Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: chrissie B on March 25, 2015, 08:41
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My compost seems to take an age can anyone tell me what product i can use to speed it up a bit , in up here in Northumberland and on the coast which isnt allways the warmest although did have a couple of good summers .
chrissie b
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I'm not the best composter by any means but it all depends on how much green and brown stuff you put in and how well it is mixed beforehand. Don't let it get too wet, or too dry which I tend to do.
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You can't expect anything other than a giant heap of material to either get hot or stay hot in winter - a dalek or heap which is only added to a little at a time is unlikely to get hot even in summer.
As GG says, the right mix of ingredients is important, as is air (aerobic decomposition is much quicker than anaerobic.) If your compost heap is compacted and airless it will benefit from being 'stirred' and turned to get some air in.
I bought some 'Garotta' a few years ago and I did get the impression it 'worked', although it's impossible to really know how much difference it actually made.
Some say that human wee is a good activator - I couldn't possibly comment! ;)
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I just work on the basis that it takes 12 - 18 months. Meant I got nothing for the first 12 - 18 months, but now I get the expected amount, regularly, just each new batch takes some time to "simmer".
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I am taking a proactive approach to composting this year, I have already built up a supply of shredded corrugated cardboard for the grass clipping glut which is coming, some guys on youtube are completing the process in less than 2 months and if I can do the same I will be happy, in a previous life as a clockmaker all my gear had to earn its keep and to me compost bins are no different, cheers Dave
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Thanks for the input .
today having one bin empty i pulled out all the stuff from the other bin bit by bit and gave it a good chop and took out the twiggy bits , top and middle were fine but the bottom allways gets blocked and i think its not draing as the weight had pushed it down into the soil , we have put the other one on bricks and will do this one once ive cleaned it out , we also have a brown bin form the council so we can get rid of all that grass and only put in a little .
chrissie b
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I'm not sure about the draining part because if it has a lid the amount of water it gets is up to you. As compost decomposes, the level goes down so leaving space for adding more stuff which all helps to compact it. I think that's ok but I remove my Dalek bins and shovel it out that way rather then the little door at the bottom which always gets stuck. To help with aeration, I have read that putting twigs etc at the bottom helps the air to get in there but, as they tend to have solid sides, I don't think that is so. Turning it and/or mixing the "greens and browns" (depending on how much you have and if it will fill a bin all in one go) should do the trick to incorporate air (the aerobic way) but you can leave it un-turned - you will still get compost but it takes longer (the anaerobic way).
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Mine was a bit sludgy at the bottom , the problem being once they are quite full it is hard to mix so im going to have every thing out, itsa waste of time through the little door , there is a lid but im cutting way back on the grass.
Chrissie b
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If you put a lot of grass in, all at once??, that would be likely to form a soggy anaerobic slime, which might then account for the soggy block that you found at the bottom perhaps??
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I recon it was, even though hubby turns it for me once you get an almost full bin you carnt get to the bottom and its not easy through the door , i would love the ones with a handle but hubby says no as theres no where to put it ha ha.
Chrissie b
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Mine was a bit sludgy at the bottom , the problem being once they are quite full it is hard to mix so im going to have every thing out, itsa waste of time through the little door , there is a lid but im cutting way back on the grass.
Chrissie b
Any water that gets in will naturally go down to the bottom so thst's probably why it is more wet there, especially if your OH turns it for you. I agree how hard it is to mix once it starts getting full, so best thing is to mix any additions into the top layer already there. You can add shredded paper to help the grass decompose. I bought a paper shredder and it's amazing how many old docs you accumulate and how much shredded stuff you get out of them.
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Allways wanted one of thoseespecially with the ammount of fraud these days best to get fid of as much as you can and a great way to do it .
chrissie b
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I recon it was, even though hubby turns it for me once you get an almost full bin you carnt get to the bottom and its not easy through the door , i would love the ones with a handle but hubby says no as theres no where to put it ha ha.
Chrissie b
I've got one of THESE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dolmen-Compost-Mixer-and-Aerator/dp/B0050I2FB4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427553130&sr=8-2&keywords=compost+stirrer) and it works really well (as long as you don't get too careless and it comes out too quickly and socks you in the face! :ohmy: :ohmy:
The 'folding V' type don't seem to be as effective, and the plastic ones are easily broken.
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Thanks for the link JayG, never seen one of those before, looks like an easy diy job, 8mm rod should be man enough, cheers Dave
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Thanks for the link JayG, never seen one of those before, looks like an easy diy job, 8mm rod should be man enough, cheers Dave
Certainly not going to argue with a man who can bend 8mm steel rod! :lol:
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Wee is good for the compost heap as long as it's male, the reason for this escapes me, maybe to do with hormones.
I try to compost as much as possible while following the guidelines regarding food waste , that is no cooked waste, yet tea bags are ok. One of my older books by a certain Mr Titchmarch says that turning a heap is not worth the bother.Having said that , It seems that turning helps aeration and also gives you the opportunity to see how it's progressing.
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Speaking as a female, can I just say that all wee is good for compost, and as a nitrogen rich feed.
Some say male wee is better, but men would say so, wouldn't they? :nowink:
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Apparently male urine is slightly less acidic than female.
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Topped my dalek up today
1 bucket of rabbit manure / bedding
1 bucket of greens
1 bucket of straw
2 buckets of coffee grounds
1 cardboard box
and quarter of a bucket of tea bags
as a novice with compost making I hope this is a good mix as I can obtain these quantities weekly
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as said urine is an accelerator as is compfrey leaves.
shredding or chopping up the bigger bits will help speed things up.
try to get a good mix of brown and green. sounds like if yours is soggy you've put too much green in, probably too much grass cuttings.
i fill two daleks up usually takes 6 months, these reduce in size as you fill them. when they look on the way to rotting down i take the dalek off and fork them in to another dalek for another 3 months and turn into another dalek for another 3 months if it looks like it could do with some air.
offwego, thats a hell of a lot of tea and coffee you drink. lol
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I thought somebody may pick up on this"offwego, thats a hell of a lot of tea and coffee you drink. lol"
don't panic the tea collection comes from my office and as for the coffee starbucks and costa give it for free and I happen to have a site next to both of them for the next few months :D :D :D :D :D :D
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Does your rabbit bedding contain saw dust/ shavings?
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Hi
yes , shavings and straw , the twice weekly clean also gives me the uneaten hay and manure. Must say our rabbit makes it easy as he uses a corner tray for all his toilet duties so I only need to empty that and re fill with clean shavings
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We used to use shavings but now use a rape seed product which composts down really well, shavings take a lot longer. The animals that we board that the owners supply shavings , the bedding waste goes in the council bin and not our compost.
Regarding card board, make sure that it has not come into contact with food ( ie fish fingers) cereal boxes are ok. I tend not to bother with card that has a glossy finish.
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if you have space chrissie try a 3 year rotate
the extra year rotting makes a big difference
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agree with the shavings taking longer to break down. i get a supply from a local breeder who seems to use more shavings over the winter (i guess as straw supplies get lower and prices go up), this takes longer to break down even in a hot heap solely for rabbit manure.
if you have your own rabbit i would suggest keeping the droppings separate, dry them out and you can add to compost mixes as a slow release fertilisers. free and more organic than chemical slow release.
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Sorry got no rabbit and now we have a council garden bin there will be a lot less grass , how much should i put in though couple of inches a cut ?.
chrissie b
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Hi JayG, heres my version https://www.flickr.com/photos/96658643@N00/17002090565/in/photostream/
cost about £6 overall and works a treat, thanks for the idea Dave
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Blimey, you don't hang about do you? :lol:
How did you fix the handle on? (just wondering how it copes with the torque of twisting the screw deep into compost.)
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Hi all
as well as my allotment I also keep budgies and canaries , my query is can I put the cage cleanings in my compost heap? my worry is that any uneaten seed would germinate
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You might get some exotic plants coming up
chrissie b
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Blimey, you don't hang about do you? :lol:
How did you fix the handle on? (just wondering how it copes with the torque of twisting the screw deep into compost.)
Its threaded 8mm and a light peening of the top edge to settle things in place, I have some great compost in the bottom half of my bins which I have never been able to get at before, such a great tool, many thanks again for a great idea, Dave
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3 different neighbours dropped off a bag of grass clippings and having no where to use them it was time to empty the dalek at the top of the garden, long to short, I now have 3 large bags of rich compost. My wife helped me to fasten some plastic sheet to the bottom of the bin to catch any liquid for fertiliser and it now resides in front of my home made greenhouse, I layered it with corrugated cardboard and GCs and when it settled I topped it off with the larger bits from the riddled compost, this was done over several days, I am very interested to see how long it takes to cook, cheers Dave
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Its already @ 125f, not bad for a few days cooking, Dave