I tried a kitchen gadget similar to this one a few years ago. One word describes that old one (which cost a fortune) when compared to the Vego Kitchen Composter I’m now using: Inferior! Fortunately, this new composter from Vego Garden doesn’t have any of the issues that the other one had, and I’ll describe why it’s my new favorite appliance.
First of all, true confession – we are fortunate to have an affiliate marketing arrangement with Vego Garden. Why? Because my daughter and I use their products and she is an avid gardener. You can see past posts here:
How to Save Money When Filling Your Raised Garden Beds
My Kids’ First Vego Garden Bed and Worm Composter
Second, Vego Garden’s products work. When my daughter suggested that I try the composter from this company, I felt skeptical about it, because in the past, as I already noted, the expensive one I used failed and failed miserably. It wouldn’t rotate, got food caught up in it and rusted out. I am a clean nut, too, and religiously made sure I washed the pot before another batch of vegetables and other throwaway food items (no meat) hit the fan.
This composter arrived with the following items:
The composter weights 16.64 pounds and comes in either black or white options. It measures 14.37 by 11.22 by 12.64 inches, so you’ll need a fair bit of counter or table space for it to operate, and you cannot tuck it directly under a low cabinet – since it needs air circulation. I found a spot to plug it in (regular 120 VAC outlet) by the back door in the basement, which is perfect since that’s the door we would need to leave by to go to the kitchen gardens anyway.
But more about this marvelous machine. It’s quiet and you hardly hear it running, except for an occasional light sound of a churn. Since it reduces waste – think coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit matter, leftovers (no meat please), herbaceous houseplants, starches – by at least 85 percent, you can fill it up the 4-liter canister with a lot of household kitchen waste. I throw our used coffee filters with the grounds in it, too.
The composter is designed to adjust the processing time according to the weight of the scraps and it can produce up to 3.3 pounds of kitchen waste. Its carbon filter reduces any foul odors that might be associated with old ripe banana or onion peelings and such. You are supposed to replace the filters every three months, and you can order more from Vego Garden. You can also use the finished filter as compost!
The VegoTabs included with the order can be used to accelerate the process, because they are made of natural microorganisms that break down waste faster than if you don’t use the tabs.
Yes, there’s a bit of a learning curve, because you’ll want to download the app associated with the composter. That way, you can monitor the progress and even, enjoy knowing that you are adding a carbon footprint to the earth. You’ll also want to explore the various options of composting:
Note: The only issue I had, and just one time, was that some of the material got wedged under a metal piece inside the canister. I used an L-shaped tool to push it out, with no issues. You’ll need to make sure the entire canister is emptied, because if you leave stuck matter in this location, the machine will not be able to rotate and crunch up your compost effectively.
It’s been raining a lot here lately. My outdoor rotating bin composters are struggling to keep up with the slush and sludge going on, and I’ve had to add shredded paper to them. With the Vego Kitchen Composter, almost every day I have another nice load of fresh compost to add to my garden beds – which are already reaping rewards of the comeback kids: milkweed, balloon flowers and herbs.
I highly recommend this composter, and appreciate its workhorse ability to keep on transforming kitchen waste to garden gold.
Learn more about the Vego Kitchen Composter. MSRP: $359.95
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Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com. View all posts by Barbara Baird
