That rainy spring in Portland made me ditch my old compost bin for good

Back in 2019 I had this wire bin setup in the corner of the yard. Worked fine for a couple years. Then we got that record rain in Portland that April and May. Everything turned into a wet, slimy mess that attracted raccoons every single night. I spent $60 on a tumbler style bin from a guy on Craigslist. Never looked back. Way easier to turn and the drainage is actually built in. Anyone else switch bins after a bad season messed up their setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnson.jason15d ago

oh man, that brutal Portland spring. I feel your pain. I was out in Beaverton that year and my wooden bin just turned into a raccoon buffet every single night, the drainage was basically zero and the smell was something else. I ended up grabbing a cheap plastic one with a lid from the hardware store and drilling extra holes in the bottom, which helped a little but the tumbler style is definitely the way to go for keeping things dry and manageable.

kim6934d ago

Oh the raccoon buffet, that brings back some "fond" memories. Those little masked bandits were basically running a nightly review blog of my compost pile on Yelp. Five stars, would raid again. The tumbler is definitely a game changer though. Just be careful not to spin it too fast and launch a soggy coffee ground projectile at your neighbor's cat. I learned that one the hard way. Your mileage may vary on the drainage holes detail, but I swear by adding a few extra on the bottom of my tumbler just to be safe.

nancy47514d ago

I switched to a tumbler after that same wet spring for the same reason and it really saved my compost setup. Just make sure you add enough brown material like dried leaves or shredded paper to balance out all that moisture. And don't overfill it, leave some air space in there so it doesn't turn into a heavy, sludgy mess like the old bin did.