composter help, can i use this?

today1121

hi, i want to start composting but what do i need, i have read you need to turn your compost around and that you can buy bins that has a handle you turn,the only thing is they seem expensive .
i have an old concrete coal bunker in my garden with a small hole at the top and one at the bottom,could i use that? and would the smell escape to the next door neighbours?.
also for a average family what size composter would i need for a year?and if i did not have a compost bin with a handle would i need to turn it around with a spade or could i just leave it? thankyou

conradmum

The idea behind turning compost is to let oxygen in to aid the decomposition of the material and to mix the different constituents up. That's the idea. I haven't turned compost in years, except when shifting the unfinished stuff from one bin to another.

I have two composting areas. One is a large, double heap area that takes the large amounts of garden waste, the other is two domestic bins that sit near my back door, and these take the kitchen vegetable waste, some cardboard and smaller amounts of softer garden waste. Both of my compost areas are added to gradually as the waste is produced.

When one of the smaller, domestic bins is completely full, (which means they no longer go down in a few days) I leave it to mature for a few months. It can take up to a year to completely fill a bin but the final result is fantastic, dark, rich compost that's mostly worm castings.

When one side of the larger bins is completely full, I skim off the top, unfinished compost into the other side. Underneath there will be compost that's more soil-like.

All of this goes against composting convention that tells you you need to create a big heap, let it heat up, turn it, water it, let it heat up, turn it, water it again if necessary and so on until you have compost. The fact is that in most domestic situations nowhere near enough waste is generated for this method to work, and instead people are left with little heaps of different kinds of waste, such as vegetables slowly rotting in carrier bags, waiting for enough to put together.

Regarding your coal bunker, well, you aren't going to be able to get in there to turn it anyway are you? I would say that just putting waste in, in a reasonable mix (that is, not loads of grass clippings all at once) you should be able to add to it from the top and take the compost from the bottom. Be aware, however, that the slow-cook method takes a lot more time. Depending on the size of your garden, if you start adding to it now you can expect to begin to take compost from the bottom in 9-12 months.

Does the bunker have an earth floor? If not, you will get some liquid coming from the bottom, which may be a little disgusting and smelly. Otherwise, your compost will only smell if there are particularly smelly things rotting in there (such as cabbages) or if you put it too much waste with a high water content (such as kitchen waste). If you find you're putting in mostly grass clippings or vegetable waste, you'll need to add cardboard too, I put toilet rolls and egg boxes in my domestic bins.

If possible, I would put a square of carpet or thick plastic over the top hole of the bunker to keep the rain out and the heat in, and also to reduce the fruit flies that tend to colonise compost in the summer.

today1121

fantastic thankyou,,that answered everyting i need to know..thankyou so much conradmum

foxgloves

The composters with handles are always more expensive. When we first started composting, we got some of the special offer composting bins from the local council. It might be worth seeing if your council does these? Can't remember what we paid but it was a fraction of what they normally cost. They were allowing 3 per household, and when we moved to a house with a bigger garden (in a different district council area) we bought another two. We use them loads and we also plant courgettes in the top of 2 or 3 of them every summer.....they always do well with being able to get their roots right down into the compost.