Customer Reviews

Bosmere K676 11 Cubic Foot Composter

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been using the Garden Gourmet, which is exactly like the 2 here on Amazon, for over 10 years. Same dimensions and same configuration. They are one of the sturdy ones I've tried. And I've tried over 50 composters. Only comment about an earlier comment is this unit is NOT intended for use with worms. This composter needs to reach at least 120 degrees (more like 140) for 21 days....Then unload the entire contents and seperate the ready from the fresh. Worms will not survive above +70 degrees.

On the assemble: It takes a little patience and pay attention to the instruction of the first two layers...They define the front opening, (vertical sliding door)and all those pieces need to SNAP into place to make it strong.

In bear or other country, You can use rebar or steel rods to anchor the four corners the bin,,,,,,,Just DON"T put meat in this bin and you should be fine.

Racoons are a pest..........Take a bungee cord to lock the top

Don't pay over $80.00

David
Master Composter 25 yrs

I have had the Garden Gourmet (the old name/distributor) for about 1 1/2 years and I'm now looking for something new & different to replace it. This unit worked fine for the first year. Assembly was relatively easy and I've continuously filled it with a 50/50 combination of grass clippings/leaves and kitchen waste (no meat or oils). I requires more manual turning than I would like...getting a shovel or other implement inside is inconvenient (the doors on top are small, have flimsy hinges, and don't stay open by themselves, so you have to remove the entire top). With less turning it has attracted soldier flies, fruit flies, and rats (note: with the compost pile I used to use, I never had problems with these). The composting does take upward of 6 months to go from entering the top to coming out the door at the bottom. Getting the material out the bottom requires one to go in with a shovel and is difficult and messy. Finally after 1 1/2 years, the corners at the bottom where the door is connected have come undone and the entire unit is falling apart. As I said, it's time to get a new and different one. Perhaps with more work with turning of the material, the compost inside would have been lighter (so the unit wouldn't have fallen apart) and it may not have attracted the pests it has, but I'm looking for something that requires less effort...time for a tumbler type.

I have only had this product for a few weeks, but it was easy to put together. I had no problem assembleing this item. Once I completed the assemble, I filled it with up with yard waste. Each day I could see the pile sink as I added kitchen waste. So far I am pleased with this item, but reserve my final decesion until I need to use the composted dirt early this spring. On the downside, it is not easy to turn the compost pile due to the item being about 5ft. tall. If one does not need to turn the pile or has time to wait for the compose to turn to dirt, I think this will serve well.

I was a little apprehensive of putting this together after reading some of the reviews, but my nine-year-old son and I did it together in less than 10 minutes. It appears to be doing exactly what it is supposed to do. I have placed a large flat rock on top as I saw the top had been knocked off after the first week or so, but since then there has been no problem. My only complaint is the same I would have for any composter of this type: the open bottom allows the worms, etc. to get in that need to do the job, but it also allows every kind of borrowing rodent in the vicinity a free meal. So I did what I have done in the past: went to my local home supply store and bought mesh wiring to lay underneath the composter and secured it with stakes and rocks. This allows the worms, dampness, etc., free reign and keeps the critters out.

Set mine up last year late in the summer (also ordered identical Garden Gourmet) and pulled my first wheelbarrow full of finished compost out of the bottom today. I've been adding kitchen scraps and a little bit of yard and garden waste as I've generated it, then throwing in enough shredded leaves I saved from the previous fall to cover what I'd added. The compost it made looked like some nice rich stuff- crumbly, earthy-smelling, and full of earthworms- and I've learned a lot from the experience. It was exciting to make dirt!

The dimensions are good for a pile (based on what I've read) but I haven't been crazy about the design. First, what I like about the design. The moisture content always seemed right no matter how much water I dumped in and I never had any odor problems- I attribute that to the design. I think it drains well and allows for good aeration of the pile so things won't go anaerobic as long as you are putting the right kinds of things in the pile in the right amounts. That's what should be expected of any compost bin and this one definitely fits the bill. We also have a lot of animals around that raid our garbage if given the chance but we haven't had any animal problems with this unit. They either aren't interested or can't get in it.

Now for the negatives- as others have mentioned, it is somewhat difficult to get down in there to mix the compost up- I've found a small landscape shovel to be the optimal tool I own for the purpose. Forget about turning the whole pile- it's not happening. You can't easily get the contents out with a shovel or pitchfork just because you won't be able to get enough of an angle on your tool to get it out. I guess you could put your arm down in and pull it out if you were so inclined. So I've given it a regular stir. This gets more difficult as the bin gets full. I've bloodied my knuckles more than once banging my hand on the inside of the container as I was digging/mixing the pile. Another problem I had is that as the unit got more full the pressure on the door from inside increased and popped it out of the track on one side and wouldn't go back in. After clearing out the finished compost today it slid down the track from the top and is now firmly back in place. The bottom of the container obviously bows out and could stand to be stronger. This doesn't ruin the natural process of the composting or leak too much material out but it would have have allowed small animals access to the inside. I didn't have that problem though. Also, maybe it's just me, but they might as well not even put the small doors on the lid. I've found it easy to lift the whole top off, toss in my stuff, stir it in, water, and be done.

So if you want to cold compost or don't care about getting quick compost, it's a useful compost bin. I'm still using mine and just got another bin, but a different design. If this is your first bin- beware. Composting is addictive!

ok for the price but the instructions need instructions on how to follow and,the parts descriptions were kind of fuzzy.

Before we got this bin, we were using an old plastic garbage can to compost our garbage, with the help of a few dozen worms from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. But when the first thing tipped over, we got serious and ordered this Bosmere Bin. This was easy to assemble, once we figured out what the rather confusing instructions meant. Our worms are happy in their kitchen-scraps, etc., paradise, and, if the first compost from the garbage can is anything to go by, good, dark, crumbly compost will be made in about a year.

assembly was easy, but after assembly, it did not look very sturdy, the pieces did not look even. The door does not open or close with ease..worth lot less than paid for...