[shokkyy]

Last winter I reorganised my compost bins, and I've now got a row of four big square wooden jobbies. In the spring I'll turn them over and use a bit, but two or three of them should still be pretty well full so I thought I'd try planting courgette/winter squash on a couple of them, courgette on one and winter squash on the other. The bins are 45 X 45 inches - given the amount of available nutrients there, do you think I'd get away with 2 plants on each, or safer to just do one? And I've never tried growing on compost heaps before, so forgive my ignorance, but how should I handle watering - same as normal soil or less/more? And presumably they won't be needing top-up feeds?

[arugula]

I would think they'll be OK. I planted 2 courgettes in a full up Dalek the year before last and left them to it. They were our best croppers, I think as they had a warmth boost from the heat of the compost. The only slight thing is that the compost heap did sink a bit while they were in place. Not a problem really though.

[shokkyy]

I never would have thought of trying it on a dalek I'd have expected them to sink below the rim as the heap went down, so they didn't get enough daylight.

[arugula]

Its amazing what you'll try when you've run out of space and you don't want to throw viable young plants out.

[sarajane]

For the last couple of years We've grown Potimaron on the heap (again, trying to use all available space) and managed to put 2 plants to ramble in a 45" sq tub and had good fruiting.  I found they needed a little more water than in the ground as our heap has wooden slated sides and dries out somewhat but not a problem. Good Luck.

[shokkyy]

For the last couple of years We've grown Potimaron on the heap (again, trying to use all available space) and managed to put 2 plants to ramble in a 45" sq tub and had good fruiting.  I found they needed a little more water than in the ground as our heap has wooden slated sides and dries out somewhat but not a problem. Good Luck.

Thanks for that.  Mine have slatted sides too, but that didn't occur to me before so I'll have to keep an eye on the water. Did you give any feed at all, or was the nutrition in the heap enough?

[TerryB]

I did it last year and found that the best way to water and give a liquid feed was to put a 2lt plastic milk bottle alongside each plant. Cut the bottom off and push the leg down into the compost.

[TerryB]

Sorry that should have been neck into the compost.

[Fisherman]

I grew four courgette plants on top of a 1Mt square compost heap last year and had trillions of fruit. Granted the compost heap was made up of 50% horse manure and I had no need to water last year as it was so wet in my part of the world. Can't wait for the -oh no not courgettes again

Won't be long now especially now my seeds arrived today 

[shokkyy]

I hope it does work cos I quite like the idea of sticking squash on there. They can sprawl around as much as they want to without bothering anything else.

[Kajazy]

So, you can just grow them on top of a fresh pile of composting material? Or should you add soil? Should it go on a well rotted-down pile instead?

[arugula]

So, you can just grow them on top of a fresh pile of composting material?

I grew courgettes on top of a newly full up dalek - new material not old compost.

[DD.]

I grew my "Marketmore" cucumbers directly in a pile of horse poo last last.

I had quite a prolific crop!

[New shoot]

Squash and courgettes love compost, no matter how new it is  

I've grown squash on a compost heap before with just a few inches of soil thrown over raw compost and they were very prolific and grew like triffids.  I now do a 'bean trench' patch for them and courgettes each spring on the plot and they seem to love it.

If I run out of pre-prepared bean trench (what do you mean too many seedlings  ) I sometimes empty out a compost bin and use the contents as a mulch round plants.  As long as it's about half rotted, they seem to cope fine and you get way more fruits  

[sunshineband]

I have just sealed down my cucbic metre pallet bin to move on now to filling one of the daleks (once I have emptied one of course  )

and thanks guys -- I shall be planting some squashes into the top, in a small pocket of soil to get them settled in, each with their own bottle alongide (I do ths will al the sqaushes and courgettes)

Depends on the variety -- might use some of the 'imixed interesting squash' seeds my son's MIL gave me at Christmas