[herbiegrowsbananas]

Hiya

I have one of these tumbling compost bins that you turn once a day. It's meant to take just a few weeks but I left it in all winter and didn't turn it.

I have just checked it and the top of it is grey (mould?), so I reckon I should just bin it....?

Cheers!

[milkman]

don't bin it - take the contents out, mix it all up if poss with some fresh stuff and bung it back in - where have your kitchen veggie scraps been going all winter?

or bin the twirly bin and create a traditional compost bin on the ground instead!  

[herbiegrowsbananas]

Ooooh, errr, OK, some has gone in the bin!! Guilty!!! Had a blooming awful winter. The best bits have gone to the hens or my two chihuahuas though.

Also,  I put some orange and lemon peel in the compost when we first got it, is this going to make it acidic soil?

[herbiegrowsbananas]

We were using a traditional compost bin we built from pallets, but it just seemed to disappear, lol, though we didn't put a base between the grass and the compost.

Don't wanna get rid of my twirly bin cos it was my bargain frugal find at the time - got it for free at the local recycling centre.

[Dan]

Compost when done correctly rots down at an alarming pace...its sometimes impossible to keep it topped up full...you were not doing anything incorrect....the opposite more like...and you dont really want a divide between the compost and the soil otherwise the worms cant get in and do thier stuff.

[milkman]

mix in some of the bedding waste from your chooks, you'll end up with luvly compost - don't worry about ph with a few bits of orangey lemon peel.  If nothing else it'll be good for potatoes and toms if you are growing them.