Composting advice please
 

We would like to start a compost heap in a compost bin but haven't any spare
areas of soil or grass on which to place the composter. Our only possible
area to site the bin is at the bottom of our garden between a shed and some
trellis, but this would mean placing it on patio slabs and not on soil.
We thought of taking up a few patio slabs, introducing some soil and placing
the composter directly on that.
Has anyone any composting experience or advice they can pass on in relation
to our problem...or indeed any composting success stories!
Thanks,

Jo & John (in Essex)

In article ,
Jo wrote:
We would like to start a compost heap in a compost bin but haven't any spare
areas of soil or grass on which to place the composter. Our only possible
area to site the bin is at the bottom of our garden between a shed and some
trellis, but this would mean placing it on patio slabs and not on soil.

Not a big deal. Stand it on bricks, and leave enough space under it
to sluice the effluent away with water and/or a broom when necessary.
Standing it on soil is desirable but not critical.

We thought of taking up a few patio slabs, introducing some soil and placing
the composter directly on that.

You could do that, too.

Has anyone any composting experience or advice they can pass on in relation
to our problem...or indeed any composting success stories!

I don't run that sort of a heap, but the standard recommendation is
Don't Panic! Composting is far more forgiving than most descriptions
make out, so minor variations don't matter, mistakes are rarely serious
and problems can be resolved.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Jo" wrote in message
...
We would like to start a compost heap in a compost bin but haven't any
spare
areas of soil or grass on which to place the composter. Our only
possible
area to site the bin is at the bottom of our garden between a shed and
some
trellis, but this would mean placing it on patio slabs and not on
soil.
We thought of taking up a few patio slabs, introducing some soil and
placing
the composter directly on that.
Has anyone any composting experience or advice they can pass on in
relation
to our problem...or indeed any composting success stories!
Thanks,

Jo & John (in Essex)

My compost bin is on concrete slabs and exposed to full sunshine. I
think that it gets far too hot for worms to survive in there, but I am
not concerned about that because I get good results from the present
system. I notice that you have not mentioned worms so what is your
problem?

An interesting site:

http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/gh_comp.htm

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

"Emrys Davies" wrote in message
...
"Jo" wrote in message
...
We would like to start a compost heap in a compost bin but haven't any
spare
areas of soil or grass on which to place the composter. Our only
possible
area to site the bin is at the bottom of our garden between a shed and
some
trellis, but this would mean placing it on patio slabs and not on
soil.
We thought of taking up a few patio slabs, introducing some soil and
placing
the composter directly on that.
Has anyone any composting experience or advice they can pass on in
relation
to our problem...or indeed any composting success stories!
Thanks,

Jo & John (in Essex)

My compost bin is on concrete slabs and exposed to full sunshine. I
think that it gets far too hot for worms to survive in there, but I am
not concerned about that because I get good results from the present
system. I notice that you have not mentioned worms so what is your
problem?

An interesting site:

http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/gh_comp.htm

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

It was the possible lack of microorganisms from the underlying soil (or
lack of it in my case) that was worrying me. Having never composted before
I was only going by what I have read and it seems that most books implied
that to get the maximum benefit the bin should be in direct contact with
the soil. That way, I suppose worms too!
However, if you are succeeding on slabs then I suppose my worries are
lessened. Thanks for the website - a good basic guide.
Jo

We thought of taking up a few patio slabs, introducing some soil and
placing
the composter directly on that.
Has anyone any composting experience or advice they can pass on in
relation
to our problem...or indeed any composting success stories!
Thanks,

Jo & John (in Essex)

I always recomend siting a compost bin on slabs or bricks with no air space
underneath .......because vermin just love to get into compost bins

I have 8 bins all solid sided with lift off half fronts all made from
pallets pulled apart and reconstructed
Siting them in the sun is by far the best policy for speedy compost
Worms will find their way in anyway
The mixture of ingredients from grass to shredded prunings is the vital
thing and having 2 small bins rather than one big one so you can turn the
mix to speed it up is also better ........a sprinkling of Sulphate of
Ammonia bewteen layers , horse poo if you can get it , shredded paper and
cardboard plus a few buckets of night water and you will have darn good
compost in a year or less

"nambucca" wrote in message
...

We thought of taking up a few patio slabs, introducing some soil and
placing
the composter directly on that.
Has anyone any composting experience or advice they can pass on in
relation
to our problem...or indeed any composting success stories!
Thanks,

Jo & John (in Essex)

I always recomend siting a compost bin on slabs or bricks with no air
space
underneath .......because vermin just love to get into compost bins

I have 8 bins all solid sided with lift off half fronts all made from
pallets pulled apart and reconstructed
Siting them in the sun is by far the best policy for speedy compost
Worms will find their way in anyway
The mixture of ingredients from grass to shredded prunings is the vital
thing and having 2 small bins rather than one big one so you can turn the
mix to speed it up is also better ........a sprinkling of Sulphate of
Ammonia bewteen layers , horse poo if you can get it , shredded paper and
cardboard plus a few buckets of night water and you will have darn good
compost in a year or less


Night water??

Night water??


The waste fluid secreted by the kidneys, transported by the ureters, stored
in the bladder, and voided through the urethra.

"Rupert" wrote in message
...

Night water??


The waste fluid secreted by the kidneys, transported by the ureters,
stored in the bladder, and voided through the urethra.

Ah, sorry for being a little dense! We have been using the same stuff to
keep the foxes away and it works (thanks to the idea from a poster here)!!

Jo

Earthworms are the intenstines of the soil.
- Aristotle -

Regards,
Staszek Nowak
-Poland-

Ah, sorry for being a little dense! We have been using the same stuff to
keep the foxes away and it works (thanks to the idea from a poster
here)!!

Living in North London with a largish garden, I have to say we don't
discourage the foxes at all. Seeing foxy-loxy trot through is a treat for
our girls.

That said, I did need a couple of showers after removing a bush which had
clearly been "marked"!

Paul DS.