Dolmen Compost Mixer and Aerator

It took about 4 weeks to convince myself it was worth £36 including P&P to purchase this tool.It is fantastic, well designed and made. It will work in any shape or size compost bin or pile and completely stops the anaerobic smelly lawn cutting layers. It is easy to use and quickly and effectively mixes and aerates the compost, it is bound to make good quality compost much more quickly that my previous composting methods over the decades, with much less effort.I have enthused about this tool to 2 gardening friends since buying it 3 months ago, letting them try it themselves. It is so good that both have now purchased one for their own use and are equally delighted.That is sufficient endorsement to recommend highly, despite its initial cost. It is a quality steel which looks as though it will probably last me for many decades.Update June 2024:After 2 years of use my expectation that it will make high quality compost quickly has been confirmed.Several "crops" of great, friable compost, made in less than half the time taken previously from the same pair of large compost bins.Well worth the initial expense.

Does the job of turning the compost and definitely so much easier than using a fork! Another plus point is that it is quite long - useful for deeper compost bins.

Delivery was quick and arrived within a couple of days of ordering. Once it was delievered I immediately went to my compost bin (standard manufactured bin) to put it to use. At first it's a bit tricky to get the hang of it but once you do it works amazingly! Because I have a manufactured bin, the opening is not very big so I found it difficult to turn the compost all the way to the bottom with a fork (or other tools), it was awkward and messy, plus a fork is very labour intensive and doesn't half do your back in. But this clever mixer and aerator took the strain out of the work. It turns all the way to the bottom, aerating and mixing and within days my full compost bin had shrunk down at least 3-4 inches and the material breaking down much faster. It takes half the time than it did with other tools. It also comes with illustrated instruments that was simple to follow.To sum up, I would HIGHLY recommend the Dolmen Compost Mixer and Aerator. It is very effective for mixing and aerating any standard compost bin (which after all is what you want). It is not as labour intensive that a garden fork! Not as time consuming as other tools, and not as messy. Plus, it is made of solid steel so you wouldn't have to worry about it breaking or rusting so you can leave it outside next/near the compost bin.If you haven't got one, get one- makes your life more easier (well at least turning your compost at least). Worth the money and the 5 stars!

This does what I need. Works well with middle sized Dalek. It’s a very simple thing and so the price seems high for what it is. That leaves a bit of a bad taste, so not 5 stars. But it does the job and is worth it in that sense

I am an ex-professional gardener. I am currently maintaining a hot heap in a jacketed Green Johanna compost bin. I have been composting successfully for decades and used to supply my own compost to my customers, but this is the first time I've maintained a heap during the winter. The temperature had been averaging the mid to late 40 degrees celcius mark, but had dropped to 40 and needed turning. I have a dodgy back atm, so didn't want to fully extract the bin contents to turn them, plus it was Christmas and I had other things to do! So, I bought this and used it on 28 December 2021 to bring material from down near the bottom of the bin to the top - a five minute job with this tool - then left the pile to do its thing. When I checked on 30 December 2021, the temperature had risen to 57 degrees celcius, showing that the aerating device had worked well.This device allows the contents deep down in a compost bin to be brought to the surface for aerobic decomposition without having to dig the bin contents out and mix them. It saves a lot of time and effort. It can be used in narrow compost bins which are hard to use other tools in, is a simple idea, but very effective, though, admittedly, I've only used it once so far. I'm 5 ft 10.25" tall. I suspect that height may be an advantage using this tool, particularly if you want to go deep in the pile - I think someone shorter than me may struggle a bit trying to pull the tool and it's contents back up from the depths, though if they stood on a foldaway work platform (NOT a ladder!), or some other stable elevated surface, it may work. I suppose that if you find it difficult to pull it up, you could just wind it back in, say, 6" increments, stopping and pulling every 6" until you find a depth where you can comfortably pull it up with the material from the heap - mind your back if you do this though!All in all, I think this is a great tool and it works well for me.