Compost tumbler for mixing potting soil ingridients?

General Gardening
#1

I found it more and more difficult to mix about 40 -50 gallons of potting mix manually - neither my back nor my hands appreciate it. I got an idea to buy a compost tumbler and use it for soil mixing. The idea is to put in about 15 gallons of somewhat light ingredients and tumble them until mixed. The question I have is : would compost tumbler handle it - 15 gallons and rapid tumbling? I am reading reviews on amazon and people complaining about them falling apart… I never used a tumbler, so not sure how hardy they are. If you used it such way, what is exact model you have?

Thanks!

#2

I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. I’d think you wouldn’t need to go so rapidly. Might be worth tossing in a couple of things such as those large yard jacks to help break up any clods and encourage movement in multiple directions. It seems there should be a cheaper way to accomplish the same thing.
I am assuming this specifically is for potting or you’ld just till it or let the earthworms and rain move it around after spreading it in layers.
For that small a batch, what about just dumping it on a tarp and mixing it around by lifting the corners and letting the mix fold into and over itself?
Or a raised bin so you don’t have to stoop and using a couple of those kids’ sand grabber thingees. (I have a pair from Dollar General I grabbed just for this concept. They are still in the bag lost in the pile of plant paraphernalia somewhere, but I bought them.)

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#3

I have hands weakness, so anything that requires good grip is off limit for me - I wish I can do it as 10 years ago :wink: But my husband offered me to use his concrete mixer! :laughing:
This is for pots and I am trying to make a clean mix to avoid a plaque of verticillium wilt for my eggplants that suffer from it every year in the ground. Every container is 23’’ in diameter and 14’’ deep with sides going even deeper around water reservoir on the bottom. It is about 25 gallons each, four of them all together.

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#4

You might want to consider buying a used cement mixer on Craigslist. I saw some for as low as $100.

#5

I’ll second the cement mixer. I’ve seen someone in a youtube video using that for a large back of media for a soil block mix.

I had a compost tumbler and got rid of it, since it wasn’t easy to turn and I don’t think it actually made stuff compost faster. I don’t think it would be good for mixing soil.

#6

Thanks everybody, cement mixer it is, we have it and my husband will mix it for me!