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Composting - Practical question

guttiesgutties Posts: 224
in Plants
I am thinking of trying composting properly next year (this was the first year that I took any interest in trying to "garden".  I have a large lawn and so generate a large amount of lawn clippings.  I know that I need to balance this green waste with "brown" waste.

I was wondering how, when you come adding in fresh material each week, you can easily decide which parts to move on to the 2nd bin?
You'll be adding fresh waste in, and presumably turning the entire 1st bin at that time.  So how easy is it to know which bits of it are far enough on to move in to the 2nd bin?
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  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I keep going with one bin until it is full. Then I start filling bin no 2.  When that is full, all of bin number 1 goes into bin number 3, while 2 is working.  If there are any large bits in when you are turning it, they go into the latest bin. If any part is dry when it goes from one bin to the next, wet it through. It will usually start working again, and then the level sinks down.
  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    If you can afford it, get a garden shredder. You can transform just about any garden waste into compostable material with it. You can even shred cardboard boxes!
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601

    It is good advice to have more than one bin. When one is full it can be turned - mixed up - and left to finish breaking down. It is easier to do this if you can tip it into another bin and then start filling the empty one again. Addicts like me have three! If you have the time and energy, turning the stuff from time to time speeds it all up.

    I also have more grass clippings than I can put in the bins. Each year we make a heap in a quiet corner. When all the cutting is finished I turn it over, breaking up the lumps and slimy bits. I do this three or four times during the winter then leave it over summer, when I am too busy. By autumn it is ready to mix up with my proper compost and it makes excellent material for mulching, etc.

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Posy said:

    It is good advice to have more than one bin. When one is full it can be turned - mixed up - and left to finish breaking down. It is easier to do this if you can tip it into another bin and then start filling the empty one again. Addicts like me have three! 

    Flip! Last year I filled 80, yes eighty , builders' dumpy sacks last year, plus 2 lots of 3 bay compost bins .
    Am I an addict?
    Devon.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Well, Hosta, addict or barmy.... I think your garden is a tiny bit bigger than most! Mine is three quarters of an acre but that's nothing to yours, is it?
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I have to say, I get a huge buzz sticking my hand in and feeling the heat,and also the joy of seeing that lovely stuff spread out in the garden.
    Devon.
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Inglezinho said:
    If you can afford it, get a garden shredder. You can transform just about any garden waste into compostable material with it. You can even shred cardboard boxes!
    Are you sure of that? Have you done it yourself? I'm skeptical.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    We don't shred cardboard boxes.  They're useful opened out, plastic tape and any staples removed then laid on bare soil in the veggie plot to keep light off weed seeds.  Hold them down with some compost from the bins and then just plant thru it all in spring.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • guttiesgutties Posts: 224
    Thanks all.  It seems that something like this is what I need: https://www.quickcrop.co.uk/product/treble-bay-easy-acces-timber-composter

    This give me the all important 3rd bay and I like the way that the wall between the bays can be reduced in height.

    Would prefer to spend the money on this than a shredder, as the shredder would be useless without these bays!


  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I got a shredder on freecycle. give it a try.
    Devon.
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