This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Compost

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Well, if you have compostables in a barrel and roll it around on the
ground, the stuff inside will plop in a lump from one side to another.
Doesn't do much to accelerate composting. I have a "Tumblebug," a roundish
(but with many small flat sides) compost maker invented by a loacl Boise
man. He advertised nationally, etc., and it was an excellent idea. The
bolts that held the tumbler together projected inside 3 or 4 inches so that
it would aerate the clump instead of leaving it as a lump. Sadly, after a
few years he closed the operation. He was working on a grinder/mulcher
thing that would be quieter than the gas operated ones, possibly activated
by a power drill, but he apparently gave up on that, too.

American industry is not kind to inventors. A friend of mine had one
invention distributed to KMart, who put it on the racks next to the cash
registers and proceeded to charge him $10,000 per month for the placement.
That was more than was being sold. Another of his inventions was ordered by
Sears, who ordered a bunch of them, and told him upfront they wouldn't pay
him for six months. So he had to borrow the money to have them
manufactured. I haven't heard horror stories from Henry (the inventor of
the compost tumbler), probably because I haven't talked to him lately to
ask him. Walls o'Water was a great invention, and I bought my first ones
from the inventor and his wife at a Boise Home and Garden show. That
invention really took off, but someone may have bought his patent and
marketed it themselves. That's how those things usually work. Margaret L


At 02:06 PM 4/1/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>At 06:51 AM 3/31/00 -0600, Summer wrote:
>
>>I just coughed up a chunk of change and bought a ComposTumbler
>>(http://www.compostumber.com). They let you pay it out, it makes compost 
>>really
>>fast and keeps it all hidden. A friend of mine at work has two and swears by
>>them.
>
>I look forward to hearing from you again toward the end of this gardening 
>season.  Some posters to rec.gardens in the past (1995-96) were not all 
>that satisfied with the ComposTumbler, and it does cost a bundle.
>
>What I don't fully comprehend is why one couldn't make one's own 
>compostumbler-type device by putting the materials for decomposition into, 
>say, a big plastic trash barrel with tightfitting lid, carving some holes 
>in the sidewalls for ventilation, and then rolling it around right on the 
>ground periodically to reposition the stuff inside.
>
>Isn't that basically what's happening to the materials inside the official 
>ComposTumbler?  Does having the apparatus up on legs make any difference in 
>the M.O. really?
>
>--Janet
>
>
>______________________________________________________________________
>To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
>______________________________________________________________________
>Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com
>
>


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement:
Workstation with Monitor under $800!
So, you just heard that you need to add how many new workstations by
the end of next week? Check out the bundle below. It includes
everything you need to get everyone up and running quickly.
http://www.listbot.com/links/cdw5
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index