Compost Bin in garden - is it working?

Mojisola

ginvzt wrote: »

I am contemplating if it is ok to add a few lumps of turf (ok, old lawn dug up in lumps with a lump of soil stuck to it), but I am worried these might be too heavy. I have added a few pots from old chilli/pepper/etc plants. Need to get more stuff in it!

I wouldn't put lumps of turf into the compost bin. If you stack it so that the grass side is underneath and cover the whole thing with carpet or plastic, all the vegetation will rot away and you will have a lovely pile of good quality loam. You can use it on the garden or in pots.

Sambucus_Nigra

ginvzt wrote: »

Great - I will put them all in one spot and use the cultivator to break them up. How mush can I put so it is not too much?.... I have quite a bit of it, so some of it will be taken to the recycling centre, but if I can do my bit and put some in my compost bin, it would not only help to reduce the stuff taken to the skip, but also add more volume to my bin! Plus - less trips to the HWRC, less pollution!

The odd lump = fine.

Loads = waste of composting space!

Stack it upside down and it will provide loam for you.

ginvzt

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

The odd lump = fine.

Loads = waste of composting space!

Stack it upside down and it will provide loam for you.

The only issue the space!!!! I want to have a garden that when I look at it doesn't feel like industrial site (as it does at the moment, with the green plastic sheets filled with soil(ok, clay), stones, odd bits of bricks and stumps!

Will take as much as we can to the HWRC, and the rest will hide somewhere!

Farway

Orange_King wrote: »

It is still very slushy from top to bottom so I suspect more paper/cardboard is required. Is it true that pee shouldn't be added during the winter?

Not a cast iron rule, but as the decomposition will slow down, or even stop, during cold months I reckon stop adding water / urine during Autumn & winter, especially as yours is slushy, sounds like too much liquid in there

ally18

ariba10 wrote: »

It is also recomended that you use "Male" Urine.

OK, had I better not bother with this bit then?

Will just plain water do?

Ally

ariba10

Maidens water?

Sambucus_Nigra

ginvzt wrote: »

The only issue the space!!!! I want to have a garden that when I look at it doesn't feel like industrial site (as it does at the moment, with the green plastic sheets filled with soil(ok, clay), stones, odd bits of bricks and stumps!

Will take as much as we can to the HWRC, and the rest will hide somewhere!

Pile it up in a heap and in a few weeks, plant a pumpkin in the top and it will cover your mound whilst it rots down. By the autumn it should mainly be loam that can be used around your garden.

mrbadexample

annie123 wrote: »

That's interesting, I've never tried their tea, will look in sainsburys next time I go.

It's the best by far, IMO. I usually buy 1000+ when it's on offer. I might have to rethink though:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us, Our teabag paper is layered up in several layers. One side of the paper incorporates a very thin web of a meltable plastic (polypropylene). This is necessary to seal the edges of the teabags.

We advise our customers that they can compost our tea bags. Legislation says that provided an item is 95% degradable, then it is classed as composable. The amount of polypropylene in teabag paper is much less than this, so from a legal point of view teabag paper is compostable. Basically polypropylene is innert and does not react with or damage plants or animals. There is some argument that says that polypropylene fibre can help soil bind together and aid water retention in soil, but the amounts of polyprop that you would compost via tea bags would really not register in a typical garden.

My colleagues who are keen gardeners report that, with a good, healthy compost heap, our tea bags compost in around a year or so. One suggestion that we often give is to use them in a pot on top of crocks and underneath the soil to aid drainage.

I hope this helps with your enquiry if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us."

lostinrates

annie123 wrote: »

That's interesting, I've never tried their tea, will look in sainsburys next time I go.

Its funny how tastes vary. I wasn't keen on it, and I HATE the tescos finest stuff. I like the twinings everyday tea....but ony buy on an offer.


Loose leaf sounds right to me!:D

Fay

Hmm we have inherited a dalek with this house and have been adding to it. A few weeks ago I gave it a mix up-just stuck an old garden fork in and lifted and turned...and there were loads of worms, literally teaming with them and the heat coming off it was incredible. However, when I remove the flap at the front it doesn't look like great compost.

It's in a tricky position in the corner of the veg plot-what would people recommend I do? Try and get it all out and dig it over?