Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

There is an advert in the RHS magazine for an Earthmaker compost bin.
It's a peculiar shape and advertises with a bit of scientific
explanation.
Website is
www.earthmaker.co.uk

is it an improvement on the normal design or just a gimmick? I have a
lot of shredding to do in the next few weeks and it would be nice to put
it in a new bin as all mine are currently full up. Don't want to put too
much on the garden as mulch until the end of the summer as things dry
out very quickly.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article ,
says...
There is an advert in the RHS magazine for an Earthmaker compost bin.
It's a peculiar shape and advertises with a bit of scientific
explanation.
Website is
www.earthmaker.co.uk

is it an improvement on the normal design or just a gimmick? I have a
lot of shredding to do in the next few weeks and it would be nice to put
it in a new bin as all mine are currently full up. Don't want to put too
much on the garden as mulch until the end of the summer as things dry
out very quickly.

Janet

Well it will work, but so will a black dalek at £5, Thought £129 was
outrageous. I would buy 3 or 4 standard bins, however clever it is the
volume at the top was not very large and I suspect you would fill it
within an hour of starting your shredding.
(This time of year I shred into bags and stuff round the back of things
till I start cutting back in autumn and can see the ground again!)
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article , Charlie
Pridham writes

Well it will work, but so will a black dalek at £5, Thought £129 was
outrageous. I would buy 3 or 4 standard bins, however clever it is the
volume at the top was not very large and I suspect you would fill it
within an hour of starting your shredding.
(This time of year I shred into bags and stuff round the back of things
till I start cutting back in autumn and can see the ground again!)


Thought it might be over the top Charlie, thanks for the input.
I have been trying to clear the rotten pallets from the back of the
garden , (they sued to be in the form of three huge bins but sadly
decomposed!)
The two gardens at the back dump all their waste at the bottom of their
plots but this means that they are about 4 foot higher than mine!
They also have a lot of ivy left to grow up into the trees and what were
hawthorn hedges and this would creep into my bins if i don't use a solid
barrier such as a plastic or wooden frame.

I intended to clear everything flat at the bag, then put down weed
suppressant and gravel and then put the new bins on top so that they
have a gap from the hedge and I can hack back the ivy easily.

At the moment I have sited my five bins one to a deep bed so that I will
only have to lift the bin and disgorge the contents each time :)
Having cut the hedges and pruning back the shrubs I'll have tons of
shredding so I need a new bin.

Think plastic bags might be an idea but can get torn if rats or dogs
after rats start tearing at them:)

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article ,
says...
Think plastic bags might be an idea but can get torn if rats or dogs
after rats start tearing at them:)


If its just shreddings they are not interested. I use old compost bags
not bin bags they are not strong enough, and I have some black shade
netting I can drap over them if they can be seen :~)
Since the last post I have done some shredding it took 13 mins to fill a
bin! (mostly forsythia apple and sycamore)
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

Charlie Pridham wrote:
In article ,
says...
There is an advert in the RHS magazine for an Earthmaker compost bin.
It's a peculiar shape and advertises with a bit of scientific
explanation.
Website is
www.earthmaker.co.uk

is it an improvement on the normal design or just a gimmick? I have a
lot of shredding to do in the next few weeks and it would be nice to put
it in a new bin as all mine are currently full up. Don't want to put too
much on the garden as mulch until the end of the summer as things dry
out very quickly.

Janet

Well it will work, but so will a black dalek at £5, Thought £129 was
outrageous. I would buy 3 or 4 standard bins, however clever it is the
volume at the top was not very large and I suspect you would fill it
within an hour of starting your shredding.
(This time of year I shred into bags and stuff round the back of things
till I start cutting back in autumn and can see the ground again!)

I don't imagine the contents fall into the next container down in an
orderly fashion either.

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

stuart noble wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:
In article ,
says...
There is an advert in the RHS magazine for an Earthmaker compost bin.
It's a peculiar shape and advertises with a bit of scientific
explanation.
Website is
www.earthmaker.co.uk

is it an improvement on the normal design or just a gimmick? I have a
lot of shredding to do in the next few weeks and it would be nice to
put it in a new bin as all mine are currently full up. Don't want to
put too much on the garden as mulch until the end of the summer as
things dry out very quickly.

Janet

Well it will work, but so will a black dalek at £5, Thought £129 was
outrageous. I would buy 3 or 4 standard bins, however clever it is the
volume at the top was not very large and I suspect you would fill it
within an hour of starting your shredding.
(This time of year I shred into bags and stuff round the back of
things till I start cutting back in autumn and can see the ground again!)

I don't imagine the contents fall into the next container down in an
orderly fashion either.
I built three approximately 1 cubic meter bins earlier this year. The
idea being to fill 2 then move into the third as appropriate. They work
well but I have all three full! I only have a garden of about 1/2 and
acre. I simply used pallets from building sites. The builders were happy
to get rid of them, I even reused the nails during construction. I
certainly could not afford those prices.

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article , Broadback
writes

I simply used pallets from building sites. The builders were happy to
get rid of them, I even reused the nails during construction. I
certainly could not afford those prices.

I did use pallets but they rotted within a year and now i have to try
and separate them from the compost! They are half joined together and
half rotten so a bit of a pain to dismantle.
Have been recommended to look at wiggly wigglers 900litre wooden bin. A
gardener friend says that the wood alone would be more than £100 so they
don't look as expensive as at first. I can also add on to them as well.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article ,
Janet Tweedy writes:
| In article , Broadback
| writes
|
| I simply used pallets from building sites. The builders were happy to
| get rid of them, I even reused the nails during construction. I
| certainly could not afford those prices.
|
| I did use pallets but they rotted within a year and now i have to try
| and separate them from the compost! They are half joined together and
| half rotten so a bit of a pain to dismantle.
| Have been recommended to look at wiggly wigglers 900litre wooden bin. A
| gardener friend says that the wood alone would be more than £100 so they
| don't look as expensive as at first. I can also add on to them as well.

Or you could do what I do.

You buy 8-10 metres of pig netting, cut it in half and tie it
together with 1.5 mm galvanised iron wire, forming two loops.
You then hammer four 2 metre lengths of gas pipe, old swing tube
or whatever into the ground, holding the loops in a square.
When you come to remove it, you work the pipe out and lift the
netting off (it can be a bit of a pain, but it's not too bad).

You can put a loop of polythene inside the wire, or not, as
you want - with a lot of woody stuff, it works better with, but
gets too wet if you have too much kitchen waste.

And I just move it around the patch. Lasts for ages, and costs
very little.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

Janet Tweedy writes
In article , Broadback
writes


I did use pallets but they rotted within a year and now i have to try
and separate them from the compost!

They'd last longer if you applied preservative first.
--
Kay

Janet If you buy your gravel in 1 ton bags, they make good compost bags. Just fill them up and put old carpet or something over them.

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article , Granity
writes

Janet If you buy your gravel in 1 ton bags, they make good compost
bags. Just fill them up and put old carpet or something over them.



That's a good idea! I have two bags at the moment but all my pots are in
them to keep them in one place! Big pots in one little pots in the
other.
Someone has recommended the wiggly wigglers modular composter wooden bin
http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop...d=118&-session
=shopper:50B1D0D0139b430D5AXJFE10156E
as being long lasting etc. but it is expensive so I might find somewhere
to store the pots as all I need this new bin for is shreddings for the
moment.

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

Or you could do what I do.

You buy 8-10 metres of pig netting, cut it in half and tie it
together with 1.5 mm galvanised iron wire, forming two loops.
You then hammer four 2 metre lengths of gas pipe, old swing tube
or whatever into the ground, holding the loops in a square.
When you come to remove it, you work the pipe out and lift the
netting off (it can be a bit of a pain, but it's not too bad).

You can put a loop of polythene inside the wire, or not, as
you want - with a lot of woody stuff, it works better with, but
gets too wet if you have too much kitchen waste.

And I just move it around the patch. Lasts for ages, and costs
very little.



Not sure if I understand why you cut it in half and then tie it
together? (Absolutely hopeless at thinking in 3d)

However I'll certainly consider it.
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article ,
Janet Tweedy writes:
| | You buy 8-10 metres of pig netting, cut it in half and tie it
| together with 1.5 mm galvanised iron wire, forming two loops.
| You then hammer four 2 metre lengths of gas pipe, old swing tube
| or whatever into the ground, holding the loops in a square.
| When you come to remove it, you work the pipe out and lift the
| netting off (it can be a bit of a pain, but it's not too bad).
|
| Not sure if I understand why you cut it in half and then tie it
| together? (Absolutely hopeless at thinking in 3d)

You tie the two ends of each section to each other, not the
two sections together!

A square with a circumference of 10 metres has sides of 2.5
metres - that is too large for a heap, as it becomes anaerobic
in the centre. Halving it makes two squares with 1.25 metre
sides.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes


You tie the two ends of each section to each other, not the
two sections together!

A square with a circumference of 10 metres has sides of 2.5
metres - that is too large for a heap, as it becomes anaerobic
in the centre. Halving it makes two squares with 1.25 metre
sides.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



Sorry Nick, got you now, seems the easiest of all solutions. Certainly
got some wire for that.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Earthmaker compost bin good or gimmick?
 

In article ,
says...
In article , Nick Maclaren
writes


You tie the two ends of each section to each other, not the
two sections together!

A square with a circumference of 10 metres has sides of 2.5
metres - that is too large for a heap, as it becomes anaerobic
in the centre. Halving it makes two squares with 1.25 metre
sides.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



Sorry Nick, got you now, seems the easiest of all solutions. Certainly
got some wire for that.

Janet

I told my son about the big builders bag idea, apparently they can be got
for £5, I thought that was a brilliant idea as you could scrunch it up
and remove it at any time it became empty. But I suspect Nick's method
looks very purposeful
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea