Cyber Monday is almost over, but WIRED’s Reviews team is still scouring the web for the best deals on everything from Kindle devices to beauty products. I just came across this excellent sale on Vego’s kitchen composter, crowned Fastest Breakdown in our guide to the Best Kitchen Composters and Food Recyclers. These kinds of machines are almost never available for under $300, but the Vego is just $289 for Cyber Monday.
Further, most of Vego’s gardening and composting supplies are on discount on Amazon and the brand’s website, so this is a perfect time to take a look for either yourself or a giftee.
Photograph: Kat Merck
Note that even though the Vego is called a composter, it doesn’t actually make compost; it just grinds and dries your food scraps. However, it will reduce the volume of your kitchen waste by up to 90 percent, and the resulting odor-free “Vego meal” (seen below, from Express Mode) can be used to top dress your lawn, can be mixed with potting soil as a nutritional amendment, or can just be put back in your trash (albeit with much more room).
Photograph: Kat Merck
My favorite feature of the Vego is the Express Mode; some of these grind-and-dry recyclers can be loud, and this short cycle ensures you won’t have to listen to whirring or grinding noises for more than a couple of hours.
Vego is perhaps best known for its wide range of gardening gear and supplies. We haven’t tested any of the below items—I might for my Gifts for Plant Lovers guide—but here are some other sales on interesting Vego items that might be worth checking out:
• Raised Garden Bed Kit for $153 ($27 off): OK, I might actually buy this myself. The reviews look great, and it comes in six colors!
• Elevated Raised Garden Bed for $145 ($25 off): If you still want a garden but only have a deck or a patio to work with, this would be a perfect solution.
• Tabletop Grow Light Garden for $150 ($20 off): I don’t have this exact model, but I have one from a different brand, and I use it for seed starts and giving sickly houseplants some love.
• In-Bed Worm Composter for $42 ($28 off): Bury this in your garden bed and let worms do all the composting work for you!
• Classic Grow Light for $99 ($10 off): Grow lights can be a game-changer for house plants in the winter. This one is unique in that it has different modes for seedlings, house plants, herbs, and more.
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