Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: sausage on April 24, 2007, 14:20
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As some of you guys alread know I have a compost bin. I know that it's good to have insects living in the bin etc' but was just wondering if it'd be better to leave the lid off for a few hours a day to give the fly's and stuff a chance to get in, have some grub and lay their eggs in my compost bin. Whenever I go out to my garden there's always atleast 10 flies sitting on my compost bin lid, and I was wondering if it's cos they want to be in the bin but can't find a way through I might leave the top off for a bit and give them a head start. what do you's reckon?
(http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m87/billyovlumley/Garden/0004.jpg)
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you don't want flies you want worms. If flies are trying to get in you have something nasty in there you shouldn't have. Did you mistake it for the dustbin after a kebab night? :)
It really needs the lid on to keep the heat, such as it is, in. And to keep flies out...(worms get in through the bottom)
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Lid on, but make sure to keep the contents moist . We sometimes a water if it seems a bit dry.
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Ok, thanks.
:)
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does any one have a lot of slugs and the like in there compost heap when you turn it??
if so how do you keep them out as the bottom of bin is open?
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does any one have a lot of slugs and the like in there compost heap when you turn it??
if so how do you keep them out as the bottom of bin is open?
A compost heap should be too hot for slugs (okay - hard to do overwinter). If it isn't hot enough, the compost will contain masses of viable weed seeds ...
Maybe you should build a new heap & try to get a real heat up.
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...as in, 'steam rising from it hot'. Otherwise, it's not composting, only acting as a hangout for unwanteds like slugs and flies. Check John's info spot for composting and how to layer stuff, or go to www.compostguide.com for more info. And the pile needs to be turned about twice the season as well. Personally, I use some compost accelerator to help get mine going faster as I can't turn heavy piles easily and other residents of Trillium House makes themselves very scarce at that time. Come to think of it, the house seems rather empty soon as I mention the words shovel and garden in the same sentence.
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as for flies there is always lots of fruit flies coming out when i take the lids off.
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From what Sausage described, it sounds more like the big, pesky kinds of flies on the composter, exactly the kind you don't want. Fruit flies will hover inside in freshly dumped fruit, but if the pile is damp and turned often enough, it'll be too hot for any of them to hang around in, except worms at the sides and bottom. To keep out bigger pests, I put my same type bin on 4 large patio slabs, which also makes for easier turning when I pull out the contents.
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To keep out bigger pests, I put my same type bin on 4 large patio slabs, which also makes for easier turning when I pull out the contents.
Does this not make it hard for the earthworms to enter your bin, Trillium
First post here, so hello all.
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I'm not particularly worried about worms getting in, but more about how hot the inside gets and decomposes. There are slits in the side so that any worms that are looking for a home can get in. Otherwise, unwanted creatures like mice would get in as well as I keep this composter strictly for fresh kitchen waste like peelings and such. This isn't a wormery, but a composter. :wink:
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I suspect the big flies are sunning themselves on the warm black plastic top of the bin,put the lid somwhere else on a warm day and you`ll find them there.
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I have a compost bin but not started to use it yet, but I would leave lid on, so it can heat up
Iain
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I leave my lid on whether full or empty.....it does help to warm things up.
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the compost heap up the lottie is steaming good.
house waste, seaweed, grass cuttings, the odd weeds :evil: , manure. i leave a plastic sheet on top of it with a brick to keep it there.
the one up the back garden turns stuff into loam (i think the term is) good soil. never managed to get it hot. might need weeing on :arrow:
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the one up the back garden turns stuff into loam (i think the term is) good soil. never managed to get it hot. might need weeing on
Pee on it if you like but you'll get spotty shoes like Shaun if a gust of wind catches you!
My guess is that the one in the back garden gets far less added to it by way of compostable material.
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yup, true WG. i dont cover the one in the garden though, so maybe thats part of it too?