I have chronic tendonitis in a shoulder and I'm elderly, I'm not strong enough to turn it and anyway the bins are too tall and too narrow at the top to turn it. Does it have to be turned?
Yes it needs to be turned. Can you get someone to help or perhaps get a rotating
If I lived near you I would pop round and do it for you
Thank you @MikeOxgreen, but you live in the Pennines and I'm in Norfolk!
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Unfortunately if I had a suitable space, that would be a space for a plant, and would already be occupied! It is a pity to remove compostable waste from the garden though, I hear you. I do try and cut a few things up in situ and just let them fall onto the beds to rot down. Is 'Oxgreen' your real surname, btw? Asking for a friend (his name is Hugh Janus).
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
Unfortunately if I had a suitable space, that would be a space for a plant, and would already be occupied! It is a pity to remove compostable waste from the garden though, I hear you. I do try and cut a few things up in situ and just let them fall onto the beds to rot down. Is 'Oxgreen' your real surname, btw? Asking for a friend (his name is Hugh Janus).
I think you should try a Bokashi and report back Yes I know Hugh, please pass on my regards when you see him next. Tell him Dr Mike hopes he's well.
My compost only gets turned once during the process. Main composting is done using 2 bins side by side. When the compost in the RH bin is ready to use I empty it and use the compost as mulch. I then turn the LH bin (which will be nearly full) into the RH and leave the contents to cook for a few months. I can then start refilling the LH one.
The whole process usually takes 6 months for very coarse or 'long' compost (useful on my very heavy clay garden) and 9 months for more soil-like stuff.
The process does slow down in winter but I think that's probably because I'm adding less 'stuff' and there is also less in the way of greens which seem to make hotter compost and rot down quicker.
My big challenge is keeping the compost heap damp enough. This is such a dry region there's not enough rainfall to just leave the lid open for a bit and the vegetation going in is usually dry. I have to water the compost bins on a regular basis.
There has been an additional challenge this year. The severe drought means there has not been much at all in the way of greens. I haven't cut the grass since April (so no lawn clippings) and much of my pruning / cutting back since June has been of plants scorched by drought, wind or sun - which are definitely more in the way of brown than green.
I compost autumn leaves which are stored in builders dumpy bags and left to start rotting down for about 6 months. Through summer I usually have a surplus of grass cuttings and other 'greens' which I layer with the semi rotted leaves. Usually works well. This year - not so much! I still use the LA garden waste scheme for the stuff I really don't want to put in my own compost bin (bind weed, brambles, tap rooted weeds, weed seed heads etc)
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
I have 2 compost bins and I put all veg and fruit peelings in them, paper and cardboard, some lawn mowings etc. The contents of the bins shrink down but never seem to rot properly. I have chronic tendonitis in a shoulder and I'm elderly, I'm not strong enough to turn it and anyway the bins are too tall and too narrow at the top to turn it. Does it have to be turned? The bins have doors at the bottom to get the compost out, but it's very difficult to get it out. Aftet 2 years it's not like peat.
I daren't compost weeds because of the bindweed and ground elder, dandelions and nettles that come in from next door's overgrown neglected garden. They go into the council bin.
If its a Dalek bin you can get away without turning if you poke a few holes in the side of the bin.
My big challenge is keeping the compost heap damp enough. This is such a dry
I wonder if you could line the bins with old compost bags or similar to hold in the moisture. Covering the top can be useful for this too - maybe with a tarp.
What happens is that as it all breaks down the heap slumps, compacts and the oxygen is cut off from the centre so the process changes (from one type to another) and slows down. It's left to the worms which will do the core, not the top or edges (if they're dry) and it'll take ages. When you turn and mix compost two things happen: Air gets in and feeds the micro-organisms and secondly the dry outer unprocessed layer gets to go into the centre where it will be processed.
There are two basic kinds of composting, Anaerobic and Aerobic.
Anaerobic is probably what you'll get in a smaller bin like the common Dalek. The reason is there isn't enough mass to create heat. This process is slow, it just rots with no air and the worms will do their thing. It's said that it doesn't kill off weeds, seeds and pathogens, but maybe that's down to how long you leave it.
Aerobic is when we have a big heap, say 1m cubed and we mix and turn it at whatever intervals it needs. This process is much quicker, it's too hot for worms so they'll stay away until it cools then move in. It's said that this gets hot enough to kill weeds and their seeds, but in my experience it doesn't using just a basic garden heap. The reason being whilst the core gets hot, the outer doesn't so the seeds exist on the outer. When you turn and mix it you cannot get all of the outer (with the seeds) in the core so many will survive.
Because I use horse manure I get some grass growing from my compost. It's no biggy, weeds are always going to get in there anyhow so I just pull them as they sprout.
I think if you want weed free, quick compost then you need to invest in a proper hot compost box, but they are expensive.
Posts
https://mudproject.org/5-ways-to-use-llama-manure-in-your-garden/
Yes I know Hugh, please pass on my regards when you see him next. Tell him Dr Mike hopes he's well.
The whole process usually takes 6 months for very coarse or 'long' compost (useful on my very heavy clay garden) and 9 months for more soil-like stuff.
The process does slow down in winter but I think that's probably because I'm adding less 'stuff' and there is also less in the way of greens which seem to make hotter compost and rot down quicker.
My big challenge is keeping the compost heap damp enough. This is such a dry region there's not enough rainfall to just leave the lid open for a bit and the vegetation going in is usually dry. I have to water the compost bins on a regular basis.
There has been an additional challenge this year. The severe drought means there has not been much at all in the way of greens. I haven't cut the grass since April (so no lawn clippings) and much of my pruning / cutting back since June has been of plants scorched by drought, wind or sun - which are definitely more in the way of brown than green.
I compost autumn leaves which are stored in builders dumpy bags and left to start rotting down for about 6 months. Through summer I usually have a surplus of grass cuttings and other 'greens' which I layer with the semi rotted leaves. Usually works well. This year - not so much! I still use the LA garden waste scheme for the stuff I really don't want to put in my own compost bin (bind weed, brambles, tap rooted weeds, weed seed heads etc)
I wonder if you could line the bins with old compost bags or similar to hold in the moisture. Covering the top can be useful for this too - maybe with a tarp.
When you turn and mix compost two things happen: Air gets in and feeds the micro-organisms and secondly the dry outer unprocessed layer gets to go into the centre where it will be processed.
There are two basic kinds of composting, Anaerobic and Aerobic.
Anaerobic is probably what you'll get in a smaller bin like the common Dalek. The reason is there isn't enough mass to create heat. This process is slow, it just rots with no air and the worms will do their thing. It's said that it doesn't kill off weeds, seeds and pathogens, but maybe that's down to how long you leave it.
Aerobic is when we have a big heap, say 1m cubed and we mix and turn it at whatever intervals it needs. This process is much quicker, it's too hot for worms so they'll stay away until it cools then move in.
It's said that this gets hot enough to kill weeds and their seeds, but in my experience it doesn't using just a basic garden heap. The reason being whilst the core gets hot, the outer doesn't so the seeds exist on the outer. When you turn and mix it you cannot get all of the outer (with the seeds) in the core so many will survive.
Because I use horse manure I get some grass growing from my compost. It's no biggy, weeds are always going to get in there anyhow so I just pull them as they sprout.
I think if you want weed free, quick compost then you need to invest in a proper hot compost box, but they are expensive.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.