Compost Bin in garden - is it working?

ally18

Hi,

About 4 years ago I put a compost bin in the garden and slowly began to put stuff in it, its now about half full and its a big one, not sure how many litres it holds. It is sitting on soil so the worms can get in btw.

My question is are you supposed to turn the compost over or mix it in anyway because when I had a look at the bottom, it doesn't look like good enough stuff to use in my pots?

I tried last year to take some out from the bottom to use but found some things hadn't composted, ie full tea bags and some potato peelings so I ended up putting them back in.

Plus because I had taken some out, the rest of it seemed to be rock hard and stayed at the back so when I was adding my cut grass, it was falling down to the front into the empty space which I don't want.

Sorry if this is a daft question. I'm a newbie to gardening. :rotfl:

stumpycat

Yes, you're supposed to give it a good rummel up and let air into it to help it all break down - otherwise you tend to get either a nasty anaerobic sludge, or nothing happening.

At least you've got plenty of room in your compost bin, so you can stick in a garden fork & give it a good scoot around. Then (depending on your gender!) pee on it/get a handy bloke to pee on it - it's a good activator.

My compost bins are very neglected and really need some tlc.

mrbadexample

I did turn mine once last year. Got it everywhere in the process.

Whilst I've got some sort of useable product, it's not the fine crumbly stuff that I've seen on the telly.

I really need another bin though - this one's full.

Mojisola

You'd have to be a superb compost maker to get stuff good enough to use instead of potting compost. Home-made compost is usually used a top-dressing on the garden.

This - https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.php - is a good guide to compost making.

If you're taking 4 years to only half-fill a bin, you're never going to make good compost, especially if a lot of it is grass cuttings. You just won't be getting any heat build-up in the heap. The worms may be coming into the bottom of the bin but remember that worm compost still has all the seeds alive that went into the bin. Unless they're killed off by the heap heating up, they'll flourish when you spread your compost - be ready for a mass eruption of tomato and pepper seedlings and also any weeds you've been adding to the bin.

By the way, most teabags are now made with a proportion of plastic in the bag and will not compost properly. Current thinking is to tear the bags open before adding them to the heap and then pick the remains out when the compost has rotted down.

mrbadexample

Mojisola wrote: »

By the way, most teabags are now made with a proportion of plastic in the bag and will not compost properly.

Do you have a source for that? I'd pretty soon change my brand if that were the case!

Sambucus_Nigra

ally18 wrote: »

Hi,

About 4 years ago I put a compost bin in the garden and slowly began to put stuff in it, its now about half full and its a big one, not sure how many litres it holds. It is sitting on soil so the worms can get in btw.

Are you talking a dalek?

Before we start - what are you putting in it, how often are you putting [say] a bucket full of 'stuff' in it and have you got any worms in it?

annie123

mrbadexample wrote: »

Do you have a source for that? I'd pretty soon change my brand if that were the case!

I was thinking that too, so just googled it and found this:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable

will be trying loose tea, as I have tea bags left in mine too, just thought 20 a day was too many to decompose!

gardenroute

I'm not an expert but I think a compost heap needs to be a certain size to start working. If it takes you four years to half-fill a bin I would either give up on it, or start adding a lot more material. People usually fill one and then and then start on another so the other one matures evenly rather than having fresh material mixed in with it when you try to use it.

Mojisola

mrbadexample wrote: »

Do you have a source for that? I'd pretty soon change my brand if that were the case!

Which? says that Jacksons of Piccadilly is the only company that doesn't use polypropylene except for the types of teabags that have a little paper tag - https://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/07/composting-teabags-218651/

splodger_seedswapper

it really does depend on what you are composting - and in what type of "bin" to try and second guess if it is "working" or not

plastic "dalek" bins only work well if kept in the sun - they are a bit gimmicky imho - but great if you don't have much space to build a proper compost area

what you put in the compost bin also matters a great deal - if there is a high proportion of grass for example - it won't break down as well (grass in quantity takes a good two years to break down to a compostable state) that is why so many people with large gardens have a separate area just to keep the grass clippings - once it has broken down, it really is a great mulch for beds and borders.
garden waste unless really woody takes much less time to break down - household food waste varies in decomposition - depending what is put in the bin. leaves can also take a lot longer to break down - so to get a more accurate answer - you should list what you put in the bin - what size the bin is and where it is situated (sun or shade) also do you have an area or another bin - where you could easily turn the compost from one bin to an other?

mrbadexample

annie123 wrote: »

I was thinking that too, so just googled it and found this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable

will be trying loose tea, as I have tea bags left in mine too, just thought 20 a day was too many to decompose!

Mojisola wrote: »

Which? says that Jacksons of Piccadilly is the only company that doesn't use polypropylene except for the types of teabags that have a little paper tag - www.which.co.uk/news/2010/07/composting-teabags-218651/

How utterly depressing. I've just emailed Yorkshire Tea to ask them. I'd hate to have to switch to loose tea. Changing brands is absolutely not an option. :eek:

Incidentally, I've never found the slightest remnant of any teabag (all Yorkshire) in my compost heap.