So a little update on my compost my ongoing in use bin is hanging in there with some heat at 50° c but all the others are now done to 30ish °c. Lots of leaves to collect at some point and I've managed to get some fresh horse manure as well
Checked the bay I'm currently using this morning and, whilst not at the heady temperatures @Wilderbeast is getting, it was still 25°C despite the outside temp only being 1°C (and had been down to -5°C the night before). That's considerably warmer than our living room!
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
As said before, composting is for everyone (who can be bothered) to help themselves and the environment. You put in as much or as little effort, time and money as you want, but it's all good, you can't fail! This guy shows just how little you can do, by simply throwing what many regard as rubbish into his raised beds and planters: Slash Your Biggest Gardening Cost in 2023 - YouTube
It seems that some are overthinking it and that they somehow don't have the ingredients to do it, lets look at it this way: Compost is on a scale of 25 to 100. You can make 25% strength or 100% strength compost. It doesn't matter what you make, if you end up with 25% strength compost it's better than O, so make it and use it. Your plants would rather have some, than none. It all saves on waste and all does some good.
I like his no nonsense take on compost, re use of old stuff for the right growing medium etc. He also has several topics on his channel that look interesting so plenty to watch in the coming dark evenings. Thank you for the link Mike.
Dowding set up a heap in his greenhouse, then used the heat to start off his seedlings early: Hotbeds – an old way to raise new plants - YouTube Make sure you read the comments below, a lot of different gasses are produced too and they make no mention of methane....
Just been up to check the temp in one of my bays, 8c. I think the most it's been since I started composting in earnest is about 15c when the weather was warmer in the autumn. It has a good mix of green and brown but no grass clippings. Bearing in mind the Kingspan insulation round it including the top I'm disappointed that it hasn't got any warmer especially at the beginning. It's rotting down, about 12ins but I'm obviously doing something wrong but don't know what.
It's probably not you doing anything wrong @Uff. You can only work with the material you have available to compost and you have to rely on the composting organisms finding their own way into your heap and doing their stuff. You've obviously tried your best to insulate it but maybe the winter isn't the best time to judge success. Mine is pretty cool and fairly inactive at the moment.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Posts
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
This guy shows just how little you can do, by simply throwing what many regard as rubbish into his raised beds and planters:
Slash Your Biggest Gardening Cost in 2023 - YouTube
It seems that some are overthinking it and that they somehow don't have the ingredients to do it, lets look at it this way:
Compost is on a scale of 25 to 100.
You can make 25% strength or 100% strength compost. It doesn't matter what you make, if you end up with 25% strength compost it's better than O, so make it and use it. Your plants would rather have some, than none.
It all saves on waste and all does some good.
Hotbeds – an old way to raise new plants - YouTube
Make sure you read the comments below, a lot of different gasses are produced too and they make no mention of methane....
It's rotting down, about 12ins but I'm obviously doing something wrong but don't know what.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border