Geobin Compost Bin - 246 Gallon, Expandable, Easy Assembly, Made in The USA, Outdoor & Backyard Composter

This bin is a great value. It's simple, cheap, and it works. Frankly, it does not make much sense to spend over a hundred dollars for a bin, which is what most cost. The best alternative to this is to make a bin yourself out of wire fencing or hardware cloth, which I have heard works great and I almost did that myself before settling on this. This is more convenient and more attractive, which matters if (like me) you don't have any place on your property to put it out of sight. It's also only barely more expensive than the DIY version. BUT -- this particular version, from this seller (My Green Gloves Dot Com) does NOT come with the stakes that are included in the slightly more expensive version offered by multiple sellers (including Amazon itself). If you want the stakes (and I would suggest that you do), go pay a few more bucks for the other one here: Presto Products GKL0951-6 Geobin Composting System Yes, you can go buy stakes are your local hardware or garden store, but you'll spend more than the difference between these two versions. UPDATE Jan 2013: It appears that the none of the Geobins ship with stakes anymore, though some folks may be selling old stock that still comes with stakes. But there's no guarantee that you'll get stakes if you buy via the link above. Anyway, it turns out that the stakes are not all that important -- I've found that once you get the thing nice and full, it stays put pretty well on its own. Now that my first one is full, I am going to be ordering a second one. UPDATE Feb 2014: Having owned two of these bins for over a year now, in continuous use, I can add to my original review the fact that they are really quite durable. I'd had some concerns initially, but they hold up pretty well. The plastic does get strained/stretched where you fasten it together, but it doesn't tear. Whenever I turn my compost, I unwrap it and reassemble it upside down and inside out relative to how it just was. This keeps the plastic from getting stretched in the same places all the time and keeps everything in shape. I don't know if they'll last forever, but at least another couple of years, if not more. Speaking of turning, don't waste your time with those plunge-type compost turners -- they don't really do much. If you want to turn your compost, get an ensilage fork (aka "pitchfork"), unwrap the Geobin from the pile (if your compost is sufficiently moist, it will hold its shape well enough even unwrapped), set it up right next to the pile, and fork the pile into the bin in its new location. A fork works much, much better than a shovel for this job. This is great exercise! It only needs to be done a few times for each batch of compost, until it no longer heats up after turning.

This Geobin is one of those rare “it’s exactly what it says it is” purchases—and that’s a compliment. Setup is stupid easy. You’re not building furniture, you’re basically unrolling it, locking it into a circle, and you’re done. No complicated parts, no fragile clips, no hour-long assembly where you end up questioning your life choices. It holds its shape well once it’s up, and the size is perfect if you actually generate enough yard waste and kitchen scraps to need real capacity. It’s also easy to move. That matters more than people think. If you decide you want it a few feet over, or you’re reorganizing the yard, you’re not stuck with some heavy rigid bin that turns into a project. This one can be repositioned without making a whole day out of it. The best part for me is that it’s become more than just a compost bin—I use it as the base of a keyhole garden I built, and it’s been perfect for that. Big volume, stable form, and it plays nicely with that “add organics, build soil, keep the system cycling” approach. If you want an outdoor compost bin that’s simple, practical, and actually gets used instead of becoming another plastic regret behind the shed, I’d absolutely recommend this.

I've had it for a year now and I can say I really like this bin. It's adjustable in size to darn MASSIVE (about 2 fifty gallon drum size) to smaller if you want. I have it set at it's largest size and with all of my household and gardening scraps (I'm a vegan), it's barely 3/4 full and I put lots in it. It's very easy to put together, the "keys" are simple yet well made. The entire bin is a nice sturdy material and should last a long time. I also like all of the aeration holes throughout, there are plenty and I notice material break down pretty quickly and the color black also brings the heat with it. I don't aerate it (from the top) hardly ever and it's still doing very well. I can scrape just below the surface, and see the "black gold" composted materials. DO KEEP IN MIND it is open and the critters have a hayday in this thing. I find avocado seeds, mango seeds, corn cobs spread all over the place sometimes. However, I don't mind them too much as its free food for them. However, I am located in a urban neighborhood and sometimes seeing my coconut shell in the front yard is pretty funny! The only con that I have is when it is set to its largest size, and NOT full, the top sides sag inward. So you may want to think about how much you will be dumping in and how often you will use it. I will be emptying it spring 2015 to spread in the garden and will update this review then.

This compost bin is great for camping or outdoor use in general it has a sturdy finish that helps the compost breath and decompose well for fertilizer in my garden I like how it keeps the smell at a minimum and the stability of this item. It can hold more pounds than I had expected. The instructions are insightful and this was easy to install. It is very stable and has a nice color to match just about any surrounding. Great value for the money two thumbs up!

Perfect for my chicken coop and garden waste. I was easily able to set it up by myself after reverse rolling it for about 30 minutes. I set mine up for the second largest setting which is about 3 feet in diameter. I bought two and will likely be buying more as gifts for friends and family.

We have this huge area in the back of our garage where all the leaves get blown. They do create nice leaf mulch on their own. But we need to find a better way to contain them so that we can put several raised beds there. I hate the idea of compost Tumblr‘s because it sounds like a wet and soggy mess but you’re gonna have to come back and interact with all the time. At one point I had a compost area built out of old pallets but eventually parts of it started to rot. I love the concept of this product and went ahead and purchased it because it sounds like something very simple, effective, and durable. The plastic is not going to rot out as far as I can see. It came in a small enough box. It was easy to carry to the back of the yard and wrangle myself. The only additional thing I think you’re going to need other than what comes in a package… Go ahead and take the time to get a few stakes and a mallet. I used a rubber mallet and 4 bamboo stakes that I already had. You could use more or less depending upon how sturdy you want it or if you’re trying to make a specific shape or something. After we got it about half full we pulled out the stakes because we needed them on our tomatoes and it seems to be sitting up just fine now. I like the general concept that you can attach several of these together. It’s basically stacks the leaf blowing area that we had before and condenses the floor print profile of everything. So instead of using 10‘ x 10‘ just laying on the ground, they can compactly fit in a much smaller space even up against the fence or something. This keeps the dogs from running through it or defecating on it. I can see how if I had a leaf mulcher or if I ran over them with a mower it we can dance even more. We might try that in the fall. In the meantime I expect we will probably buy a second one of these this fall while the first then it’s still compacting. We purchased the gold or tope color, whatever they call it. I love that they offered that instead of just the standard black and green. It kind of blends in with our fence color. I would love to see all of my neighbors go to this method instead of bagging their leaves and throwing them out at the curb. But I think in order For it to become a more commonly purchase product, the price is going to have to drop. And honestly now that I see how it works and what it’s made of… I think it’s worth the money because there’s not a comparable product out there competing but it’s also kinda high priced for how simple it is. The only grade that I have is my continued gripe with elitist home maintenance and gardening… We should be encouraging everyone to garden… But I keep seeing these expensive products out on the market insisting that people need to spend $200 for a worm bin or $100 for this other compost item. This is one of the lower price ones and even still I think it should be lower for what it is.

The longer 9/6/19 review was not posted by Amazon and I’m not sure why. I’ll remove the link to Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott from Washington State University, just incase this was the issue. I will also remove the box store information regarding my DIY bins. I will not provide you with my order of preferences, and the whys, of the bins on our property since this could also have been a trigger for not publishing. This is solely my opinion after years of composting. I'll provide you with my recommendations on closed bin versus open bin versus DIY. The tips provided are what worked for me as I do my best to work smart in order to enjoy my vegetable garden. I'm getting ready to purchase two more Geobins. The reason - ease of use and for the fraction of the other compost bins we own: Envirocycle, Hot Frog or Good Ideas. Geobins are also more convenient than DIY bins made with 32 gallons garbage bins. We own 2 Envirocycle, 2 Good Ideas, 4 DIY, 1 Hot Frog, 1 Geobins, 2 DIY chicken wire bin and 4 DIY 32 gallons garbage bins. Geobin vs DIY chicken wire: Geobin is the winner because of the ease of take down, set up and storage. Yes, it less expensive to use chicken wire but it's not as easy to manage set up and take down. The Geobin also provided better compost than DIY. Tip - Geobin: Place one or two 4 foot rebar(s), minimum of 1/2 inch, within the Geobin pile to aid with aeration in the center. 1/2 is easier to find, if you have 3/4 it's much better. Place your rebar in the pile before building up for easier use. Every few weeks, when no frost, I give a couple of cranks to introduce air. I do not shred my leaves. I do not turn my pile. I don’t worry about layering. The compost I get from the Geobin is to place around my plant starts. They are full of worms and provide nutrients for our short growing season. Geobin vs closed bin: for food scraps we utilized the close bins (Envirocycle, Good Idea and Hot Frog). We are in a city and did not wish to attract vermin. Raccoons are especially troubling and the closed bins keep them at bay. Geobin was solely for leaves, spent coffee grounds and yard waste. The quality of compost from the closed bins is decent, but it takes so much longer than Geobin. You also have to get the brown/green ratio just correct. Most times we spend a good amount of time balancing inputs for the closed tumblers or you have a wet stinky mess. Tip Geobin two-other uses: In summer we plant potatoes or sweet potatoes. Use to keep fallen branches, in fall we place branches within beds for a mini-hugelkultur or mini-core gardening. Tip for setting up Geobin: lay flat for a day. It’s easier to set up if you allow it to relax. DO NOT extend to the maximum. The stress could stress the plastic and have it tare. Set up the Geobin as soon as the season starts to turn. You will be surprise how quickly it will fill up with garden yard waste & grass clippings. Place a couple fallen branches on the bottom for aeration. Happy gardening.

I was excited about this product as I did not have a great setup to compost in a suburban area. Easy set up, hardest part was reverse rolling it from shipping. My biggest frustration with this product is it's tendency to collapse if not almost full. I have started to use a shovel or pitchfork along the inner sides to keep it fully open.