[kath77]

I've recently bought one of these Dalek-style compost bins (I've only ever used open, homemade compost bins made from pallets) and I opened it today to find a layer of pongy, white mould covering the contents  :?

Contents so far: veg peelings, tea bags, lawn cuttings (not too much), and dogwood and pyracantha chippings from the chipper. Oh, and a layer of shop bought compost at the bottom to start it off.

Is this common, or is the something wrong?

Thanks!
Kath

[Trillium]

Mold usually means it's too wet and not hot enough. You'll have to bite the bullet and pull everything out and turn it all over to develop the heat needed to breakdown everything into compost. Add any fresh grass clippings or fresh horse/cow manure to help heat it up.

[DD.]

Basic question - is it standing on soil?

[milkman]

my advice - take it all out, mix it up, add in some dryer material e.g. loo/kitchen roll tubes, strips of newspaper, waste from guinea pig or rabbit hutch at the same time.  In my experience it doesn't matter whether you site these bins on concrete slabs or directly on the soil - you can make good compost on both.

[MrsR]

If its raining where you are today mix it today - the fruit flys won't attack so much  

[DD.]

my advice - take it all out, mix it up, add in some dryer material e.g. loo/kitchen roll tubes, strips of newspaper, waste from guinea pig or rabbit hutch at the same time.  In my experience it doesn't matter whether you site these bins on concrete slabs or directly on the soil - you can make good compost on both.

What about the worms? How do they get in through concrete slabs?

[milkman]

If a worm thinks it'll make a nice home it will find its way in somehow!

[Little Miss Muffet]

go to any fishing tackle shop and buy a load of worms chuck them in your compost problem solved

[kath77]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I opened it again today and it's even worse - urgh  :shock:

It's standing on gravel behind the shed. I scraped back the top layer of gravel and found some worms, to my surprise   so it seemed an ideal place. I like the idea of more worms - I'll look into it.

Too wet and not hot enough does seem like the answer. All this rain and no sun and not quite the right balance. I've got some newspaper which can go in and some loo roll tubes - do I chop them up a bit?

As soon as this rain stops, I'll mow the lawn and hopefully that'll do the trick. I've just turned it all over (ick) and let the flies out!!

Kath