Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: pookey on May 16, 2007, 10:10

Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: pookey on May 16, 2007, 10:10
I got a subsidised Compost Bin For £5 From My Council (Fermanagh Council).  I estimate it's 300 litres.  Well worth giving yours a call to see if they are doing similar, particularly in Northern Ireland.

On another compst note, I have some spuds growing in my other compost bin, I thought I had weeds growing out the slits and pulled most of them out, but when I inspected the roots, theu had little white swellings on them!  I must have chucked some whole spuds in!!!
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: liz from the fizz on May 16, 2007, 10:32
Thats a good price. when i got mine it was smaller than that and cost a tenner, i was pleased with it , and still am.  I had a mouse over winter in it this year kept the cats happy for such long time.
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: David. on May 16, 2007, 11:54
Mine (Bucks) now cost £10 or £9 purchased online for a 300litre composter:

LINK (http://www.recyclenow.com/)

They used to cost £6 up to about a year ago. I've got 7.

£5 is a really good price so get all you need before your county council/unitary authority or whatever it is reduce their subsidy.

Needs a solid base to keep rats out. Rats like to live under steel sheets used as bases. Mice always seem to find a way in.
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: jennyb on May 16, 2007, 12:18
i used the same link for mine - cost £9 and somehow we got a free kitchen caddy worth £5 thrown in!  free delivery too!
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: philmay on May 16, 2007, 16:57
Here in Kent they are £9, after a £1 discount for ordering on line. Put potato peelings in mine and had potato plants growing through the gap around the door :shock:  Had to empty it out and remove them.
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: GrannieAnnie on May 16, 2007, 17:14
Recycle now have started doing them in our area too now for £8 or £10, but now i have my pallet compost bins I don't need one anymore.
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: shaun on May 16, 2007, 19:15
to be honest there not big enough for an allotment,there great for your garden but on a plot you need at least 2 compost heaps on the go at once.I have another 2 thats full of manure plus a double pallet bin thats full of leaf mould.mine are made out of pallets and its suprising how quick you can fill these.
1 from last year thats nearly ready to be dug out and used and the other is getting filled,so when i empty number 1 i will stop filling number 2 and so on and so on,i'm getting confused again :?
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: David. on May 16, 2007, 19:42
They are not great for your garden if you make wine and put hundreds of pounds of pressed apples and other fruit debris in them that will attract thousands of fruit flies which is why I have 7 at the allotment.

At the alloment I also have 7 large L shaped corrugated iron bays for compost, horse poo, stable straw and hen straw (+ loads of builders grab/dumpy bags for auxillary storage.

In the garden I have 3 galvanised steel dustbins for storage of compost awaiting transport to the plot and a home made version of those expensive composters that look like bee hives that receives the bits of greens that hens don't eat.

We are also given paper shreddings (we also use our own for guinea pig bedding), grass cuttings, and plant shreddings by neighbours. We also compost any paper/card that is too small to use as mulch.
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: WG. on May 16, 2007, 19:48
Quote from: "David."
... hundreds of pounds of pressed apples and other fruit debris ...
Someone has offered me 500kg of Victoria rhubarb on a trade.  Any interest to anyone on here?  You'd pay only shipping costs in cash (+ barter for the rhubarb itself).   Ready now or next week.
Title: Compost Bin For £5 From My Council
Post by: Little Miss Muffet on May 16, 2007, 21:48
Thats a fantastic price for a bin.i dont think are council do them.i will find out i have two on the go at the moment.
how long does it take for compost to rot down nd how soon can you use it?