Composters come in a variety of styles and sizes. Sometimes picking the one just right for you can be a chore. The customer service desk at 4SeasonGreenhouse.com can be helpful, but you still have to make the decision. There are a few things to look at that might help you.

It is really hard to know just how much of the finished compost you will be able to make or how much you will want to use. Your ability to make compost is based on a variety of factors. How much lawn do you have? How often do you mow it? Do you use a grass catcher on your mower, or do you rake it? Do you have a lot of trees in your yard? How about shrubs and flower beds? They shed leaves too. And there are trimmings from the flowers, bushes and trees as well as deadheading scraps, plus garden scraps. How large is your garden? The larger your yard and garden or extensive your beds are, the more composting material you will have, as well as needing more compost for them.

Now, how do you convert all this data into, "What size of a compost maker will handle it all and make as much as I need"?

You will not be composting a whole years worth of organic materials all at the same time. During the spring months you will probably have some springtime cleanup from raking out beds and trimming shrubs that need spring trimming. Do you have hedges that need some shaping up after the winter snows? Are you planning to scrape up lawn for new beds this spring? The sod can be composted. All this material will be turned into compost probably before you start cutting the lawn, which will then become an ongoing chore throughout the summer months. The more lawn you have, the more clippings you have. This will keep your compost maker pretty busy during the summer. What are you going to do with all the compost you have made so far? I am always surprized at how quickly my compost gets used, and you can never have 'too much'.

Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler

• It can be spread 1-2" thick in pots, beds and garden, even the lawn. It gives everything a mid-season boost to keep on going strong. Container plants have a finite amount of nutrients to draw from, so giving them a a new layer of compost will make more nutrients available to them. Every time you water, the goodness is leached down to the root system.
• Summertime compost is excellent to use as a repotting mixture. You can add as much as you want without worrying about burning roots.
• It can be used to start a late summer/fall garden to boost the soil for the late crops to flourish.
• If you have houseplants that need to be moved up a pot size, use compost in the soil mix.

You can see the uses for compost can be nearly endless. You usually can keep a composter busy all summer and well past fall with all the leaves that need to be recycled into "black gold". You will find making compost out of something you used to send to the curb in a black bag is a very satisfying feeling.

Generally speaking, once you get into the pattern of composting, you will find you have or want more materials than you first anticipated, and you will find new uses for the finished compost. That seems to translate into, "Get the biggest compost maker you can physically handle, because this idea is going to grow along with your garden".

One last consideration in choosing which compost maker to purchase is the price. I make this the last consideration, because size will influence the price to a degree. The best deals are not always the cheapest. The amount you pay for your compost maker will be reflected in the materials, ease of use, and features. If you know how you are going to use your finished compost, you are half way there.