[ches]

Good morning all,

I've been away from the keyboard for a few months, work is hectic at the moment. Firstly I hope you all had a great Christmas and you have a happy new year.

I've recently listened to an episode of "the veg grower podcast" where Richard speaks with the manufactures of the hot bin composter. I was surprised to learn that he hot bin is simply an insulated bin and not electrically heated.

This got me thinking...how easy and beneficial would it be to insulated my DIY pallet compost bins? i have some of those cheap foil blankets, and polystyrene is easy enough to get hold of. I know it wont be as efficient as a hot bin as they are typically wheelie bin sized, but could it help the composting process?

I fell a bit silly asking this as I am the health and safety coordinator for a waste treatment facility that produces compost as a by-product, but our composting windrows are about 100m long and we have 30 of them so not quite the same...I dont think.

Anyway, any advice anyone can offer would be great, thank you.

Ches

[New shoot]

Hi Ches.  Nice to hear from you 

I find my plastic dalek bins do heat up more than the wooden ones (not pallets, but same sort of set-up).  The wooden ones have basic plastic covers made from split open compost bags weighted with planks and bricks.  I also line the walls with more split compost bags if they have an open slat construction.  I got bought a couple of these as a present a few years back and find that things take an age to rot if used without lining them.

Upshot is that yes, keeping the bin hot speeds the process and if you have the materials to hand, I think it would be well worth trying 

[ches]

Hi Ches.  Nice to hear from you 

I find my plastic dalek bins do heat up more than the wooden ones (not pallets, but same sort of set-up).  The wooden ones have basic plastic covers made from split open compost bags weighted with planks and bricks.  I also line the walls with more split compost bags if they have an open slat construction.  I got bought a couple of these as a present a few years back and find that things take an age to rot if used without lining them.

Upshot is that yes, keeping the bin hot speeds the process and if you have the materials to hand, I think it would be well worth trying 

Thanks shoots

I think I will give it a go. I have one "pallet bin" that is taking a lifetime to breakdown so, what I think i'll do , is build another pallet bin next door, line it with foil blankets and anything I can get my hands on really (and make a lid this time), then ill transfer from the old bin into the new lined bin and see what happened. I'll then line the old bin and start filling this too.

[mumofstig]

If the compost is dry when you turn it sprinkle some pee over it to moisten (men's is best for the purpose, but any kind is good ) it is a terrific compost activator and always recommended by Bob Flowerdew
https://weedsuptomeknees.wordpress.com/tag/bob-flowerdew/

[ches]

If the compost is dry when you turn it sprinkle some pee over it to moisten (men's is best for the purpose, but any kind is good ) it is a terrific compost activator and always recommended by Bob Flowerdew
https://weedsuptomeknees.wordpress.com/tag/bob-flowerdew/

I am printing this off. My partner doesn't like it when I wee on my compost bin! Now i have proof that it helps!

Thank you

[ches]

While were on the subject of compost, it's probably been asked before, whats everyone recipes for their compost? do you use 2:1 Green:Bown or 3:1? I've been doing some reading and I cant seem to find what works best? we don't have a lot of kitchen waste as their is only two of us in the house, so we might have 2ltrs of kitchen waste a week, brown isn't and issue, i have shredded paper by the bag full from work.

[rowlandwells]

wee on the compost that is i must admit is a new one on me but it mite be worth a try the thing is I'm going have to build a platform or use a stepladder to reach the dalek bins and I'm going to be very carful my neighbours do see me or i mite be arrested

well your honour as i told the nice policeman at the time i was only watering my dalik 

[Plot 1 Problems]

I keep a couple of bottles in the shed to contain the golden elixir and I always add a splash to the heap when I add more waste to it.
It's rich in ammonia which breaks down  to easily available nitrogen in the heap, feeding the bacteria that break down all the waste.

[mumofstig]

I know men have a built in applicator, but it is surely better in a public place to supply said liquid feed/compost activator duly diluted, from a bottle or a bucket (also much easier us ladies as well  )

[ches]

I will start saving it. I have some 2 ltr sample bottles from work i can save it in.

[Yorkie]

While were on the subject of compost, it's probably been asked before, whats everyone recipes for their compost? do you use 2:1 Green:Bown or 3:1? I've been doing some reading and I cant seem to find what works best? we don't have a lot of kitchen waste as their is only two of us in the house, so we might have 2ltrs of kitchen waste a week, brown isn't and issue, i have shredded paper by the bag full from work.

I just bung stuff in - I don't worry about its proportions too precisely.

[Grubbypaws]

Thank you for this information Ches . Like you I had presumed that they were electrically heated and that was why they are so expensive. Our council is going to start charging for green waste collection so I had been looking into hotbins as a way to compost nasty weeds etc speedily/thoroughly rather than send them to the council as I do now. I will try lining one of my bins and see how it goes.

As well as some weeds I also put potato foliage into the council bin as it usually is infected by blight by the time it is cut down. What do others do with the potato leaves and stems? Does anyone compost them or would that be crazy?

[ches]

Good morning GP. I put potato leaves and stems on my compost - however, i'm still new to recognising diseased crops, so at the moment, everything goes in the compost.

[New shoot]

Blight on foliage should not be a risk, but blight spores can linger on potato tubers.  I would compost the top growth without too much concern and have done so myself in the past.

The tubers only go if you don't get the blighted top growth off fast enough, so peelings should be OK.  If you get tubers affected with blight I would take those to the tip.  Don't leave them lying around near your plot as they can spread blight to the crop the following year.

[ches]

Blight on foliage should not be a risk, but blight spores can linger on potato tubers.  I would compost the top growth without too much concern and have done so myself in the past.

The tubers only go if you don't get the blighted top growth off fast enough, so peelings should be OK.  If you get tubers affected with blight I would take those to the tip.  Don't leave them lying around near your plot as they can spread blight to the crop the following year.

I think I may need to do some research on recognising blight. I would have thought putting any tubers to compost would encourage volunteer plants next year?