7 Day Green Cycler Compost Challenge + Giveaway

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A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to the Green Cycler Pre-Composter. I have since taken the 7-day compost challenge! In this challenge I composted the same foods side by side. One pile of scraps was pre-composted with the Green Cycler. The other pile, was not.

1st Day

On the left side I have cucumber peels, banana peels, apple peels and an apple core that were left intact. On the right side, I used the Green Cycler to shred the same produce.

Day 2

The second day, this is what the produce looked like. The left side almost looks the same!

Day 3

This is a picture of Day 3. The cucumber chunk in the picture on the left is starting to get moldy. Note that the whole banana peel is still yellow! The shredded material is turning black and starting to breakdown. There were fruit flies all over both piles.

Day 4

Day 5 shows a lot more fuzz on the whole chunk of cucumber and the banana peel is still yellow.

Day 5

On Day 7, the banana peel on the left is still yellow and hardly broken down. The cucumber chunk is still pretty large and the apple core hasn’t changed at all. In the shredded pile, most of the produce has started to decompose.

Day14

I let my piles sit for a few extra days and the result was the above. The shredded pile is much smaller and further decomposed than the pile I left in whole form.

Note, that my compost piles didn’t sit in the sun. We have animals that love to get into this stuff (chickens and dogs!), so I left it in the garage covered with newspaper. If the piles were in the sun, I believe they would have decomposed even faster. There were a ton of fruit flies the entire time. But worms would have been more helpful!

Giveaway

One How to Have it All reader will win a Green Cycler Pre-Composter!

How to Enter

Enter by leaving a comment on this post. If you are reading this via email or RSS Feed, you will need to click over to the post HERE. There are THREE entries per person. You must leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be drawn at random on October 31, 2013.

  • 1st Entry: Do you compost now? If so, what method do you use? Do you have a special composting bin?
  • 2nd Entry: Follow me on facebook, twitter, Google+ or Pinterest. If you already do, just leave a comment saying so.
  • 3rd Entry: Subscribe via email or RSS feed. If you already do, just leave a comment saying so.

Disclosure: I was provided a Green Cycler for review purposes.

 

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Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.

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Comments

  1. We do not compost yet, but we would like to since we started gardening.

  2. I Follow you on twitter(Kellydsaver)

  3. I subscribe to your email.

  4. I have always composted and am of the “throw it on top of the pile” variety – this would help breaks things down SO much faster :+)
    mysweetiepiepie recently posted..Vintage Sequin Blouse Top Metallic Rainbow Zig-Zag Cap Sleeve NOS by mysweetiepiepieMy Profile

  5. Amanda Jensen says:

    Not currently composting but would love to start since we want to plant a garden in the spring. I follow you on pintrest and receive your emails.

  6. michelle oakley warner says:

    i compost my cofee grounds and whatever else i can use, i use coffee tins, my plants love them

  7. Jessica T. says:

    I don’t compost right now but my sister does.

  8. Jessica T. says:

    I follow you on facebook.

  9. michelle oakley warner says:

    i follow you on facebook-michelle oakley warner
    twitter-@sherabbit

  10. michelle oakley warner says:

    i get your emails
    wdionisiolover@aol.com

  11. I would love to start composting!

  12. email subscriber

  13. I don’t compost yet, but I’ve thought about it a lot.
    Cheryl F. recently posted..If Someone You LoveMy Profile

  14. Already following on Twitter {@CatOLuck}.
    Cheryl F. recently posted..There’s Always A LessonMy Profile

  15. Already subscribed via RSS feed in Feedly reader.

  16. I would love to start composting!!!!!!!!!!!

  17. Already following on Twitter

  18. I subscribe to your email.

  19. Michelle Hochstrasser says:

    My husband is building me a 55 gallon drum barrel composter so that I may start! I follow you on Pinterest. (I don’t see my previous comment here, so I’m posting again.)

  20. Lindsay hetzel says:

    I don’t compost now, but I would LOVE to start. I’m always sadly throwing away my scraps. My dog loves the carrot peel! And I just subscribed by email and Facebook. This would make it super easy as my mom Is afraid of rodents getting into compost bins.

  21. Litsa Jackson says:

    We do not compost. I do believe it’s a perfect SCIENCE experiment for kids at home!!

  22. Litsa Jackson says:

    Follow via email

  23. Litsa Jackson says:

    follow via fb

  24. I do compost now. I use an old trashcan on my back deck.
    Stephanie Bourne recently posted..Coupons.com Printable Coupons 10/23/13My Profile

  25. I liked on Facebook and follow on Twitter, G+ and Pinterest.
    Stephanie Bourne recently posted..Coupons.com Printable Coupons 10/23/13My Profile

  26. I already subscribe to your emails (sbourne825 at gmail dot com).
    Stephanie Bourne recently posted..Coupons.com Printable Coupons 10/23/13My Profile

  27. I do compost and failed to make a bin that composted and did not rot the food. So I have a pile in an unused portion in my garden. I have bags of oak leaves by it and add my carbons from there and get my nitrogen from table scraps. Its takes a really long time to compost down. I’m not sure why but easily 1 year from start to finish and its not that big.

  28. Lois Turgeon says:

    Yes I compost, just moved to smaller place and this
    would help me with my composting.

  29. Margaret Lanphier says:

    I don’t compost now but I have a bin ready to set up. It’s a round plastic one with no bottom that should be pretty easy to move around when the pile needs to be turned. Just need to figure out where to put it!

  30. Margaret Lanphier says:

    I’m following on Facebook.

  31. Margaret Lanphier says:

    Subscribed via email.

  32. I don’t compost but would love to!

  33. 1. We don’t compost yet but since were planning our first vegetable garden we figured it was time to start.
    2. We follow you on Facebook.
    3. Just now subscribed to your email updates, waiting for a conformation.

  34. Paol Trenny says:

    No I am not composting right now

  35. Paol Trenny says:

    Followed on Google +…..……….. Paol +…. Paol Trenny …pls use emscout9 at hotmail dot com instead of gmail to contact me

  36. Paol Trenny says:

    Email subscriber………. emscout9 at Hotmail dot com

  37. We started composting this spring. We have a small “storage bin” by the kitchen where we put waste and then once a day we take that bin to our larger fenced compost. It is a learning process but helps cut down on our trash.

  38. I like you on FB!

  39. Amy Tolley says:

    yes with dirt and worms

  40. Amy Tolley says:

    already follow under amy tolley for fb google pin twitter is @amylynn5973

  41. Amy Tolley says:

    already subscribed to get emails