Homemade compost is so exciting! (MERGED)

Jayar

MY OH was never happy with the thought of having a compost bin because he said it would smell and attract flies, so I have sat him down and "forced" him to read through all 13 pages of this. --- Oooo I can be nasty!
Any road up, the upshot is that I have now ordered my very first composter. Can't wait to get started.

olibearhorse

YEAH!!!:j :j Well done Jayar!

angelavdavis

Something that might make some of you giggle.

I had mentioned the fact that the compost heaps (x4!) were a bit slow considering the warm weather and that some of the men in the house might want to contribute

Well, got a phone call from Mum begging me to tell Dad to stop as he's filled 4x4 pinters and she can't get through enough milk to contain the flow!!!!:rotfl:

olibearhorse

Well my boyfriend has approached this as enthusiastically as your Dad by the sounds of it and gets very excited (and insists on showing me ) that his wee fills a pint glass perfectly and how much it looks like cider :eek: :eek: :eek: Why are men so grim? I did suggest he wee'd straight into it but he said 'the neighbours might see' - this doesnt seem to bother him when he walks around the house naked with the curtains open

Still, he feels special for being able to contribute. :rolleyes:

donnalou

Hello There,

I've got quite a few pots of plants out this year and all look really healthy but a couple of the pots have compost in them thats turned green on top, its only a thin layer on the top.

Anyone know what causes this? Have I over watered or something?

Thanks for your help

Donna

Fizog

Have you watered with tap water by any chance? If you have it's probably the lime in the water causing the layer. Scrape off the green and use rain water to see if there is any difference.

Kay_Peel

I've no idea what it is or whether it's harmful but I know the cause of it (I think). I say that because loads of my potted up plants have got a green top layer. Whoops!:o

It's stagnant water. These particular pots have been standing in a tray of rainwater for weeks (and weeks and weeks!). They haven't been allowed to drain and a little green algae? possibly or moss? possibly, has settled over the compost. My fault!

I repotted the ones that needed repotting and just forked over the soil around the others. They might start really growing now that they can breathe again!:A

So that's my guess. The water isn't draining. You might need to lift the pots off the ground to let the water out, or put some sand into the top layer of the compost to try get it to drain freely.

k.

jennifernil

I reckon it is just a reaction between sunlight and the "food" in the compost. Nothing to worry about, shows your plants are well fed!

Lord_Gardener

Just a little moss - very common, turn over the surface and they'll be fine!

cazziebo

Had my bin for a wee while but haven't yet got the courage up to ask the bf to wee in it when he's here......:rotfl: Maybe when we're married :rotfl: :rotfl:

Anyway - I'm sure I read that you could put the contents of the hoover bag (dyson in my case) into the bin - is this right? I have a very shaggy dog, and two cats so that's what makes up the majority of the contents.

can one of you expert composters tell me if this is right?

Cazzie

Compost bin bore no.320 :rotfl: