12 Things to Consider when Choosing a Composter
1. What is it you hate about composting?
a. The time it takes to manage some composters – and/or it’s a chore
b. The smell some composters produce
c. The difficulty with getting the right nitrogen/carbon mix
d. Don’t like big composters taking up space or being visible in the garden
e. The vermin they attract – flies and rats or snakes nesting inside them
f. The continuous cost of an extra product to make some composters work
2. What do you want to achieve by composting?
Or – What do you like about Composting.
a. Produce soil to use for growing veggies and ornamental plants
b. Don’t want to use fertilizers in your garden
c. Prefer a more organic system
d. Want to help the environment
e. Just want good soil in your backyard
f. Hate throwing your waste in the council bin or
g. Storing overnight in a freezer
h. Hate smelly council bins
3. What do you want to compost?
a. All your kitchen or just some of it.
b. Worm friendly waste only
c. Garden waste, green waste, grass clippings, weeds etc
d. Animal excrement – dog and cat poo in particular
e. Farm animal waste
4. Do you have animals that get a portion or all of your waste?
a. Chickens / Ducks / Geese / Guinea Pigs / Rabbits
b. Horses / Cows / Goats / Pigs / Sheep
c. Dogs / Cats
d. Wildlife – Bandicoots / Foxes / Busk Turkeys / Antechinus
5. How much time do you have to compost?
a. Your time is your own – unlimited (retired perhaps)
b. You have some time but prefer to use it for gardening or other activities
c. You are too busy to compost
d. You have children that can do it for you
6. Do you grow or want to grow vegetables?
a. You want to grow your own vegetables
b. You already grow your own vegetables
c. You want to teach the kids how to grow their own vegetables
d. You have not had much success with propagating and growing your own food
7. Your physical fitness?
a. Back problems – Can’t lift heavy weights Can’t bend down
b. Disabilities – wheelchair bound
c. Age
d. General health
8. Size of your property?
a. Farmland – unfenced / fenced
b. Large / small urban block
c. Courtyard
d. Unit / Balcony
e. Other
9. How many people in your household?
a. One person
b. Two people
c. A family of three to five
d. A family of five to ten
f. More
10. How much waste do you produce?
a. One bucket full a day
b. One bucket full every 2 to 3 days
c. One bucket full once a week
d. One bucket full every two weeks
e. More than one bucket a day
11. What is your climate like?
a. Temperate
b. Tropical
c. Sub-Tropical
d. Cold
e. Arctic. You live in the snow perhaps
f. Desert. Hot and dry
12. What type of soil do you have?
a. Normal
b. Sandy / Sandy Loam
c. Clay / Clay Loam
d. Shale
e. Introduced top soil
f. Raised Garden Beds – a mixture
8 Different Methods of Composting
1. Open air composting (hot /cold composting)




2. Direct Composting (trench or in-ground composting)




3. Tumbler composting (A form of hot composting)




4. Worm composting (Vermicomposting)




5. EMO composting (Bacteria composting)




6. Compot Composting (Combination Composting)




7. Commercial Composting



