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Compost - to cover or not to cover?

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Posts

  • bobloesbobloes Posts: 134
    Thanks very much again - those last two comments very interesting.  I shall take that advice and report back in about two years.  Happy composting.  Cheers
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I put my compost in old plastic dustbins with holes in them. I never turn it and I never cover it, but I live in Dordogne and it can be very hot here in summer. Sometimes it seems too dry so I have a dustbin without holes which fills with rainwater in winter and summer thunderstorms and I use that in summer to tip on it keep it moist. I have about 8 dustbins and each takes under a year to get black and crumbly, I just rotate them.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I dont have air gaps and I cover the top with plastic to stop steam escaping. Otherwise I think it gets too dry.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    My two main bins (one being filled up while the other rots down) are thick plastic with lids and no air holes.  I put a piece of carpet in the one that's rotting down, under the lid, to keep more heat in.  I have a newer, thinner plastic bin with air holes (and lid) that the "rotting down" bin contents gets turned into when the "filling up" bin is full and needs to become the "rotting down" bin (does that make any sense?) - at that stage any bits that are too wet/dry and haven't got going just get chucked in the top of the full bin and the rest is well on the way to being cooked so the ventilation doesn't seem to be a problem.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I agree that you don't need any air gaps. Sealing the bins hold the heat in. Turning aerates just fine.
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