First, it’s far LESS WORK. With the Biostack you had to swap the sections and move the compost around by hand every so often to keep it processing. With this compost bin, there’s no such mess. Just open the hatch door to let the maturing compost proceed to the next chamber. When it’s finished, you simply remove it from the bottom and take it to the garden or wherever you want it.

Second, this thing is huge! It holds 120 gallons and the beauty is you don’t have to worry about flipping that one hundred and twenty pound load. This composter is separated into three compartments in a vertical order, so the bottom compartment will always have the most mature composted material. During the process, you simply open the chamber floor and let gravity do the work of moving the material to the next stage .

The third thing I like about this composter is, unlike the Smith & Hawken Biostack, the Earthmaker is actually available. OK, enough sarcasm! Since making your own compost is the best way to deal with bio-trash while at the same time having some idea of what you’re putting on your garden, here’s one way you can do that with minimal work and mess.

Even though I couldn’t find a place to buy the original Biostack made by Smith & Hawken, there are other vertical composters that use the same concept. (See link below for the Soilsaver Classic Composter on Amazon). This is designed for making your own compost in your backyard. I thought I’d share how it works.

With the Biostack, you had to remove each frame one at a time. The advantage of the Soilsaver is you simply move the entire unit at once and refill – starting at the top of the old pile and working your way down. This effectively turns, stirs and aerates the pile. In my opinion, this unit looks neater than a tumbler.

Here’s the link: SoilSaver Classic Composter