Homemade compost is so exciting! (MERGED)

JenM_2

I've been combining my home fires with wood and coal. The ash has then been ending up in my compost bins. I am concerned that I may have contaminated my compost and need to dispose of it all.

Should I be concerned? Will I need to start again?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Farway

No need to worry, years ago it was normal to bung the coal ashes onto the garden, coal was wood once anyway

It may take a bit of time to break down, or may clump up, but in the general mix it will do no harm at all

annie123

I put loads of wood/coal ash in my cb....after I have put as much as I can around the roses..they seem to love it.

Do remember to give compost a good turning this month.

Luna69

Hi
I did find a thread on compost, it was rather long so didn't get through it all and it had been closed, but apologies if I missed another one.

I have a black dalek/genesis ark type compost bin in my back garden, started about a year ago, maybe a bit more. I have to admit to not mixing it up that often, but thought I would today. I noticed what little bit of composted stuff we had in the bottom was very soggy. I know it means that we need more browns in, but I do add a good lot of card, toilet/kitchen roll tubes, egg boxes, mcdonalds drink trays etc.. do I still need a lot more? I also noticed some of the fruit and veg peelings and bits on the top had a fair bit of mould on them... is this harmful or okay?

We also have a lot of the tiny flies and woodlice in there, presumign this is okay too??

The bin is placed on the lawn, was a bare patch at the bottom of our back garden. It doesn't get a lot of sun, but there is some, usually after mid morning till late afternoon.

any help appreciated
Thanks
Yvonne

Zazen999

Sounds fine to me.

i usually separate out the completely decomposted stuff [and put into a pile/storage boxes/old compost bags] that can be used for the garden next; and anything not completely composted becomes the base of the dalek again.

One year it was so soggy and wet that it had to be dragged in containers into the garage to dry through the winter; but the compost that came out of that formed the base of my beds when we moved last april and it's been growing stuff wonderfully ever since. It was good stuff all in all.

I don't turn it though - just take the dalek off and start shovelling the top unrotted stuff back into the bin [we site the bin on a new patch for it's new home] usually about 2 feet away from where it was. Then once the top stuff ifs off, mix and shovel the good rotted stuff to where you can keep it until you need it.

cjb02

Sounds good to me too. :T

Woodlice and mold are fine. Little black flies wont hurt it but can be annoying. If you can get hold of some shredded paper and put it in and mix it up, this will dry it out and leave some on top (4-5inch thick) will keep the flies away. but if you do nothing, it is still fine.

I have had wet compost bins before and some times they can smell too in summer, so I use shredded paper.

A._Badger

I'm not quite so sure about coal ashes. Having recently moved, my books are still in boxes in the new garage, but I recall, a decade ago, wondering whether there was any use I could make of the clinker from coal fires. At the time I consulted a couple of books and both advised against it on the grounds that in addition to the carbon component, coal frequently contains other elements, including heavy metals.

This seems believable - after all, you often see traces of iron pyrites in lumps of coal, so, clearly, it isn't just pure carbon.

I can't quote you chapter and verse on this because I can't find the reference books I consulted, but it is something I am, personally, not doing - certainly not on edible crops.

annie123

your right A. Badger
taken from a web site:
We do not recommend that you put the following in your home compost bin:

• Raw meat & fish
• Cooked food waste
• Coal ash
• Cat and dog droppings
• Large amounts of shredded paper
• Card

I have never had clinker in my open fire and burn wood and coal together and have always (25 years) used the ash on my roses and any left over in the cb. never had anything but good results, but if one used a large amount then I suppose better to be safe than sorry

edit: just read my compost book and it says not to use large quantities as it contains sulpher and iron, toxic to some plants in large amounts.
As I only produce a couple of buckets full of wood/coal ash a year guess I'm ok..and my roses do love it

A._Badger

Thanks for confirming that, Annie. I burned solely logs for a large part of this winter (getting used to a new stove but it's too expensive here, so I'm going back to coal) which means I have a large quantity of wood ash to compost. Lovely stuff!

Jony

find a local timber yard and they will most likley have free ed cuts, outs does in coalville (harlows) but ts over at their warehouse in bardon, they have a skip full of the end bits, free wood! and before anyone says im stealing there is a sign saying help yourself!