can anyone help re needing a bottom for my compost bin!

crispeater

my sister very kindly brought me a compost bin for my birthdy (31st march) unfortunately it doesnt have a bottom! just a top and a slidey hatch at the side.

where on earth do i find a bottom for the bin??

billieboy_2

I don't think they're supposed to have bottoms, as you have to allow the worms etc up.

calleyw

I have a compost cone and it has no bottom on it.

I thought it was to allow worms to come up through and help decompose the stuff in side.


Yours


Calley

crispeater

lmao how thick am i then!!! can you tell this is the first time i've ever had a garden

so i just put all garden waste and vegetable waste in and off it goes??

Jack's_mummy

Pretty much but if you live in a windy spot you might want to put something heavy on top of it to stop it blowing away until you have enough muck inside it to keep it put. After having to chase mine down the street it is now tied to the hedge...

jennybridger

great website for composting:

http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/

we have chicken wire/mesh underneath ours to stop the rats digging up through the bottom, but you need it to be in contact with the soil to let the worms get in to do their work.

make sure you have a good mix of green wetter material (veggie peelings etc) and brown matter (leaves, twigs paper shreddings). and give it a good mix. this year we ened up with one bin that clearly had too much green and was too wet and full of fruit flies and the other too much brown and was too dry!

happy composting!

robnye

crispeater wrote: »

lmao how thick am i then!!! can you tell this is the first time i've ever had a garden

so i just put all garden waste and vegetable waste in and off it goes??

yep and grass cuttings and shredded paper/toilet roll inners.......

i keep chucking stuff in and then a couple of weeks later it has lowered

crispeater

thanks everyone!! there was me waiting weeks on end to see if a bottom arrived lol derrrr

just done the veg for dinner so going to put the peelings in!! how exciting i'm gonna make compost!!

Smithills

I love compost- it is SOOOO gratifying to get such lovely rich compost from peelings etc. I would go easy on the grass clippings- otherwise you'll make silage- nasty,wet, gloopy and a smelly mess:eek:.
I chuck in my shredded paper, toilet/kitchen roll inners, egg boxes as well as the usual tea bags, peelings, onions, dead flowers egg shells etc. I'm a lazy composter- it all goes in the top, with a feeble stir if theres a lot of one thing. An occasional water if it looks a bit dry, or leave the lid off if it looks a bit wet. Give it 12 months, then it'll probably be ready to use. If anything's a bit chunky, throw it in again! You might want to get a second composter- fill one whilst the other one is composting down. And then you could make leaf mould too- the leaves rot down better if you don't mix all your autumn leaves into the compost, though a few won't matter.

Soon you'll have a compost corner!:rotfl:

paddypaws101

Dont be afraid to cheat a little....you can buy a natural accelerator called Garrotta ( or similar) in garden centres, sprinkled generously in between layers it can really help the process along.

ariba10

You will find it better if you use any uncooked vegetable matter.

Male urine is a good help in accelerating decomposition.