Small Composters

If space is at a premium there are ample Small Composters to chose from.  You can still create perfect, useful garden compost in abundance.  Indeed size really does not matter!  It is all about how you use your garden composter, not how big it is.

Even in the smallest backyard there will be a suitable small composter to ensure you can recycle all your garden waste and kitchen scraps.   In an ideal world all gardens would contain two or more compost bins.  So before deciding on which bin to buy consider whether you could manage to squeeze in two bins rather than just the one.  This will help determine what sort of composter to go for.

Cheap Small Composters

If you think you will be able to fit two or more composters into your yard you can get away with buying very Cheap Small Composters such as the SoilSaver or the BioStack (Scotts Company) static bins.  Both these square compost bins offer extremely good value for money and will last long enough to produce great garden compost for many years to come.

Basic small composters should come with a long guarantee.  The SoilSaver for example has a 25 year warranty.  And so it should.  After all, these basic bins are not complicated to produce so one would hope they get things right first time.  Built of tough plastics with a high post consumer recyled plastic content, they offer good insulation properties to the organic waste inside.

Fast Composters for Very Small Gardens

If you really cannot squeeze two static compost bins into your backyard not to worry.  While two bins (or more) is always to be preferred there are ways around the problem.  Choosing a compost bin that will create organic compost very quickly ensures you do not have too much 'down time' whilst waiting for the waste to be digested when the bin is full.

Although originally thought of as a little 'gimmicky' perhaps by traditional gardeners, these fast composters are sprinting ahead in popularity.  In fact many outsell their more conventional (and cheaper) rivals.  For the small garden there are two sorts of compost bin that are ideal due to the speed at which they work; Spinning Composters and Vertical tiered systems such as The Earthmaker Composter.

Small Spinning Composters

Our favorite Spinning Composter has to be the Envirocycle Composter.  It is ideally suited to small gardens in many ways. 

1. Firstly it is squat and good looking, important in a small garden when the compost bin is likely to be in full view.
2. It is fully portable.  If you need more space for a family get together for example you can simply roll the Envirocycle out of the way.
3. It is easy to spin which means you are more likely to spin the compost more often.  This in turn ensures you really do achieve your goal of creating finished compost in weeks rather than months.
4. It saves any liquid run-off from the composting matter inside.  This stops unsightly wet patches forming around the composter, and provides a great resource for you; free organic liquid fertiliser.
5. It doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  So many compost tumblers are over-priced.  But the Envirocycle comes with a decent warranty at a decent price.

Of course there are several Compact Compost Tumblers available but the Envirocycle is our current pick of the bunch.

Vertical Gravity Fed Composters for Small Gardens

Another option when gardening in a small space is to opt for the one type of garden composter that simply never gets full.  These vertical compost bins look pretty ordinary from the outside.  But, internally they are full ofbaffles to catch debris as you add it to the top of the bin.  As the waste breaks down small particles are fed down into the lower chambers.  This leaves you more room at the top to add more waste.

The Earthmaker Composter is an exceptional product for those only able to fit one compost bin in their garden, but being a little more complex to make, it is a more expensive item.  It is still great value for money when you consider just how much free organic compost you will produce over the years and how great you will feel being able to recycle so much garden waste as well as all those kitchen scraps.