Compost help please!

Ash_McCloud

The egg shells will add nutrients to your compost without ever rotting down, so it's just a case of removing them from the finished product.

If you don't want to aerate it very often then it'd help it if you but some empty egg boxes, or screwed up balls of newspaper in there to create little air pockets.

Those caddy bags take years to break down fully too, so they're best avoided unless you want to be fishing them out every time you empty the bin.

Leif

I have a Dalek and it does seem to have a lot of dry areas that do not compost, although I give it a healthy dose of urine on a regular basis. I also have a wooden bin, over 1m on each side, and it is much easier to turn over. My neighbour made me a nice cover from his old red carpet, very chi chi. A few years ago I had a huge pile at the bottom of the garden. The insides were too hot to touch, and steamed as if on fire when exposed. The insides were grey adding to the impression of burning. But it was several metres across and over 1m high.

I tend to use the compost from the wooden composter, then move the compost from the Dalek into the wooden composter, and start afresh with the Dalek. I suspect I would have been better off with two wooden composters. They look better in my opinion, more natural, albeit not so durable.

The Hot Bin is expensive, and I am not convinced it is worth the money. Is it durable? Is it 5 times more productive than my wooden composter?

Montmorencymon

Leif wrote: »

I have a Dalek and it does seem to have a lot of dry areas that do not compost, although I give it a healthy dose of urine on a regular basis. I also have a wooden bin, over 1m on each side, and it is much easier to turn over. My neighbour made me a nice cover from his old red carpet, very chi chi. A few years ago I had a huge pile at the bottom of the garden. The insides were too hot to touch, and steamed as if on fire when exposed. The insides were grey adding to the impression of burning. But it was several metres across and over 1m high.

I tend to use the compost from the wooden composter, then move the compost from the Dalek into the wooden composter, and start afresh with the Dalek. I suspect I would have been better off with two wooden composters. They look better in my opinion, more natural, albeit not so durable.

The Hot Bin is expensive, and I am not convinced it is worth the money. Is it durable? Is it 5 times more productive than my wooden composter?

I suspect the Hotbin is too expensive really. It's probably ok for those with money and not enough time to make their own wooden composter (or who don't have the skills or materials).

Where it seems to come into its own is in cold winters. People have apparently reported high-temperatures even with snow around, which is obviously more difficult with an open heap or wooden bin.

I think the secret the inventor has cracked is combining good insulation with good aeration. The good insulation allows it to build up heat without needing to be too massive, and aeration seems to be essential for any hot-composting method.

I currently have 2 "daleks" and 1 old oil-drum/brazier that we "inherited" which has become an unofficial compost overspill bin.

I'm going to experiment with various ways of trying to aerate them as well as I can, short of actually turning them. I already use cardboard tubes as much as possible, and from time to time I poke holes through the compost with a long stick. I'm going to be trying all this a bit more systematically.


I also plan to build a wooden bin from pallets, but I've been a bit slow in getting a round tuit.

Montmorencymon

I'd found and then lost this link, and just found it again:

Aeration without turning:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/aerating-a-compost-pile-without-turning-it.html


And this lady has another, related technique:

http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/hot-compost-composting-in-18-days/#comment-44280


I assume aggie pipe is an Australian thing - agricultural pipe, apparently.
I'm sure there is a UK equivalent.


EDIT: An interesting article on "to turn or not to turn":

http://www.envirolet.com/compostmyths.html

EDIT2: An extremely comprehensive series of articles on composting:-

http://www.composterconnection.com

Sally_A

I've got 6 or 7 dalek bins, everything except pain in the backside weeds (bindweed, brambles etc) goes in.

The experts say they should break down within 6 months in warm weather, I'd say you'd be lucky to get half a bin of good stuff in a year.

Saying that, mine are kept against the eastern hedge and behind plum trees so get very little direct sun/warmth. I'm gradually shifting them to a sunnier position.

My best mix was layering in fresh horse manure, this really got the warmth going and was full of brandling worms; but usually it is layered with grass cuttings, veg peelings, shredded paper, with random clods of clay thrown in that won't break up when I'm digging the garden. Might sound daft, but I'm quite pleased to see an ants nest in there as they really do crumble it up well.

Anyhow - to turning - Autumn, fork out the good stuff from each bin and either use, or put into a "good stuff" bin, half broken down compost goes into an open bean trench for next year, the rest goes back into a bin. Spring - repeat process and separate the good stuff for use when you start preparing the soil or planting.

Turning is a bit difficult with Dalek bins - so I tend to tip mine over (and then run away like a girl in case there are slow worms in there) this makes it easier to fork out the good stuff.

My plan for next year is to do more trench composting, I'm on clay and can't believe what a difference it makes where the bean trenches were prepared, even if it just means digging a hole and bunging peelings, grass, paper in.

Farway

Sally_A wrote: »

My plan for next year is to do more trench composting, I'm on clay and can't believe what a difference it makes where the bean trenches were prepared, even if it just means digging a hole and bunging peelings, grass, paper in.

If you have space the above is ideal, for beans, just dig a trench in autumn and chuck all the above in over the winter

I used to do this when I had a larger garden, works just fine

cazziebo

someone on here said to leave the eggshells in as they deter slugs.

Thanks for all the good advice on this thread.

howardtog

It depends on your garden size and inclination.My method works great for me. I have a cubic metre heap made of pallets and I put on all garden waste from April until October. I leave it until the next April.80% is good compost for the greenhouse and potatoes. The 20 % not totally composted from the top and sides I put in a black dalek bin and together with collections whildst Im using my finished compost.usually this is used by the end of April . I then use ythe black bin contents to start the next large heap .
3 comments
I cover the main heap with an old piece of carpet
I never put vegetable peelings on any compost heap as when I did this many years ago it encouraged rats
I never turn the heap (lifes too short) but I do try and alternate dry /wet eg I make sure lawn clippings are well mixed with other materials or cardboard.
goog Gardening

Orange_King

Just sorted my dalek out at the weekend and got an excellent couple of big buckets of crumbly compost. It was a big improvement on last year and the difference was adding lots of cardboard torn up into smallish bits. I also put the majority of the grass cuttings in the green bin rather than compost it as there was plenty of other green waste to mix up with the peelings etc.

The worms certainly appear to be multiplying and I tried my best to put any back in the bin after removing the good compost and mixing round the rest that was left inside.

colinS

I think Dr Who is needed to deal with Dalek compost bins, I have no faith in them at all, they just look good. I have never had much success composting until I made my gizmo, featured here:


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4274191

Also it is good to remember that leaves moulder, they do not compost, and while a few on the compost heap doesn't do any harm, they break down under different conditions to the usual stuff we throw on the heap.