Making compost for your garden is one of the best ways to boost your tomato production. There are a variety of way to go about making compost, the simplest just being a pile somewhere near the garden. But there are a variety of tools, ranging from simple compost thermometers to deluxe compost tumblers that can help accelerate the composting process. Here's an article that takes a look at the tradeoffs between compost tumbler and simple compost bins.

If you are looking for a good way to make compost quickly, one of the best solutions is a compost tumbler. A tumbler has many advantages, but the one that most folks are aware of is the ability to make compost quickly and easily. Any compost pile will work faster when you turn it regularly, but a tumbler makes the process of turning the pile about as easy as it can get. When you start looking at either building or buying a compost tumbler, its good to have an understanding of the different types of tumblers available today.

Types of Tumblers

Center-axle Mounted Drums.

As the name suggests, this is a style that has the drum sitting above ground, with single pole or axle that runs through the middle of the drum. The drum rotates freely about this axle, with the barrel standing vertically when the tumbler is at rest, and to turn the pile you simply rotate the drum. This is usually not too much effort, but as the compost finishes you may get it sliding to one end as you rotate, with a resulting thump. Look a the height to make sure it will work for loading and unloading for you. Some units have doors on both ends, making it easier to load and unload the unit. The Urban Compost Tumbler is an example of this style.

Rolling Drums with a Base

This style has a barrel that sits on a base, which sits on the ground. Some styles have rollers in the base to make the rotation easier, others simply have drum rotate in a plastic base, which are not as easy to turn. The ones without rollers typically have a spot for your feet to have you push on it with your feet to turn it. Often with these the drum is rolled to a spot for loading/unloading. The Envirocyle Composter is and example of a rolling drum, which not only is a composter but will collect compost tea in the base of the unit.

Rolling Spheres

These are different in that they don't have a base. They are simply large drums or balls that are similar to the rolling drums, but are spun by rolling around the yard. Obviously, these can be rolled to the loading and unloading spots as well. Some are not drum shapes, but generally are not truly spherical, but have some flat sides so they will stay where you put them, but occasionally that will make it difficult to steer them while rolling. An example of these is the Bio Orb.

Crank-operated Rolling Drums

Generally considered the best of the tumbler styles, these have the drums resting on a raised frame, usually with rollers that are driven be a gear system that is hand crank operated. Because of the gearing, these are often the easiest to operate. Some of the better models even have internal baffles in the drum to improve the mixing action of the tumbling. They tend to sit higher than other models, so that a wheelbarrow can easily be used to load and unload the unit. An example of this style is the ComposTumbler, Generally these are the most expensive units, but they have the biggest capacities and are easiest to use.

To see a complete review of many of these compost tumblers like the Envirocycle Compost Tumbler and the Urban Compost Tumbler go to http://how2compost.com