Tumbleweed Composter - A Review of the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler

The Tumbleweed composter is one of the more popular compost tumblers on the market today. Tumblers have many advantages over a traditional compost bin in terms of speed, ease of use, and protection from vermin and other pests. Here we look at some of the pros and cons of the Tumbleweed composter.

The Tumbleweed is an example of a center axle compost tumbler. There are different from some of the more expensive drum compost tumblers like the Mantis Compostwin which rotate about the axis, similar to what would happen if you were to roll the drum.

The center axis designs act more like the spokes on a wheel, where the drum tumbles over the top of itself. All the center axle designs take advantage of this to have the axle actually break up and “turn” the compost as you are rotating the drum. This extra turning of the composting material is one of the factors that help speed up the compost compared to even turning compost in a typical bin. Typically axle mounted tumbling composters are less expensive than the drum types.

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Tumbleweed Compost Bin $198.75 Store: Arbico Organics Tumbleweed Tumbler $204.95 Store: Yardiac.com Clean Air Gardening 200003 Tumbleweed Tumbler Green $179.99 Store: UnbeatableSale, Inc. Tumbleweed 8 Cubic Ft. Green Compost Tumbler $179.99 Store: Hayneedle Tumbleweed Worm Farm Composter $99.99 Store: Hayneedle Tumbleweed 8 Cubic Ft. Black Compost Tumbler $189.99 Store: Hayneedle

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The Tumbleweed composter is a good size for one of the composters. It will hold about 58 gallons, which is enough material to get the compost heating and working, but not so much that it is difficult to turn. It’s constructed of heavy duty UV-protected polypropylene plastic, so it will weather well.

Since the idea behind the fast compost is to regularly turn the material over to get fresh material into the hot center of the bin, along with aerating the center of the pile, it’s important to be able to turn it easly.

The biggest problem with the axle mounted tumblers is that once the material starts to break down, it will become more dense and will sit with its center of gravity more towards the bottom, and it can be a little harder to turn. This is especially true as if you add water or rain gets in, and smaller framed people will have some difficulty turning it. Rain can get in on the end caps, especially if they aren’t sealed well.

If you have it outdoors in very cold climates, the composting mass can freeze up and then it will be very difficult to turn.

One other thing to note, which is true for almost any system that processes compost in batches is that once you start a batch, you need to queue the fresh composting material somewhere else, either in another compost bin like the Garden Gourmet composter or a compost crock or pail or something like that. If you keep adding fresh material you will not see finished compost in 3 or 4 weeks.

The legs on the stand look somewhat frail, but they seem to hold up well in actual use. One of the unique features of the Tumbleweed is the access on either end, which is quite helpful when loading or unloading. The height of the stand is a good one for emptying the finished compost into a cart or wheelbarrow.

The assembly is straightforward, basically all it takes is screwdriver and a few minutes of your time ( it has about 18 screws). The fact that it can be assembled saves on shipping costs.

Like any composting approach, it works best if you have the proper mix of green and brown materials, too much green (like all grass clippings) can create odors and a slimy mess, and too much brown just sits there and doesn’t do much. And keeping the moisture level to that of a damp rag will keep it active as well.