My Attempt to Be the "Godfather of Lawn Fodder"
Written: Feb 23 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Looks nice, easy assembly
Cons: Expensive, lid hard to use in cold weather
The Bottom Line: Good for novice composters and die-hard green thumbs alike. But you get out of it what you put into it.
|
|
|
| mjfrombuffalo's Full Review: Rubbermaid Yard Composter |
I made him an offer he couldn't refuse
I was bit by the Environmental Conservation bug in 1999, when Hubby and I lived in an apartment that came with a back yard - and maintenance responsibilities for the back yard. I'd decided I was going to be the Godfather of Lawn Fodder and was going to do a compost pile. I convinced my landlord that I would do all the work, the compost pile would provide much-needed mulch for his trees, and that it wouldn't be unsightly. The landlord gave his blessing.
Off I went to Home Depot, where I picked up the Rubbermaid Yard Composter. It wasn't big or ugly, promised to keep the compost from smelling up the yard, and provided the compost with protection from vermin. Even the landlord admitted it looked nice. However, I hadn't run the price by him first and he vetoed reimbursing me the $90 it cost, so the bin was mine, all mine.
I want you to use all your powers, and all your skills...
You know how the box says "easy assembly" and you usually end up using three tools, two hammer, a utility knife and some duct tape? Not with this composter. Insert Tab A into Slot A, repeat three times, snap on the two lid pieces and you're done. A ten-minute job, and about five minutes of that was getting the box open.
You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. They you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste...
Using the Rubbermaid Yard Composter can be easy or difficult, depending on which style of composting you decide to do. There's scientific composting which involves carefully balancing what materials go in the composter, monitoring the moisture and temperature levels, tossing in special additives to get it going faster and add additional nutrients, etc. I read a lot about composting and decided that the Godfather of Lawn Fodder didn't need to have a life that revolved around refuse. I took the easy way out.
The easy way is to toss in stuff, keep it moist, and turn the pile over with a pitchfork. There's a regular schedule for these tasks, but for me it gradually devolved into 1) toss stuff in when cleaning out the fridge; 2) stick the hose in there when the thought crosses my mind; and 3) turn it when the thought crosses my mind. And even if the thought did cross my mind, none of the steps was likely to get done in the winter, when I had a harder time wrestling/wiggling the cold, hardened plastic lid off the top of the composter.
There are several sources in print and on line on the subject. The basic method is make sure you're putting in both Green and Brown materials. Green means lawn clippings, kitchen vegetable scraps, that zucchini in the back of the crisper drawer that is now far, far from being "crisp..." Brown means leaves, fine twigs, and other materials to help aerate the pile. For the more daring, you can add earthworms and cow manure to give your pile a good start.
It's not personal, Sonny, it's strictly business
Then the bad news came. The house owner sold the house to the Landlords from Hell (LFH) and, within forty-eight hours of the LFH moving in, Hubby and I knew we were going to move. The time came to disassemble the compost bin and give it to an elderly couple we knew who lived on the other side of town and loved gardening. You will probably never need to disassemble a composter. If you do, know that this took about five minutes to do. This was a good thing, since Mrs. LFH was busy looking through the closing paperwork to see if she owned the bin or if it was mine. By the time she discovered she had no claim to the bin, it was in the back of my car, ready to go to my friends.
Not liking the LFH at all, I raked the compost that had finally turned into mulch into the two-foot drop-off at the back of the property. There are probably some very happy worms and weeds back there now.
You're out of the family business.
Meanwhile, my friends are having much better luck with the bin than I had. Of course, they remember to turn the pile, they leave one of the lids off most of the time so the pile gets adequate moisture, they put scraps in regularly, and they've mixed in cow manure. They've got no complaints about the composter.
(You've probably figured out that your mileage may vary, and it will have less to do with the bin than with how well you maintain the compost.)
And moi? I've decided I don't want to be the Godfather of Lawn Fodder, but I still want to do something for the environment. Maybe I'll be the Diva of Dust Bunnies - did you know you can recycle dryer lint? You can make quilt filling and put it out for the birds to use in their nests and ...
*****
SCROLL ALERT: Incredibly detailed information not needed by many
*****
For those who absolutely, positively think a garden review is unacceptable without them, the stats are listed below.
Rubbermaid Yard Composter
Product Size: 36 x 33 x 38.3 in (91.44 x 83.82 x 97.28 cm)
Benefits:
* Extra-large 18 cu. Ft. capacity
* Heavy-duty double wall construction helps maintain temperature for better composting
* Lightweight removable interlocking panels for easy access and assembly. No tools required
* Side access door for easy compost removal
Manufacturer's Website:
http://www.rubbermaid.com
No animals were harmed in the writing of this review. A few animals were harmed in the using of this product - I dropped a worm or two on the hard driveway pavement when they grossed me out too much. Sorry, TheWorm!!
*****
END SCROLL ALERT: Incredibly detailed information not needed by many is done
*****
This review is the twenty-third installment of "Around My House in 28 Days," my response to the challenge leveled by amykhar. The challenge is to post one review every day for the whole month of February. Well, at least it's a short month. I'm starting at my door and going counter-clockwise around the house, reviewing whatever's in sight (and on this site). So far it's been the bathroom, then the kitchen, then the living room, the bedroom, and now the great outdoors...
Liked my review? Hated it? Leave a comment!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mjfrombuffalo
|
|
Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 67
Trusted by: 32 members
About Me:
Not dead, just lurking
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.