I am using one of those plastic compost bins (like
an upside down dustbin without a bottom)
Been putting kitchen scraps etc in it for some time
now.
I have just lifted it up to remove the rotted stuff from
the bottom, all seems to have rotted quite nicely but
it is very wet and soggy.
should it be like that or am I doing something wrong ??

Wally

In article ,
"Wally" writes:
| I am using one of those plastic compost bins (like
| an upside down dustbin without a bottom)
| Been putting kitchen scraps etc in it for some time
| now.
| I have just lifted it up to remove the rotted stuff from
| the bottom, all seems to have rotted quite nicely but
| it is very wet and soggy.
| should it be like that or am I doing something wrong ??

Read Kipling's "In the Neothlithic Age" :-)

If it works, you are doing it right. That sort of material in
that sort of composter will make a soggy compost. The way I
compost, it would be wrong, but there would be material that had
not broken down.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

In article ,
"Wally" writes:
| I am using one of those plastic compost bins (like
| an upside down dustbin without a bottom)
| Been putting kitchen scraps etc in it for some time
| now.
| I have just lifted it up to remove the rotted stuff from
| the bottom, all seems to have rotted quite nicely but
| it is very wet and soggy.
| should it be like that or am I doing something wrong ??

Read Kipling's "In the Neothlithic Age" :-)

If it works, you are doing it right.

Is the correct answer.

The fact that there are nearly as many different styles of making
compost as there are people doing it and most of them are successful
shows that nature only needs a small helping hand, mostly in the form of
making a nice neat pile of your raw materials, is the ultimate clue.


--
steve auvache

In article ,
steve auvache writes:
| In article , Nick Maclaren
| writes
|
| Read Kipling's "In the Neothlithic Age" :-)
|
| If it works, you are doing it right.
|
| Is the correct answer.
|
| The fact that there are nearly as many different styles of making
| compost as there are people doing it and most of them are successful
| shows that nature only needs a small helping hand, mostly in the form of
| making a nice neat pile of your raw materials, is the ultimate clue.

Precisely. However, "Neothlithic" is just plain wrong! I must be
getting old. Try "Neolithic" :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Some people recommend adding a bit of 'brown' stuff to it to get a dryer
blend. Torn up cardboard or woody plant cuttings for instance.
Davy

"Wally" wrote in message
...
I am using one of those plastic compost bins (like
an upside down dustbin without a bottom)
Been putting kitchen scraps etc in it for some time
now.
I have just lifted it up to remove the rotted stuff from
the bottom, all seems to have rotted quite nicely but
it is very wet and soggy.
should it be like that or am I doing something wrong ??

Wally

Thank you for your replies, I think I will vary the
contents a bit more in the future.
Just another thought, would it help if I cut some more
holes around the bin?? at the momment there is only
about six holes right near the bottom and only small
ones at that.
I have heard somewhere that air need to circulate
around the compost.

Wally

Wally wrote:

I have just lifted it up to remove the rotted stuff from
the bottom, all seems to have rotted quite nicely but
it is very wet and soggy.
should it be like that or am I doing something wrong ??

Silly question: is it directly on the soil or on a concrete/waterproof
base?

Greg
--
The flowers in the garden, the wine
The Waiting for Godot, and so much modern time
No ficus = no spam

"Gregoire Kretz" wrote in message
.. .
Wally wrote:

I have just lifted it up to remove the rotted stuff from
the bottom, all seems to have rotted quite nicely but
it is very wet and soggy.
should it be like that or am I doing something wrong ??

Silly question: is it directly on the soil or on a concrete/waterproof
base?

Greg
--
Direct onto soil Greg and plenty of worms getting in.

Wally

Hi Wally,

I've seen a lot of these black plastic composters over the last few years, and they all seem to need a bit of help to make decent compost - over-wetness is the usual problem, and adding dry stuff is a good response: shredded paper works well, so there's a good way to dispose of your anti-identity-theft shredded documents! Careful how you tip them in though, on a windy day they escape and go galloping all over the garden.....

You might also benefit from stirring it around a bit, and I have heard of a special compost stirring tool that seems to be well-received. Or, get an old broom handle, or spade/fork type handle, and bang some very large nails into it, near to the bottom. Insert, twist to and fro, remove.

If your worms are red ones, by the way, then you are doing well and it will eventually turn into good compost. If the red worms are all hanging around at the top when you take the lid off (ie inside the rim) that is a sign that it's definitely too wet.


Hope this helps,

Rachel

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Thank you for your replies, I think I will vary the
contents a bit more in the future.
Just another thought, would it help if I cut some more
holes around the bin?? at the momment there is only
about six holes right near the bottom and only small
ones at that.
I have heard somewhere that air need to circulate
around the compost.

Wally

the way you are doing it will be just fine. All the kitchen scraps I bung in
the plastic bin break down in time, but during this process they are watery
& rotting. Provided you leave things long enough the end result will be
decent compost. When the compost is spread it will dry out well enough. As
long as you are happy to leave the contents in the compost bin for long
enough the job will be done.

rob

In article ,
"Wally" writes:
| Thank you for your replies, I think I will vary the
| contents a bit more in the future.

However, putting woody material (even privet hedge clippings) into
your sort of heap is a Bad Idea. The lignin in wood is is broken
down by fungi, not bacteria - they can't handle anaerobic conditions
and don't even like very wet, poorly oxygenated, ones. On my sort
of heap, there isn't a problem.

Soft prunings aren't a problem, even ones that have withered and gone
brown, and will help.

Whether that will apply to cardboard, I don't know. Incidentally,
if a Web site refers to 'green' and 'brown' material, it is a New
Age site and best ignored. Some talk some sense, but many are
complete claptrap.

| Just another thought, would it help if I cut some more
| holes around the bin?? at the momment there is only
| about six holes right near the bottom and only small
| ones at that.
| I have heard somewhere that air need to circulate
| around the compost.

Not necessarily in your sort of heap. There are enough bacteria
that will break down soft material in very wet and poorly oxygenated
conditions for it not to matter. And it's got to have a fair amount
of oxygen, or you wouldn't get worms.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Wally wrote:

"Gregoire Kretz" wrote in message
.. .

Silly question: is it directly on the soil or on a concrete/waterproof
base?
--
Direct onto soil Greg and plenty of worms getting in.

That's rather good, and will spare you my next question.

As other people suggested, maybe a bit of 'brown' stuff will help. Some
people even add bits of cardborad they want to get rid of (obviously the
non-bleached, non printed kind).

Do you stir it occasionnally? It's by no means mandatory, you'll get
good compost in the end, but it tends to balance the content.


Greg

--
The flowers in the garden, the wine
The Waiting for Godot, and so much modern time
No ficus = no spam