Hello,

We are new to gardening, sorry if all of this sounds daff but...

1. We have a brand new composter, basically a green plastic bin with a lid &
a removable base which we've installed in the back corner of our garden. We
have lots of brown leaves from last autumn lying around the garden, should
we put these into the composter first then kitchen wastes like veg.
peelings? which would rot down first basically? and how long does it take
for it all to breakdown into compost? do i need to stir it from time to time
or do i just leave it to do it's thang.

2. the garden wall looks sad & old, still solid though & not falling over
yet... i'm thinking of giving it a once over with a metal brush & patching
up any loose mortar, do i buy ready mixed cement/mortar from a DIY shop &
patch it up & paint it over after with masonry paint to protect it from the
elements? it's already painted white but it looks like it was done many
years ago.

3. we are going to put a wooden trellis on one side of the *repaired* garden
wall once it's done. How do i fix/attach it to the garden wall? We are going
to plant a rose for this trellis & from what i've seen, the trellis needs to
be a few inches away from the wall.

Thanks.

city folks/garden virgins.

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------

"garden virgin" - wrote in message
...
Hello,

We are new to gardening, sorry if all of this sounds daff but...

1. We have a brand new composter, basically a green plastic bin with a lid
&
a removable base which we've installed in the back corner of our garden.
We
have lots of brown leaves from last autumn lying around the garden, should
we put these into the composter first then kitchen wastes like veg.
peelings? which would rot down first basically? and how long does it take
for it all to breakdown into compost? do i need to stir it from time to
time
or do i just leave it to do it's thang.

Put it all in as it comes and build it up to the top. It will settle over
twelve months. we have two, one of which is now only half full due to
rotting down.


2. the garden wall looks sad & old, still solid though & not falling over
yet... i'm thinking of giving it a once over with a metal brush & patching
up any loose mortar, do i buy ready mixed cement/mortar from a DIY shop &
patch it up & paint it over after with masonry paint to protect it from
the
elements? it's already painted white but it looks like it was done many
years ago.

Contact a local builder and see how much it would cost to render it. Not as
much of a cost as you may think. Is it your wall to do this or a neighbour's
wall?


3. we are going to put a wooden trellis on one side of the *repaired*
garden
wall once it's done. How do i fix/attach it to the garden wall? We are
going
to plant a rose for this trellis & from what i've seen, the trellis needs
to
be a few inches away from the wall.

Use cotton reels to stand it off. The latest ones are plastic so will not
rot


Thanks.

city folks/garden virgins.

Mike
My type of gardening :-))

snip
Contact a local builder and see how much it would cost to render it. Not
as
much of a cost as you may think. Is it your wall to do this or a
neighbour's
wall?

It's my own wall... hence i'd like to DIY it ; )

Use cotton reels to stand it off. The latest ones are plastic so will not
rot

ok this i don't understand... am i suppose to put a nail or hook into the
wall & secure the trellis to it? where does the cotton reel come into play?

thanks.

"garden virgin" - wrote in message
...
Hello,

We are new to gardening, sorry if all of this sounds daff but...

1. We have a brand new composter, basically a green plastic bin with a lid
&
a removable base which we've installed in the back corner of our garden.
We
have lots of brown leaves from last autumn lying around the garden, should
we put these into the composter first then kitchen wastes like veg.
peelings? which would rot down first basically? and how long does it take
for it all to breakdown into compost? do i need to stir it from time to
time
or do i just leave it to do it's thang.

I would keep leaves seperate, they can go into a wire netting container, veg
peelings etc and all the rest can go in, will either break down by fungal
action to compost or if your heap ends up like mine it will be full of worms
which eat everything you put in and reduce it to soil. we find we empty ours
about once a year replacing the uneaten top back in the bottom of the MT
heap.


2. the garden wall looks sad & old, still solid though & not falling over
yet... i'm thinking of giving it a once over with a metal brush & patching
up any loose mortar, do i buy ready mixed cement/mortar from a DIY shop &
patch it up & paint it over after with masonry paint to protect it from
the
elements? it's already painted white but it looks like it was done many
years ago.


If you want to do the work yourself, use an old screw driver to rake out the
loose morter, repoint using your hands in a pair of washing up gloves (you
don't sound as if you would be skilled with a trowel!) remember to place a
clean board under where you are working to catch what you drop.
Its cheaper to buy sand and cement seperate but if its only a small area
then ready mix is probebly more convieniant.
You do not need to paint it except for cosmetic reasons.

3. we are going to put a wooden trellis on one side of the *repaired*
garden
wall once it's done. How do i fix/attach it to the garden wall? We are
going
to plant a rose for this trellis & from what i've seen, the trellis needs
to
be a few inches away from the wall.

Yes its a good idea to have an air gap, brick walls are easy enough to raw
plug into, I tend to put up tanalised battens first then the trellise.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

garden virgin wrote:
snip
Contact a local builder and see how much it would cost to render it. Not
as
much of a cost as you may think. Is it your wall to do this or a
neighbour's
wall?

It's my own wall... hence i'd like to DIY it ; )

Use cotton reels to stand it off. The latest ones are plastic so will not
rot

ok this i don't understand... am i suppose to put a nail or hook into the
wall & secure the trellis to it? where does the cotton reel come into play?

thanks.



Long screw (if you'll excuse the expression) through the trellis
(drilled), through the hole in the cotton reel and into a rawl-plug in
the wall.

snip
Long screw (if you'll excuse the expression) through the trellis
(drilled), through the hole in the cotton reel and into a rawl-plug in the
wall.

long screw, drilling, plugs.... says turner.... i'm in tears.. LOL thanks, i
get the idea : )

loosing my garden virginity soon.

garden virgin wrote:
Hello,

We are new to gardening, sorry if all of this sounds daff but...

1. We have a brand new composter, basically a green plastic bin with a lid &
a removable base which we've installed in the back corner of our garden. We
have lots of brown leaves from last autumn lying around the garden, should
we put these into the composter first then kitchen wastes like veg.
peelings? which would rot down first basically? and how long does it take
for it all to breakdown into compost? do i need to stir it from time to time
or do i just leave it to do it's thang.

Don't use the autumn leaves in your composter: they need to break down
slowly by fungi. Bung them in black plastic bags, tie up the tops,
ventilate by sticking your garden fork through a few times, leave in an
inconspicuous place and forget about them until next spring (at least).

Good compost - well, see the FAQs but basically you need a mix of green
and brown and it's best to fill it all at once. It will heat up to 80
deg. C. or more and the volume will decrease dramatically. Repeat many
times over the summer months. Turn it out and mix well to aerate, return
to composter and leave till the spring (not adding anything more) and it
should be ready for use. You can buy compost accelerators but each human
being comes with a ready supply of 'recycled beer' and the male of the
species has been specially designed with an application device.

Finally, if it's on the soil, don't use the plastic bottom, let the
worms get in.

Derek Turner writes

Good compost - well, see the FAQs but basically you need a mix of green
and brown and it's best to fill it all at once. It will heat up to 80
deg. C. or more and the volume will decrease dramatically. Repeat many
times over the summer months. Turn it out and mix well to aerate,
return to composter and leave till the spring (not adding anything
more) and it should be ready for use.

Or, don't worry about all of this, run a 'cold heap', add to it as and
when, and you'll get to the same result, but maybe slower. Tip it out
when you want to use it, use the well rotted stuff from the bottom, and
use the unrotted stuff at the top to start a new heap.

--
Kay

snip
If you want to do the work yourself, use an old screw driver to rake out
the
loose morter, repoint using your hands in a pair of washing up gloves (you
don't sound as if you would be skilled with a trowel!) remember to place a
clean board under where you are working to catch what you drop.
Its cheaper to buy sand and cement seperate but if its only a small area
then ready mix is probebly more convieniant.
You do not need to paint it except for cosmetic reasons.

you are right, no trowel experience. Thanks for the advice.

Yes its a good idea to have an air gap, brick walls are easy enough to raw
plug into, I tend to put up tanalised battens first then the trellise.

tanalised battens... good idea, will look into that.

garden virgin.

snip
Don't use the autumn leaves in your composter: they need to break down
slowly by fungi. Bung them in black plastic bags, tie up the tops,
ventilate by sticking your garden fork through a few times, leave in an
inconspicuous place and forget about them until next spring (at least).

i don't think i've space for bags of autumn leaves in my already small city
garden, would it be possible... just for this year, to dig up part of my
garden (the barren bit) & bury the leaves. I would imagine earthworms would
munch on them, would this work?

You can buy compost accelerators but each human being comes with a ready
supply of 'recycled beer' and the male of the species has been specially
designed with an application device.

blimey is that right? i will be visiting my composter tonight, hope the
neighbours don't look out the windows.

Finally, if it's on the soil, don't use the plastic bottom, let the worms
get in.

Great idea. will do that. Thanks.

garden virgin.

snip
Or, don't worry about all of this, run a 'cold heap', add to it as and
when, and you'll get to the same result, but maybe slower. Tip it out when
you want to use it, use the well rotted stuff from the bottom, and use the
unrotted stuff at the top to start a new heap.

I will definitely remove the plastic bottom as mr turner suggests & possibly
visit it everynight for the dispensation of recycled beer, and run a cold
heap too as you suggests. thank you.

garden virgin

K wrote:
Derek Turner writes


Or, don't worry about all of this, run a 'cold heap', add to it as and
when, and you'll get to the same result, but maybe slower. Tip it out
when you want to use it, use the well rotted stuff from the bottom, and
use the unrotted stuff at the top to start a new heap.


Not quite the same result: a hot heap will sterilise the compost and
kill pathogens and weed seeds. A cool heap works more slowly and you
need to be a little more selective what you put in it (IMO, YMMV).

GV, have you thought about a wormery outside the kitchen door for your
peelings, left-over food etc? works well when space is at a premium.

Derek Turner writes
K wrote:
Derek Turner writes

Or, don't worry about all of this, run a 'cold heap', add to it as
and when, and you'll get to the same result, but maybe slower. Tip it
out when you want to use it, use the well rotted stuff from the
bottom, and use the unrotted stuff at the top to start a new heap.


Not quite the same result: a hot heap will sterilise the compost and
kill pathogens and weed seeds.

I know that's the theory, but I'm not sure that in practice most
gardeners can achieve the heat levels required, and also get all of the
material to that temperature (not just the bit in the centre). It's
easier to do in a big heap.

Weed seeds are ubiquitous in soil, so it's not a major benefit to remove
them from the compost.

A cool heap works more slowly and you need to be a little more
selective what you put in it (IMO, YMMV).

I'd say a cold heap made in the summer will be ready for use next spring
- the poster advising the hot heap was giving much the same timescale -
it surprised me, as I though hot heaps were faster than that.

The only things I wouldn't put i a cold heap are perennial weed roots
(dandelion, bindweed) and diseased material - but I'm not sure that most
people would put those in a hot heap.
--
Kay

On Thu, 6 Apr 2006 10:17:48 +0100, garden virgin wrote
(in message ):

Finally, if it's on the soil, don't use the plastic bottom, let the worms
get in.

Great idea. will do that. Thanks.

I've found it quite useful to have some sort of a bottom on a compost bin- it
means that when necessary I can move it somewhere else- and in my
largely-still-in-the-planning-stage garden I have needed to do this. With
composters that have solid plastic bottoms, it might be that all that is
necessary to give earthworm/insect/etc access to a composter that is sited on
the soil is to make some holes in the base (a hot screwdriver or blade heated
to red hot or nearly so will go through that plastic easily- but have good
ventilation or better still use an electric fan AND have good ventilation if
doing this indoors- some plastics give off cyanide gas when heated this much-
btw this is also a good way of adding more airholes to plastic composters
that don't have enough of them). Earthworms are very good at gettting into
places where they want to be- I keep finding them under planters and such on
concrete paths and inside all sorts of things that are out in the garden-
including potted plants that I'm repotting (and that were potted with sterile
compost, not garden soil). Some of these aren't earthworms but some
definitely are.

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)

K wrote:

I know that's the theory, but I'm not sure that in practice most
gardeners can achieve the heat levels required, and also get all of the
material to that temperature (not just the bit in the centre). It's
easier to do in a big heap.

agreed, but the conical plastic Dalek, and the way the material shrinks
from the sides and falls into the centre seems to compensate somewhat.

Weed seeds are ubiquitous in soil, so it's not a major benefit to remove
them from the compost.

it is if you're using it to make your own potting compost :-)



I'd say a cold heap made in the summer will be ready for use next spring
- the poster advising the hot heap was giving much the same timescale -
it surprised me, as I though hot heaps were faster than that.

That was me, they are, but a single Dalek will take all summer to fill
as the volume decreases dramatically with each 'hot run'. The first lot
will be ready much sooner but there won't be much of it! I put many more
batches in, each on top of the other, each running 'hot' and rapidly
leaving room for the next. By spring you have a (nearly) full Dalek of
usable material. Hope that makes some sort of sense!

The only things I wouldn't put i a cold heap are perennial weed roots
(dandelion, bindweed) and diseased material - but I'm not sure that most
people would put those in a hot heap.

agreed.