Compost Discussion Thread (Merged Threads)

elsien

In the case of my mum's wormery in the height of the summer, the worms were trying to avoid being roasted alive. Mum realised this shortly after they failed to escape and sadly bit the dust.
Said wormery is now in the shade, and the latest thrilling installment had the new batch of worms frantically doing the doggy paddle coz mum had forgotten to drain off the liquid they were producing.
Who needs soaps with all this life and death drama happening in your own backyard.

tieg3

Last week I took delivery of a compost bin:D , but I havn't used it yet:mad:
I REALLY want to put it at the bottom of the garden but it is totally in the shade 24/7, would it still be ok there?
Sorry in advance if I being dumb!

Moneybubbles

I think it would be fine - just take longer to make your compost as does do better in sunny spot

TTFN

tieg3

Thankyou, my garden is south facing but I dont want to have to walk across the grass each time I want to put something in it and it would look stupid anywhere else

Lord_Gardener

We've got three compost bins in shade under the fruit trees at the bottom of the garden and they work fine!! Just emptied 2 of them to make space for all the leaves about to fall!!

ailuro2

We got a little bin free from Sainsbury's last week to hold bits and pieces of compostable waste from the kitchen, then we empty it into the outside compost bin when it's full. Saves traipsing outside in the wet and losing heat out the door etc. for the sake of one wee apple core.;)

dora37

ailuro2 wrote: »

We got a little bin free from Sainsbury's last week to hold bits and pieces of compostable waste from the kitchen, then we empty it into the outside compost bin when it's full. Saves traipsing outside in the wet and losing heat out the door etc. for the sake of one wee apple core.;)

We have one too, and they are very useful - though we got ours from Lakeland:

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/product.aspx/!20341

dora37

Our compost bin is full the the brim and is reducing extremely slowly. I presume this is due to weather conditions?

As we empty our compost caddy into the bin every couple of days - what are we going to do throughout the winter if it stays full?

We only have a smallish garden, so don't want to get another bin, however the thought of having to put all the peelings etc in in the normal bin mortifies me!!!:eek:

Any suggestions?

WestonDave

Assuming there isn't any ready compost which can be removed from the bottom and stored seperately ready for use, then you need to find ways to improve the composting speed. Mine has been in use for 6 months - has hit the top occasionally but normally when I go back a week or so later its back down nearer the 2/3rds level. Composting will slow as the weather cools but it may be possible to speed it up.

Try ramming a spike through it from the top in a few places to generate some air flow through the heap. Ideally you should have a layer of twigs etc at the bottom to allow air to get in from the bottom. Male urine acts as a accelerator so if you have a source of this then it may be worth a try - you can collect it and pour it in, the male in question doesn't have to revert to pre-war bottom of the garden habits! You can also buy accellerators from garden centres but it seems a bit wasteful to buy something to put in the rubbish!

Are you putting anything other than peelings in - if you don't have twiggy garden waste then egg boxes, brown cardboard and even shredded paper will help make a balanced mix (again allowing air pockets) - too much wet peeling type material will slow the process down - grass cuttings come into the same type so need to be put in a bit at a time mixed with other stuff.

Horace

I find that turning it with a fork also helps to aerate it. Is the bin on open soil - if so leave the bottom open for worms to crawl in and do their bit.