Homemade compost is so exciting! (MERGED)

Joolzr68

buggalugs-

Thanks for that Joolz the extra bit of info also means that I have somewhere to put my little tiny offcuts of cotton from my quilting :j and my bits of wool? will they be ok in there too?

Yes, as long as its 100% pure wool with no man made fiber content, same goes for cotton it must be 100% cotton, polycotton would be no good as obviously it contains polyester.

Melonade

mardatha wrote: »

I just ordered a compost bin from our council, its £6 inc delivery !!

WHAT!!! Bargin :j

That's amazing £6 is less than the price increase on the bin I was going to order :rotfl:

Well Done :T It's a shame that there isn't a fixed price across the whole country.

heavysnow

Melonade wrote: »

WHAT!!! Bargin :j

That's amazing £6 is less than the price increase on the bin I was going to order :rotfl:

Well Done :T It's a shame that there isn't a fixed price across the whole country.

I can beat that! Our council provides free composting bins for every household :T: http://www.northdown.gov.uk/template1.asp?parent=413&parent2=425&pid=425&area=4

wallbash

Sorry if this has been answered.... but its a long thread, and the green house calls:rolleyes:

Don't use an awfully lot of home made compost... but do make some.
But am bone idle, so never get out there and fluff/turn .

But as I keep adding, and only disturb once a year, have always had wonderful
stuff at the base.Last few years, compost was full of the red little worms, working hard.
Great result.
This year...... NO worms :eek:
But still wonderful compost, why????

Did I really have a wormery ( spell check , :eek:)
Now a compost heap ?????
Cant think wots changed..... but the result is the same.
Took 5 large wheel barrows from heap yesterday.

mardatha

ours provides them free as well, but we returned ours, then reconsidered ! :jScottish Borders Council.

Lotus-eater

wallbash wrote: »

Sorry if this has been answered.... but its a long thread, and the green house calls:rolleyes:

Don't use an awfully lot of home made compost... but do make some.
But am bone idle, so never get out there and fluff/turn .

But as I keep adding, and only disturb once a year, have always had wonderful
stuff at the base.Last few years, compost was full of the red little worms, working hard.
Great result.
This year...... NO worms :eek:
But still wonderful compost, why????

Did I really have a wormery ( spell check , :eek:)
Now a compost heap ?????
Cant think wots changed..... but the result is the same.
Took 5 large wheel barrows from heap yesterday.

In all honesty I don't know, but from time to time I have seen the same thing.
I know my woody compost pile, which is turned over every couple of years, hardly ever has a worm in it, but still turns out good compost.
I have access to an absolutely huge compost pile, some of it has been there for years, digging it out the other day, several barrow loads and I don't think I spotted a worm either. I presumed there was nothing left for them to eat so they went elsewhere.

bonsibabe

Well my mam turned up this morning with 2 black bags full of prunings from her bushes so tomorrow morning the bin is getting placed in its permanent home, my kitchen caddy is now almost full, only room for a few tea bags lol, and thats going in!

My bokashi units arrived this morning so the first one is up and started! The bran stuff smells like the brewers yeast tablets that my gran used to make me take, only stronger! Hope this works!

A good weekend to you all!

Joolzr68

I presumed there was nothing left for them to eat so they went elsewhere.

I think thats right, when the composing process is finished there's nothing left for them to eat. Our active heap has a shed load of worms in it working away and our maturing/ready to use heap has none.

I love my little wormy friends:rotfl:

Karena_3

Hi.I am sure this will have cropped up already but don't want to read the whole thread.
I have a new compost bin provided by the council.However the instructions say it should go on soil.My small patch of soil is needed for vegetables.
Can I put the compost bin on concrete patio ? If so should I put some compost or soil in the bottom ?
Thanks Karen.

Joolzr68

Hi Karena,

I found this bit of info on the web about your problem,

Gardens that are predominantly concrete or stone present their own problems. Placing a compost bin directly onto concrete will produce compost eventually, but the composting process may be slowed down. This can be partly solved by placing some mature compost or soil in the bin. Another issue is that of liquid leaking from the bin as the organic material decomposes, which can stain a patio or other hard surface. To avoid this problem, emphasise the importance of a well-balanced mixture of greens and browns, with perhaps a few more browns than in the conventional situation to maintain the compost mixture slightly drier than is normally recommended. You could also suggest placing wood chips or layers of newspaper under and around the compost bin to soak up any liquid that does leak from it.
In some situations, particularly where there is only a small paved backyard that does not generate any green waste, it may be sensible to suggest the questioner uses a wormery rather than a compost bin. These tend to be smaller than compost bins and the worms can be fed on kitchen waste scraps and newspaper only. The resulting compost and liquid fertiliser can be used for containers and houseplants.

From this place,

http://http://www.homecomposting.org.uk/content/view/32/38/

Hope it helps