in there? I am reading all the info that came with it but I would sure love to hear from someone who is actually putting stuff in there every day/week/whatever. This thing is great! Merry Christmas all!
Connie

Merry Christmas to you Connie. And mom also.

Good choice, Weeds.

For starters, see if you can find a copy of the April/May Mother Earth News, where I had a complete feature on compost tumblers, including the ComposTwin.

Second, there should have been an instruction sheet included, along with a "how to compost" booklet. They both walk you through the process.

But, if not, here goes. You can put any organic material in the tumbler, but do not use animal parts or waste. So, we're looking at kitchen vegetable scraps, grass clippings, weeds from the garden, straw, newspaper (shredded), leaves, etc.

Note that these divide into two groups: greens and browns. The primary difference is that "greens" are high in nitrogen, and "browns" high in carbon.

It's important that you add those in roughly equal proportions. They don't have to be layered, particularly.

You can add as much of these materials as the drum will hold. As materials settle, and start to decompose, there will be additional room. But, everytime you add materials, the days-to-finished-compost start from that point.

You should rotate the drum at least once weekly; every three days is even better.

Idea of the compost twin is that you completely fill one drum. Then you start adding material to the second drum. This lets the first drum cook down completely. Takes about ten weeks (despite what the mfg. says). By that time you'll have filled the second drum, and start the process over.

All of this sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.

Hey, weeds! We have a Forum for tools, and I believe there are several threads on composters. Also, there have been many threads throughout various forums here on composting.
http://davesgarden.com/search/index.php?forum=&search_text=composting&limit=0&Search=Search

http://davesgarden.com/f/shed/

Merry Christmas to you too Garedclay!
Thanks Brook and Darius, I will check out both of those. This is really a nice thing to have and my mother (83) is in hog heaven. You know that generation saves every scrap of everything including food. Now she has somewhere handy to put it!

Hmmmm...Mantis Twin Composter sounds interesting. Would you happen to have a link to that site? Or the Mother Earth News one mentioned above? Thanks.

You can check the MEN archieves to see if it's in there (www.motherearthnews.com).

A google search under compost tumblers will bring you to all sorts of sites that show the CompostTwin and other compost tumblers.

The CompostTwin specifically can be found at www.mantisgardentools.com. A similar design, using only one drum is at www.ComposTumbler.com.

If anyone is interested, I'll photocopy the story and send it to them for a buck to cover copying and postage. Contact me off list if you're interested and I'll send my mailing address.

Do you add any soil?

It's not necessary.

Some people recommend adding soil to compost piles. But the only thing that does is add the bacteria that run the process.

Those bacteria are everywhere, though: in the soil adhering to weed roots, and in the garden dust that coats your grass, and in the air itself.

So, while adding soil doesn't do any harm, it doesn't particularly help, either. And it takes up space that could be used by the organics you're trying to convert.

Thanks for the links, Brook. I searched the archives of MEN, compost tumblers and mantis compost Twin and Mantis twin compster, but didn't get any results. Must not have been in the online issue. Thanks anyway. I did look at it on the mantis site.

I searced too and could not find it. We love it anyway!

weeds you'll love it! My Dad has composted for 50 years
and his plants look gorgeous...just make sure the compost
is well broken down and you'll have black gold for your
treasures :)

You may wanna keep an eye on the moisture content too, it should be about as damp as a rung out sponge. To test it, reach in and grab a handful and squeeze it. If you get a drop or two of water, it's in good shape. If not add a little water.

Keep in mind that it takes a lot of black gold to cover just a little ol garden spot. So you have to be patient when composting just a small heap.

TC...

Thanks Lily and TC.....I will keep my eye on it. I have tried composting in piles but not good here, too many bugs/animals etc. This thing is great and I do want some black gold!

Hiya Weeds! Long time no see!
Hope you and Mom are doing well, and keep us informed here.
I too am thinking...I hate all the critters and mess too, can't remember how many piles I started, and lost :(

Hey Vi! How ya doing? We are chugging along and getting in the Christmas spirit...
This composter is easy to turn and no smell or mess yet.

Should I put shrimp heads in the composter?

I don't see why not weeds. Fish emulsion is used as fertilizer so I would think shrimp scraps wouldn't hurt a thing.

TC...

Thanks TC, that is what I was thinking....

Weeds, Shrimp heads (and shells) are a good source of certain nutrients; particularly nitrogen. However, like all non-plant wastes, they tend to attract vermin. Although the composter is sealed, it can still be smelled, and animals are likely to try and break into it.

For that reason, as a general rule, you do not want to put animal products in a compost pile of any kind.

I save shrimp leavings in the freezer, then bury them deeply in my squash hills just before planting. Seems to work fine, and have had no problems with animals trying to dig them up.

Weeds, Brook has some good advice. I'd keep a close eye on your compost bin, maybe bury the shrimp scraps under the other compostings really good. If you are concerned about it attracting critters, then don't add it to the compost and just do what Brook does; freeze it.

That's good thinking. I will consider it but am inclined to pop it in there anyway and see what happens, guess it's the old experience is the best teacher.

Just saw this. Glad you got your "Twin" Weeds. From time to time I toss in a cup of fertilizer to help heat things up. I also keep a bucket under it, because it will drip, I don't want to waste that wonderful "tea". I use this, watered down to water things when I think of it!

Oh, great idea! We just love this thing. My mom thinks she has died and gone to heaven!

Wait till ya see the good it does your soil weeds, your flowers will look like bouquets from Heaven!

TC...

Saves on your trash pick up service too - we only hhave it picked up once a week instead of two, all there is are cans, papers and a few uncompostable things.

weeds-
It has been a while now...how do you like your compost twin?
I am ready to buy one!
thanks!-Taylor