Compost Discussion Thread (Merged Threads)

djohn2002uk

ellas9602 wrote:

also I noticed maggots in the bottom today. Is this ok?

Maggots sugests you have put some meat scraps in there. That is definately a NO NO as is any other type of cooked food, just attracts vermine which you don't want.

ellas9602

Thanks John!
I defeinitely haven't put meat in there or anything cooked, even veg. surely maggots are just flies and flies are to be expected??

thanks Rubix too.

djohn2002uk

ellas9602 wrote:

Thanks John!
I defeinitely haven't put meat in there or anything cooked, even veg. surely maggots are just flies and flies are to be expected??
thanks Rubix too.

Almost right. Magots hatch from the eggs laid by flies and they lay their eggs where there will be a ready source of food, usually raw meat. In over 40yrs of composting I have never seen magots in an open heap or a compost bin.

Maybe you confused them with other magot lookalikes that are found in gardens and commonly referred to as grubs rather than magots. These are a pest and often eat parts of bulbs or roots of plants eventually killing them, so are also undesirable in the compost which you are going to transfer to various parts of your garden or to pots.

By the way, flies around a compost bin sugests to me that something isn't quite right unless they are small gnat like creatures. The ordinary housefly or bluebottles shouldn't be there.

ellas9602

ok thanks, I've only had it for just over a week!

I'll fork it all up tonight and have a good look :eek:

I'll keep you posted if thats ok?

Can you wee on it too much?

ellas9602

I don't seem to have any flies or bluebottles by the way, just the small knats you've mentioned.

djohn2002uk

ellas9602 wrote:

I'll keep you posted if thats ok?

Can you wee on it too much?

That's fine.
Don't know if you can wee on it too much or not. Not something I've ever done or likely to. I do remember at my G/Parents when I was small (late 1940s) and they had pots under the bed and they were emptied into the watering can and my G/Father used it to water the garden. Not for me though.
I get a good supply of quality compost every year and all that is needed is a good number of worms in there and some of those small flies are ok but nothing else. Loosen it up about twice a year and if you put grass in there make sure that is all mixed up or it sits there going mouldy and not rotting.
In winter put one or two layers of old carpet or similar on the top to keep the worms and bacteria warm and they'll work a bit more and it will rot quicker.

arkonite_babe

I have those wee fruit fly things buzzing round my composter, the rotting veg seems to attract them. Otherwise mine all seems to be pretty slow.

Worms for my composter, unless I buy them from wiggly wigglers or something, I can't find. Worms in my garden seem to be few and far between.

katiep_2

Can anyone point me in the direction of a smallish, cheap compost bin? My council doesn't do the cheap ones and the ones in local garden centres seem a)expensive and b)too big for my little garden!
Thanks

jo_b_2

katiep wrote:

Can anyone point me in the direction of a smallish, cheap compost bin? My council doesn't do the cheap ones and the ones in local garden centres seem a)expensive and b)too big for my little garden!
Thanks

Have you checked whether your water company offer any subsidised compost bins?

I know that Severn Trent offer them for £6 including delivery, so presumably other water companies might have similar offers.

The Severn Trent offer is here:http://www.stwater.co.uk/server.php?show=nav.001004002 (scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

It doesn't say that it is restricted to certain areas, so it might be worth contacting them to find out whether they would deliver to your area.

katiep_2

jo_b wrote:

Have you checked whether your water company offer any subsidised compost bins?

I know that Severn Trent offer them for £6 including delivery, so presumably other water companies might have similar offers.

The Severn Trent offer is here:http://www.stwater.co.uk/server.php?show=nav.001004002 (scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

It doesn't say that it is restricted to certain areas, so it might be worth contacting them to find out whether they would deliver to your area.

Thanks! I didn't even think about water comapnies! I'll take a look now!