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Compost not composting

OldcompostOldcompost Posts: 191
in Problem solving
Unfortunately I chose design over practicality and bought these two smaller beehive composting bins.  It's nearly June and the mixture which has been inside since November is still only a smelly mess.  Obviously one larger container would have generated some heat but has anyone any ideas how to progress this?  It has been regularly turned. 
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  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I think part of the problem has to be that the compost isn't in contact with the ground. It'll be much harder for bugs to get in there to do their thing if they're suspended in the air like that. Is adding this material to a larger heap out of the question now or do you have to stick with these containers? If you could mix it in with a load of green material and shredded cardboard somewhere in the sun I bet it would sort itself out in no time.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    If it’s ‘smelly’ then there probably too much ‘green’ and grass in it. Try adding some ‘brown’ like cardboard bits, woody bits and dry stuff (straw, paper) and mix up. 

    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I agree with Wild Edges and AuntyRach's good advice, it needs a mix of brown and green and needs to ideally sit on the ground. Mine has to sit on thick root barrier stuff but the worms/slugs/insects still get in and do their thing.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I agree … stand them on the ground. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I personally don't think that being on the ground makes any difference. Just get a better balance. If it's wet, add more dry browns - newspaper, cardboard, hay...  and mix in. Try turning the contents every few weeks for a while and see what happens.
  • OldcompostOldcompost Posts: 191
    Thank you everyone for your comments.  I made sure the brown/green mix was correct but maybe shouldn't have added water initially?  All the usual insects are present but definitely less worms (due to being off the ground), the pots were to collect the nutrient-rich leakage which was staining the new paving stones.

    Compost bins allow the worms to enter underneath but these came with a material base.  That, along with the small capacity to generate enough heat added to what I think is a design problem?
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Heat isn't  that important,  nor is the green/brown mix. What you really need to do is pull out all the material, mix it up and put it back. Do this 3 or 4 times and you will get compost. The heat only affects how quickly it happens. I think your bins would be better on soil.
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    I think they would be better stood on the paving directly. Suspended in the air there will be more breeze circulating around the bin cooling it. We have had bins on paving before, when a location on soil wasn’t an option, and they worked fine. If staining is a problem maybe you can find a tray for then to sit in or will sit inside?

    Agree that turning occasionally will help and also upping the browns. We add lots of shredded newspaper, unwanted post to ours
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The mix is the important thing. It would certainly help if it was on the ground, and heat helps to speed things up. It takes a long time to work here. Even if it's in a sunny site, it stays wet, regardless of how much brown there is, and I add plenty. That's just how it is. I don't expect it to be decent for at least a year. Fine as a rough mulch, but not as good compost.
    Mine is no further on than yours @Oldcompost, and although it will make compost eventually, it isn't speedy. You possibly have the same situation. I could never make usable compost in 6 or 7 months   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I agree. I think a year is about right unless you REALLY work at it.
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