- Labor-saving design
- Fast compost production
- Relatively low cost
- Small capacity
- Difficult to turn when full
The Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler is a tumbling compost bin with a recycled plastic barrel mounted on a galvanized steel frame. Users turn the barrel end over end to aerate the compost. Its capacity is small, between 7 and 8 cubic feet, but it's a good size for smaller families and yards. It is also inexpensive relative to other compost tumblers. The barrel has a lid on each end for adding and removing compost. Users say the unit is well made and easy to use and produces good compost quickly, although a few note that the bin can be difficult to turn when full.
The best source of information about the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler is a field test conducted by members of the National Home Gardening Club. The results, available at CleanAirGardening.com, rate the Tumbleweed on such factors as performance and ease of use. We also found about 25 owner reviews at Amazon.com, and there are a handful of reviews at CleanAirGardening.com, an online retailer of garden products. PeoplePoweredMachines.com, another online retailer, recommends this product on the basis of its own tests, although the site does not describe the company's testing procedures. The-Organic-Gardener.com also recommends the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler and gives a brief summary of its advantages. Mother Earth News includes the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler in its review of seven tumbler models, but it discusses the different styles only in general terms and does not make any specific recommendations.
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Our Sources
1. CleanAirGardening.com
This retail site outlines the results of testing by members of the National Home Gardening Club. Individual gardeners test the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler in their own yards and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 for several criteria, including performance, design and ease of use. The Tumbleweed earns an overall average score of 8.9, with no less than 8 out of 10 in any single category.
Review: Tumbleweed Composter Test Results, Editors at CleanAirGardening.com
2. Amazon.com
The Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler earns good overall ratings from more than 50 owners at Amazon.com. Most say it is well made and produces good compost, although quite a few note that it's very hard to turn, especially when full. And some say their composters cracked when full of heavy compost.
Review: Tumbleweed 200003 Rotating Compost Bin - Green, Contributors to Amazon.com
3. CleanAirGardening.com
The Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler is a staff pick at this online retailer of garden products. There are only a handful of user reviews, but all say that this compost tumbler is a high-quality product. Two owners praise its ease of use, and two say it is easy to assemble.
Review: Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler (Composting Bin), Contributors to CleanAirGardening.com
4. People Powered Machines.com
This online retailer calls the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler "heads above all the other tumble type composters" on the basis of its own testing. The editors say the bin can be assembled in 15 minutes and produces compost in one-quarter of the time of traditional methods.
Review: The Tumbleweed Compost Maker: New Patented Design, Editors at PeoplePoweredMachines.com
5. Mother Earth News
This article offers a helpful description of the seven different styles and brands of compost tumblers tested by the magazine's staff. Although the testers do not make any recommendations, they note that center-axle drum tumblers like the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler are generally easy to operate but can be hard to unload. They also note that this model opens at both ends, which facilitates loading and unloading.
Review: Compost Tumblers, Brook Elliott, April/May 2003
6. The Organic Gardener
On this site devoted to organic gardening, experienced gardener Michael Scott recommends the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler for those who want to "turn your grass clippings into compost quickly." Scott says the tumbling bin's central bar does a good job breaking up the thatch of grass clippings to speed their breakdown.
Review: Garden Composting On The Move, Michael Scott
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