Tabetha recently received her YOLO Compost Tumbler. She dropped me a note: “So, finally I put up my YOLO and I am very excited but I have no idea where to start and what to put in vs not to put in. Do I put in all natural waste ( banana peels, potato skin, pineapple skin)? What are the best things to add?”.
YES! All of the above. On the side of every YOLO Compost Tumbler is a list with ‘greens’ and ‘browns’. General rule is that if it grows, you can toss it in. Remember, the smaller the pieces the faster the composting will be.
The only real no-nos for your YOLO are oils, dairy and meats.
Online you’ll find sites that say that you can put small amounts of these into compost tumblers as they get hotter inside than a regular compost heap so these materials will break down. We prefer to keep these out of our mix. Once you’re into the hang of compost tumbling and you’re achieving a good green-brown mix, then you can experiment. But, until then, Keep It Simple with organic items only.
[As it turns out, Tabetha hadn’t noticed the large graphic on the side of her YOLO – she was expecting paper instructions inside. We aim to reduce waste, which is why you won’t find paper inserts but rather long-lasting moulded-in graphics on the side]