Sounds like you may need to add more "browns", dry ones, I'd guess.

I have a leaf shredder and have quite a pile of shreds. I'll add some and see how that works. Thanks!

Surely the instructions said you have to add a mix of browns and greens. If not, they were woefully inadequate. The claims of 14 day compost require a perfect mix, perfect management, and even then, it's not likely. Compost takes time. So the claims are, in effect, a big lie.

It's actually a bit tricky managing tumblers compared to piles or bins, but in every case, you need those high carbon low nitrogen browns to balance out food scraps.

BTW that's what we call them, kitchen scraps, not garbage. :-D

Good news is it can be remediated. It should correct itself.

When you add those leaves, find a Starbucks and score a big bag of used grounds. Add with the leaves and the contents in the tumbler will heat up nicely for a few days. And tox...is right. it takes time, more like 9 months really. Sorry.

Reminds me of the cartoon where the guy goes into an office and says "I want to talk to the guy who wrote the ad." The one for my *self-cleaning* oven. The ad says I pour some water in the bottom tray, turn on to 'Clean', when done I can just wipe out the residue with a damp rag. Oh yeah, right. And also from tox...kitchen scraps - garbage is something completely different. ;-)

Nine months??? Sigh...

Sorry...once you get a rotation going it works out pretty well. I'm about 4 or 5 years into my composting adventure. Have learned a lot from books and on-line forums like this one. Pretty much when I need it now, fall and spring, it's ready. This is your first season, good luck with it all, it's just compost, eventually it'll all rot. :-) Patience Grasshopper. [g]

Composting tumblers seem to be the most problematic means of composting there is based on the number of people that have problems. Volume is not enough to generate the heat a properly built compost pile can reach and the tumblers seem to hold moisture much too well. Mother Earth News compared different composting tumblers and this link goes to the article about their results.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/testing-compost-tumblers-zmaz03amzgoe.aspx?PageId=1

kimmq is kimmsr

One of the primary reasons that drove us to buy tumblers is that our dogs were getting into the open compost piles. An unexpected benefit this past winter was that with the historic snow that we got (near Boston), there's no way that we would have shoveled the path every week out to the pile. We were able to put an enclosed tumbler right outside our back door.

I'm definitely on the Pro side of the tumbler debate. I learned the hard way though that they are not rain-proof. Fortunately it does not rain much here and either covering the tumbler or just inverting it so the opening faces down is now part of our 'batten down the hatchets' routine when rain is imminent.

Thanks for another good article kimmq. In MEN's comparison, I like the idea of one that is tall enough that a wheelbarrow can be placed under when emptying. I dump on the ground, struggle to get the tumbler out of the way, then shovel into a barrow. I'm thinking I can elevate it with cinder blocks.

When the stuff decomposes enough in the tumbler that it's not recognizable as food, the dogs may not be interested at that point. Empty it out and put it into a bin and let it finish for awhile. Keep putting fresh kitchen scraps into the tumblers.

If you want to know what's happening in the compost pile/tumbler, you need a compost thermometer( or any thermometer with a long reach, or just push a short one down into the pile/tumbler). Then you'll know if it's even heating up, and how much. I believe 100-130F is a good middle ground, but 160F is better and faster(and harder to achieve!). When I put pure kitchen scraps into a hole in the middle of my pile, they will heat up without being mixed, but I'd guess the heating organisms are already there in the surrounding pile and just more in the new scraps.

I think everyone will agree that you need a certain amount of volume to get the pile to really heat up, and from what I've read it's takes a pile at least 3 feet high. I'm sure smaller piles will work, but not as well...which also translates into more time. What's the volume in the tumblers you have when they're full up?

Alternately, a large garbage can (with holes drilled in bottom for drainage and a secure lid), outside the kitchen door might work in your situation. You could poke holes down into it for air

Composting tumblers seem to have that problem with offensive smells which is usually caused by excess moisture in the mix. Most all questions here about compost tumblers has odor as the primary problem. If the odor is putrid, sewage like the problem is too much moisture in the mix and the material is being anaerobically digested and needs some dry material to absorb that excess moisture. Perhaps this composting tutorial may be of some help.

http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/compost-info/

A large garbage can (often of less volume) would be no better than the tumbler.

kimmq is kimmsr

I may have to think long and hard about how seriously I want to get into this. Using a probe instant-read thermometer, I just checked the temperature in a few spots in the compost and I'm seeing a range of 60-65 degrees. I might be better off just bringing the kitchen scraps to the landfill and letting them deal with it. They provide free compost to the town. I bring a couple of trailer loads of that back every year at this time for my vegetable gardens and the stuff is pretty spectacular. Maybe I should just let them do what they do best and I'll do what I do best.

That's great that you checked the temperature. Now you know what you have, a tumbler full of wet garbage (oops, kitchen scraps). But don't give up now, you're halfway there. Try the leaf shredder...I have one also and use it all the time for the compost pile. That would also help dry up the tumbler contents if they're soaking wet.

The problem with city compost is that in the spring and summer it's going to be full of grass clippings. And if you're organically inclined, remember that people like to spray all kinds of chemicals on their lawns...which will end up in the compost. Unless your city only composts leaf and branch chippings, you might ask them about that.

I added shredded leaves a few days ago and that did help dry it some. I might try adding more. Our landfill has one pile for brush only and a separate pile for grass and leaves. They only compost the brush. Not sure what they do with the rest. I'm "organically inclined", but not militant about it. As organic gardening becomes more widespread on a commercial level, I'm sure the price of organic produce will come down, but up to now, I simply couldn't afford to buy organic apples for $5/lb. So I try to keep any introduction of chemicals to a minimum, but after a lifetime of eating Dow Chemical... well, it's not like I'm trying to protect my virginity here.
Sorry for going so far off-topic.

Typical lawn herbicides decompose just fine in a composting operation, especially a large one that will reach high temperatures. There are couple of persistent ones that usually show up in manures from farms that spray their pastures with them. At least one is licensed for use by professional lawn applicators, but the chances are pretty slim of finding any in municipal compost due to the sheer amount of dilution.

Not surprised your compost is not hot at this point, if it's stuff you put in over the winter. It has decomposed somewhat and that flush of heat-producing decomposition is long gone. Also, tumblers usually don't have the volume to heat up much.

I feel your pain, but keep at it and see if you can observe and adjust to make it work. Those kitchen scraps do no good in the landfill or down the sewer, and they represent the largest fraction of our trash after the metal, plastic and paper are removed for recycling. It's literally good for the planet and the best way to accomplish it is in our backyards.

Thinking about your turning the tumbler everyday...when I put in a clump of kitchen scraps, ideally I'll have layer of leaves, or coffee grounds, or chopped up grass clippings to place over the kitchen scraps. I might water these layers a bit, but I leave them alone for quite a while, no turning. The upper layers will block any smell and keep flying insects away from the scraps. If I see these upper layers dry out I'll water them. I watch the thermometer and usually in a few days the temperature will rise. After the temperature rises (usually to 110-130F), it'll stay there for a while, a week or two. When I see the temperature drop back down to below 100F, that's when I think of turning the pile a bit, and adding more scraps. I don't add scraps everyday, I accumulate them in a 2 1/2 gallon container and when it's full then I'll dig a hole in the pile and add them, always covering them up somehow...so there's rarely any smell.

So it's not necessary to turn everyday before the pile heats up, and I think it might be counterproductive by preventing the heat from building up in the center of the pile.

Try this: keep the tumbler with the fill opening facing up...add a layer of scraps, then a layer of shredded leaves, then a layer of scraps, then leaves...and so on. And don't turn the tumbler until it's heated up and the temperature has peaked and dropped. Only then turn it, but just once or twice and then let it sit until it heats up again. I'd also make sure there was some way for any excess moisture to leak out so you avoid having a soggy mess.

BTW, one nice thing about having a pile that doesn't get real hot...I've added red worms and the pile/bin is full of them now. If it gets too hot for them at the top, there's enough space for the worms to go down to the lower cooler areas. Then they come back up when it's not too hot. The result is a compost full of worm droppings.

The manufacturers of compost tumblers tell you to turn, roll, or whatever from daily to 2 to 3 times a week. Follow the directions from the manufacturer.

kimmq is kimmsr

I see reference above about "garbage cans". You need to toss them and get a good kitchen scrap can...geesh!

"So it's not necessary to turn everyday before the pile heats up, and I think it might be counterproductive by preventing the heat from building up in the center of the pile."

I actually like this idea, first time I've heard it and it makes sense. Turning is what causes that ball to form that doesn't break up easily and gets anaerobic in the center.

The manufacturer might say to turn it often, but I think just about everyone would agree that 1) tumblers are more tricky than the instructions lead you to believe, and 2) at least some of them make claims that are a stretch, like 14-day compost. So I wouldn't necessarily rely solely on the instructions.

As kimmsr said, a foul smelling compost bin results from things being too wet and/or having too much "greens" (nitrogen based material). Adding more "browns" (carbon based) such as leaves/paper/cardboard/straw/etc. helps. Once you get the moisture levels stabilized then you can really start composting and worrying about the temps.

Rodney