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The composting saga continues...year 4

JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
in Problem solving
I keep saying Im going to give up, then give it “one last try”

2019:
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1025374/composting-failed-again/p1

2018:
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1010812/compost-ready/p1

Its been four years and Ive never got anything like crumbly anything, let alone christmas cake, people talk of.

Ive just emptied two daleks (yes I tried an open heap before, see 2019) and one was too dry and all roots(on the left from 2019), this years not doing much, one maybe two worms in total and lots of grass clumps.



I managed to mix them up and pack them into a single dalek.

Pulled out loads of knotweed tendrils first though.

is it time to give up?
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Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If you have knotweed, you need to address that properly first, or you're adding more problems.
    If the compost is too dry, you need to water it , or add more greens. There has to be a mix of materials, and if it's dry, it's no use. In plastic bins, you need turn it occasionally, and check that it has suitable contents and moisture.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    Looks too dry to me. Having said which, I make my compost inside an old plastic water tank and dryness is a problem. It takes about a year. I leave the lid off during the summer  and water a bit if spring or autumn are dry. It's mostly grass, leaves , torn up paper and shredded hedge clippings (no privet and nothing with seeds), but you can use just about anything. A friend of mine put an old carpet through the shredder...It's a good idea to chuck in a bit of ripe manure if you can get it, to start off with. Some people don't bother with compost, just find a local stables ...!
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    No retreat no surrender I say !! All them contents will decompose and make compost !!! If you don't want to turn it too often then it needs to be wetter to start with, the daleks keep the weather out so the compost is very dry a lack moisture will slow everything down. Turning really helps but I look at daleks and think they look rather troublesome for this as the opening is well "not very open". Keep at it and join me the other mad composters out there dedicated to the art of decomposition 😜
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I hate daleks, they are really difficult to mix and turn. All you need is a space with a mix of green and brown material which you turn over a few times. Wilderbeast makes the world's best compost by scientific methods but you don't have to achieve such results, a reasonable crumbly mix is easy peasy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I have the daleks now as a suitable, open space is quite difficult for me here, and the wooden ones I bought rotted quite quickly. Should have made my own like I did in the past!
    I had to move mine recently, so I lifted the whole thing off, and then forked the contents into the other one. I think that's the easiest way of doing it. I leave the lid off now and again to let rain in if it needs it, although even in summer, the contents don't really get dry here. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    @Posy I wouldn't say I make the world's best compost, mind I think it's pretty good 😜 it's more the sheer quantity I aim for. I don't really have a scientific approach either (though I should send this post to my old teachers who would be gobsmacked at any level of intelligence I show) I just put every last bit of garden and household waste I have stick it in a pallet bin, turn whenever the the heap cools down (or whenever the urge takes me which is too often 🤣) and wet it all regularly. I have to wet it so much as hot heap's lose so much moisture through steam. 

    If you are putting material into a dalek and just leaving it then it won't do much especially leaves which dry out constantly. Most foliage breaks down due to its interaction with soil, microbes, worms, bugs and the weather. A dalek prevents that happening so you have to add some of the missing elements like water. 
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    edited November 2020
    Makes sense - Ive put in less grass than in previous years and more cardboard but theres still a lot off hard matts forming - the turning wouldve helped that.  Ive put in more variety though still have nothing from the kitchen.

    Ill set the alarm to turn it again in January, maybe check for dryness in Dec.

    My leaf mould isnt doing much either so I topped that up with this years fall.

    I also have my second turf stack going started in March, topped up from two weeks ago also, this time covered.
  • BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
    Another vote for dryness being the problem. I don't think it's too bad though. I would sieve it and put thr larger, less rotted pieces in the bottom of a new attempt. Have you tried adding some straw or hay? I find it helps the process a lot. 
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    If you can shred material & mix it with grass clippings this is a big help. If you can't shred it run it over with the lawnmower, even leaves. Conventional instructions are to add in layers but I think you need to mix material as you add it. 
    AB Still learning

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Get something easier to use than a darlek - like a square box model with a lid.
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