Composters and Rain Barrels?

[chrissyk]

Are either of these products worth buying? I've been looking at both on Ebay. I'm not even sure how much they should cost, though. What would be a good price for these items? Also, if you have either of these (or both), do you find them useful? Most people where I grew up just had a compost pile out back. Is having one of these rotating composters much better than the old pile?

 

[amid chaos]

My compost piles are in the woods so I can't help you with that one.

But I do have a rain barrel and it's great. I paid $100.00 new about 5 years ago. Make sure it has a screen on top so the mosquitos are breeding in the water. It fills in no time at all and has an overflow tube for the excess.

 

[Snowwark]

Chrissy, using a composter, as opposed to an open pile, creates higher temperatures, accelerating the decomposition process. We have two composters, and although they're not the tumbling style, we have a compost 'turner' for stirring it up, and aeration. I believe we spent approx. $30 for each composter.

The following link contains all kinds of great advice on composting, whether using an open pile, or compost bins.

~A Complete Guide to Composting~

I also have a rain barrel, I think much like Vanessa's. I bought it at Lee Valley Tools as an Xmas present for my DH a couple of years ago. I had planned to jump out of it, to surprise him, but it didn't quite work out.

I use it all the time, especially to water my numerous containers.

It looks like this:

 

[chrissyk]

What is the black pipe going into the top of the rain barrel? Also, how much do rain barrels cost? Is this something that I could just buy cheaply at Wal-Mart or at the Agway store or something?

Also, are there local places to buy composters/rotating composters? The ones that I saw on Ebay looked to go for $100+ (for a rotating composter).

 

[Snowwark]

Chrissy, the black pipe is the connection to your downspout, to collect the rainwater. I paid a bit more than the $100 Amid mentioned, due to currency differences.

You can check it out more thoroughly, here;

Lee Valley Rain Barrel

You might be able to find something at Home Depot, etc., or some of the garden centres.

We purchased our composters through our city. Their Public Works/Waste Management department sells them. They were approx. $36.00. I don't know where you are located, but you could check with your City/Town/Municipal services. Also, same as with the rain barrel, you might find them elsewhere. I'm sure the prices vary greatly, depending on what kind you buy.

 

[chrissyk]

Chrissy, the black pipe is the connection to your downspout, to collect the rainwater. I paid a bit more than the $100 Amid mentioned, due to currency differences.

You can check it out more thoroughly, here;

Lee Valley Rain Barrel

You might be able to find something at Home Depot, etc., or some of the garden centres.

We purchased our composters through our city. Their Public Works/Waste Management department sells them. They were approx. $36.00. I don't know where you are located, but you could check with your City/Town/Municipal services. Also, same as with the rain barrel, you might find them elsewhere. I'm sure the prices vary greatly, depending on what kind you buy.

I don't know if the town sells composters, but it's worth a try. At our old house, we had woods behind the house where I just tossed the scraps into a pile. We don't have woods at our new house, so I guess we need some sort of composter. There is nowhere to toss yard waste either, although I think that the town does pick up yard waste weekly if you leave it by the curb. Perhaps they would sell composters cheaply just to get people to leave less waste by the curb. It's worth looking into!