I just got a plastric compost bin. It has three small slots on either side
near the top, presumably for ventialtion, and that's it- other than the open
base and the removable top there is no other ventilation. That leaves a lot
of plastic- the thing is about four feet high! In this respect it looks like
it wasn't very well designed.

Does this sound like a good idea- I just go and drill a lot of small holes
around it with a drill to increase the ventilation?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)

"VX" wrote in message
s.com...
I just got a plastric compost bin. It has three small slots on either side
near the top, presumably for ventialtion, and that's it- other than the
open
base and the removable top there is no other ventilation. That leaves a
lot
of plastic- the thing is about four feet high! In this respect it looks
like
it wasn't very well designed.

Does this sound like a good idea- I just go and drill a lot of small holes
around it with a drill to increase the ventilation?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)



I've got two bins - one is as you describe with holes around the top, the
other has none at all. Both bins make equally as good compost, its all in
the mix.
I know that the books tell you that you should stir up the brew every now
and then, all I do is add many different items and occasionally stir the top
3 or 4 inches around, this seems to work for me. Also, during summer make
sure that you save the kitchen waste to mix with the grass cuttings before
adding them.
The one thing I've stopped adding to the bin is potato peelings, they sprout
out all over the garden, I'm sure someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Steve

The message
from "80/20" contains these words:


The one thing I've stopped adding to the bin is potato peelings, they
sprout
out all over the garden, I'm sure someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Summat's wrong with your potato peeling technique for a start :-) I
bet you're one of the male heathen who ever so slowly hack off wedges
of outer potato, and all the vitamins, and bits of knuckle, with a
knife. Try a hand-held potato peeling tool, preferably from Lancashire,
and your fast, even, paper- thin potato peels will never have enough
substance to sprout again.

Also, you may be spreading the compost bin contents prematurely. When
it's ready to take out and use, it should be a loose dark puddingy cake
of decomposed material, no sign of a potato peeling, elderly carrot top
etc. Only eggshells and avocado pips ever remain identifiable in mine.

Janet

In article ,
Janet Baraclough writes:
|
| Summat's wrong with your potato peeling technique for a start :-) I
| bet you're one of the male heathen who ever so slowly hack off wedges
| of outer potato, and all the vitamins, and bits of knuckle, with a
| knife. Try a hand-held potato peeling tool, preferably from Lancashire,
| and your fast, even, paper- thin potato peels will never have enough
| substance to sprout again.

MALE? I introduced my wife to those, because she had been taught
to use a knife by her mother.

It took YEARS to convince her that potatoes were better unpeeled
in almost all recipes. Yes, I agree that I am unusual in demanding
that mashed potatoes are better made with unpeeled potatoes :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote in message
...


It took YEARS to convince her that potatoes were better unpeeled
in almost all recipes. Yes, I agree that I am unusual in demanding
that mashed potatoes are better made with unpeeled potatoes :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


I never peel potatoes for mashing either. I like the better flavour.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "80/20" contains these words:


The one thing I've stopped adding to the bin is potato peelings, they
sprout
out all over the garden, I'm sure someone can tell me what I'm doing
wrong.

Summat's wrong with your potato peeling technique for a start :-) I
bet you're one of the male heathen who ever so slowly hack off wedges
of outer potato, and all the vitamins, and bits of knuckle, with a
knife. Try a hand-held potato peeling tool, preferably from Lancashire,
and your fast, even, paper- thin potato peels will never have enough
substance to sprout again.

Also, you may be spreading the compost bin contents prematurely. When
it's ready to take out and use, it should be a loose dark puddingy cake
of decomposed material, no sign of a potato peeling, elderly carrot top
etc. Only eggshells and avocado pips ever remain identifiable in mine.

Janet

First: I own up to being male - or at least the last time I looked I was.
Second: I don't mind admitting that I do the preparing of the potatoes,
carrots, parsnips, swede, etc.
Third: I do use a peeler thingy - goodness know from where.
Four: The crops are organic and yes sometimes things aren't as "perfect" as
the washed Supermarket ones so I cut things out. They could just be the
sprouting bits.
Fifth: As Geoff Hamilton always said the compost smell, looks and feels good
enough to eat.
Sixth: Yes I've given up on eggshells, they never breakdown like the books
tell you.
Seventh: The garden has flourished on the compost as originally we had
yellow clay, now we have a fine tilth.
Eight: Might of guessed a woman (wo of men) would blame the peeler :-}

Cheers
Steve

Hi, I have drilled holes in our compost bin, just as you say. Here's
the longer story...

We have one of those plastic compost bins, and to be honest haven't
found them that good, most likely I think because of the difficulty in
getting air into the compost, the small(ish) volume of material, and
the way that, if you only have one bin, you have to keep adding new
unrotted stuff to it. It never just magically comes out of the bottom
looking brown and crumbley as the people who make them seem to suggest
it does.

Anyway, I now have two other (wooden 1m x 1m x 1m) compost bins. I
fill one over about 4-6 months, then take out the contents (this adds
air, mixes the material and allows me to adjust the moisture level) and
put it into the next bin. 4 months later when I need to move the next
batch I take the first batch out the the second bin and place in the
third - my old plastic bin. The plastic bin holds a smaller volume,
which is why I put it last in the cycle, because the rotting process
has caused the compost to reduce in volume quite significantly by this
stage. We have drilled holes in the sides of the plastic bin at the
level of the compost to aid aeration just like you suggest and I try to
give it a bit of a stir occaisionally too.

I wouldn't say this is the best composting system by any means, some
people definitely go from raw material to mature compost much quicker
than it takes me (which is a bit more than a year) but it's a huge
improvement on what I was trying to do with the one plastic bin!!!

We tried this after someone else commented how they felt the turning of
the compost was the biggest factor in how long the compost took to
mature. I can't disagree.

Hope all that's of interest, good luck,

Clare.

In article .com,
(Clare) wrote:

It never just magically comes out of the bottom
looking brown and crumbley as the people who make them seem to suggest
it does.

I think if you left it long enough, it would. Maybe a year?

We tried this after someone else commented how they felt the turning
of the compost was the biggest factor in how long the compost took to
mature. I can't disagree.

Yes, I empty my dalek into an old coal bunker after about 4 months.
Compost is ready in 7-9 months.

The dalek is a convenient receptacle for the first stage.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 18:10:06 +0000, Steve Harris wrote
(in message ):


We tried this after someone else commented how they felt the turning
of the compost was the biggest factor in how long the compost took to
mature. I can't disagree.

Yes, I empty my dalek into an old coal bunker after about 4 months.
Compost is ready in 7-9 months.

The dalek is a convenient receptacle for the first stage.

Steve Harris

I'm still not quite getting this! So the dalek is ok for the first few
months- then what goes wrong? If I just kept turning it and ensured better
aeration, is there some reason this wouldn't work?

What advantage does the coal bunker have?

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)

Steve Harris wrote:

Yes, I empty my dalek into an old coal bunker after about 4 months.
Compost is ready in 7-9 months.

How do you empty your dalek? I can just about fit a spade through the
tiny hatch at the bottom of mine, and bring it out with a small amount
of compost on it. It's flimsy enough that I get the feeling it would
crack if I tipped it over.

Rhiannon

In article ,
(Rhiannon Macfie Miller) wrote:

How do you empty your dalek?

Lift it off, then fork the pile into the coal bunker.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

In article m,
(VX) wrote:

So the dalek is ok for the first few
months- then what goes wrong? If I just kept turning it and ensured
better aeration, is there some reason this wouldn't work?

It probably would work but where would you put new compost materials?

What advantage does the coal bunker have?

It is a second container. It was free.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 20:28:42 +0000, Rhiannon Macfie Miller
wrote:

Steve Harris wrote:

Yes, I empty my dalek into an old coal bunker after about 4 months.
Compost is ready in 7-9 months.

How do you empty your dalek? I can just about fit a spade through the
tiny hatch at the bottom of mine, and bring it out with a small amount
of compost on it. It's flimsy enough that I get the feeling it would
crack if I tipped it over.

Rhiannon

I find the best thing is one of those 'claws'. Ram it in hard. twist
and turn it, loosen the compost then use a fork to drag it out. Only
then does the spade come into play for lifting the compost.

I've been looking at those link-a-bord constructions.
(http://www.linkabord.co.uk/

I saw the adverts in Gardening News.

They do compost bins as well as supplying boards for raised beds etc.
Would the twin walled plastic be okay for a bin? I was thinking that if
I stand it on wire mesh (upturned all round) it would be rat proof.
It also wouldn't rot as fast as my pallet built bins do !
Would they be too airtight for good compost?
Not sure I'd put flowers on top of lid as I would have to move them
every time I filled the bin up but it seemed a better idea than a bin
that my dogs can dig and that rats might get into.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Amersham Gardening Association
http://www.amersham-gardening.net