On Oct 19, 1:11*am, Andrew Gabb wrote:
YMC wrote:
Due to the layout of the house - I probably need to locate most of my black
plastic compost bins (3/5) to an area of the garden which gets full sun.. I
tried it before - but the worms invariably fry during Summer.

But would the composting process still work? (I'll put a bucket of water
each day to keep it moist)

I have 5 big Gedyes in the open sun (in Adelaide), and I put
everything in them, including roses, couch, ivy, food scraps, etc.
Wouldn't go any other way - I've been doing it for years. I've tried
open, but it's too much work and takes up too much space.

I add the stuff a layer (about 15-20 cm) at a time, with about 2-3
spades of soil and a small scoop of blood and bone, and water each
layer. The food scraps go in from another bin about once a month,
usually with green stuff on top to seal the smell in.

I turn them over about each 4-8 weeks. This is easy with a Gedye -
you just pull the bin off the heap, put it next to the heap, and
shovel the heap back into the bin - about 10 min per bin. I normally
add some water at this stage, particularly in summer. The compost
shrinks so if you're turning over (say) 3 bins you end up with at
least one bin free, which moves to the start of the line.

In hot weather I tend to wet them about once each 2 weeks, with
about a bucketful using spray.

Generally the heap won't work well if it's too dry *or* too wet. It
needs both air and water. It certainly will have troubles if it's
too cold too, which is why they need to be in the sun in winter.

Too things I've found out (pretty obvious really when you think
about how these things work). The heap composts faster and takes
less space if you clip green stuff to lengths of about 30 cm or
less, ie less bushes and more stalks and leaves. Secondly, green
stuff composts much faster than dry stuff.

Works for me.

Andrew
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Andrew Gabb
email: * * * Adelaide, South Australia
phone: +61 8 8342-1021
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try using a compost cage - http://opinonated-*******.blogspot.c...ost-cages.html