The Garden Gourmet Backyard Composter is a self centered composting system which makes it much easier to recycle your garden and kitchen waste. It features the home gardener some advantages over loose composting and above homemade composting bins. One such advantage is size. The Garden Gourmet is very compact, so it lets those with very limited yard space take advantage of composting. It also maintains the compost neatly contained and out of sight.
Basic Physical Description
The Garden Gourmet Backyard Composter bin is just a black plastic container which can hold 11 cubic feet of compost or even scraps. It’s 36 inches high and 24 inches square. It has adjustable air vents on the sides and a hinged lid on top that snaps securely in place to keep compost in and inquisitive pests like raccoons and opossums out. The empty container weighs 29 pounds and arrives unassembled, but it is easily put together without the need for some tools. Those that like recycling will appreciate this bin is constructed from about 51 percent recycled products.
Rodent Protection
One important feature to note about the Garden Gourmet bin is it is available at the bottom to permit liquids to escape. This usually means your compost sits right on the ground. While this might not be a issue, it’s also possible that mice, rats and other sorts of rodents may find their way into your bin. To keep them out, place a display under the composter before you fill it up. This will allow liquids to drain out and prevent rodents from getting in.
Using the Composter
The Garden Gourmet composter is a very simple system. All you want to do would be to open the lid, then toss your scraps in, close the lid and wait, but you should be aware it can take up to two years to complete the composting process. Should you use a shovel or a spade to turn the compost inside the container you can cut that down to as small as three months. Composting also works great if you include a mix of substances, like leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps, and chop or shred things before placing them at the composter.
Harvesting Your Compost
When your compost is ready it will be brown and have the look and feel of rich garden soil. The Garden Gourmet is intended to enable you to leave the upper layers of compost hovering while you crop the finished merchandise. It has a door in the bottom that opens, enabling you to scoop out the finished compost and then leave the rest to drop down and fill in where the finished compost was. Once you have eliminated the compost, close and latch the door and the composting process will last for everything which remains in the bin.