Composting Question
 

In the FAQ, use of a general purpose fertiliser as an accelerator is
mentioned.
Is something like growmore appropriate which is largely insoluble in
water due to its slow release characteristics or should I look for
ammonium nitrate in its soluble form?
I know I could pee on it but I do have to respect the neighbours lol

My current heap is not rotting down at all well and is predominantly
autumn leaves and I'm starting to add grass cuttings which I read can be
a problem. I'm planning to water it and hence the thought of adding
soluble nitrogen.

tia

Bob

Composting Question
 

The message
from Bob Minchin contains these words:

In the FAQ, use of a general purpose fertiliser as an accelerator is
mentioned.
Is something like growmore appropriate which is largely insoluble in
water due to its slow release characteristics or should I look for
ammonium nitrate in its soluble form?
I know I could pee on it but I do have to respect the neighbours lol

My current heap is not rotting down at all well and is predominantly
autumn leaves and I'm starting to add grass cuttings which I read can be
a problem. I'm planning to water it and hence the thought of adding
soluble nitrogen.

The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

If the heap is in a suitably secluded spot, the bottle/jar/w.h.y? may be
discarded.

HTH, AHANP

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

Composting Question
 

Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

noted ta:)

Although I must add, t'will be my David wot does it, not I:)

Composting Question
 

In message , Ophelia
writes
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

noted ta:)

Although I must add, t'will be my David wot does it, not I:)


Funnel?
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

Composting Question
 

In message ,
Rusty_Hinge writes
The message
from Bob Minchin contains these words:

In the FAQ, use of a general purpose fertiliser as an accelerator is
mentioned.
Is something like growmore appropriate which is largely insoluble in
water due to its slow release characteristics or should I look for
ammonium nitrate in its soluble form?
I know I could pee on it but I do have to respect the neighbours lol

My current heap is not rotting down at all well and is predominantly
autumn leaves and I'm starting to add grass cuttings which I read can be
a problem. I'm planning to water it and hence the thought of adding
soluble nitrogen.

The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

If the heap is in a suitably secluded spot, the bottle/jar/w.h.y? may be
discarded.

HTH, AHANP

OTOH (;-), should there be no modesty inducing shrubbery easily
accessible there is always Garotta which seems quite effective, if not
fostering the same level of personal involvement.
--
Gopher .... I know my place!

Composting Question
 

Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from Bob Minchin contains these words:

In the FAQ, use of a general purpose fertiliser as an accelerator is
mentioned.
Is something like growmore appropriate which is largely insoluble in
water due to its slow release characteristics or should I look for
ammonium nitrate in its soluble form?
I know I could pee on it but I do have to respect the neighbours lol

My current heap is not rotting down at all well and is predominantly
autumn leaves and I'm starting to add grass cuttings which I read can be
a problem. I'm planning to water it and hence the thought of adding
soluble nitrogen.

The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

If the heap is in a suitably secluded spot, the bottle/jar/w.h.y? may be
discarded.

HTH, AHANP


I collect pee exactly for this purpose. Some plastic detergent bottles
are ideal for the purpose as they have an extra wide neck :-) and keep
such a bottle in the bathroom.
I tip this into a watering can and top up with water (20% pee 80% water).
It works very well.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Composting Question
 

Gopher wrote:
OTOH (;-), should there be no modesty inducing shrubbery easily
accessible there is always Garotta which seems quite effective, if not
fostering the same level of personal involvement.

Ahaaa. I have heard of that!!

saved Thank you:)

If you had the choice and if modesty and cost were not a consideration,
which would you choose?

Composting Question
 

In message , Ophelia
writes
Gopher wrote:
OTOH (;-), should there be no modesty inducing shrubbery easily
accessible there is always Garotta which seems quite effective, if not
fostering the same level of personal involvement.

Ahaaa. I have heard of that!!

saved Thank you:)

If you had the choice and if modesty and cost were not a consideration,
which would you choose?

It would depend on mood, age, liquid consumption and various other
intangibles. Also exact location of compost heap and wind direction.
Taking everything into consideration I'd probably (indeed _have_ for the
last few years) for Garotta. It's not as cheap as second hand
beer/tea/water etc. but it lasts quite well if kept dry.
--
Gopher .... I know my place!

Composting Question
 

Gordon H wrote:
In message , Ophelia
writes
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

noted ta:)

Although I must add, t'will be my David wot does it, not I:)


Funnel?

Ba'ave yersel'!!!

Composting Question
 

David in Normandy wrote:
I collect pee exactly for this purpose. Some plastic detergent bottles
are ideal for the purpose as they have an extra wide neck :-) and keep
such a bottle in the bathroom.
I tip this into a watering can and top up with water (20% pee 80%
water). It works very well.

Thank you saved

Composting Question
 

Gopher wrote:
In message , Ophelia
writes
Gopher wrote:
OTOH (;-), should there be no modesty inducing shrubbery easily
accessible there is always Garotta which seems quite effective, if
not fostering the same level of personal involvement.

Ahaaa. I have heard of that!!

saved Thank you:)

If you had the choice and if modesty and cost were not a
consideration, which would you choose?

It would depend on mood, age, liquid consumption and various other
intangibles. Also exact location of compost heap and wind direction.
Taking everything into consideration I'd probably (indeed _have_ for
the last few years) for Garotta. It's not as cheap as second hand
beer/tea/water etc. but it lasts quite well if kept dry.

Hmmmm given all those variables, I might be forced to agree:) Thank you:)

Composting Question
 

On Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:00:43 +0100, Bob Minchin wrote:



My current heap is not rotting down at all well and is predominantly
autumn leaves

For future reference, do NOT put autumn leaves in the compost heap/bin.
Composting is a bacterial process, autumn leaves need to be broken down
by fungi, which is a much slower process. Gather them up into plastic bin-
liners, seal the tops with tape, stab each bag with a garden fork a few
times and forget about them until the spring/summer after next. Trees are
not stupid: they take all the goodness out of leaves before dropping
them, all that is left is organic matter that will become leaf-mold then
humus in the soil. Add to improve the soil condition but /not/ to add
fertility. Compost is compost, leaf-mold is leaf-mold - is different (to
paraphrase Tom Conti)

Composting Question
 

The message
from Gordon H contains these words:
In message , Ophelia
writes
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The very best accelerator is -

Hide in the shrubbery and pee into a bottle/jar/w.h.y?

Add to compost.

noted ta:)

Although I must add, t'will be my David wot does it, not I:)


Funnel?

Ophelia
"Think what funnel have with that!
/Ophelia

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

Composting Question
 

The message
from "Ophelia" contains these words:
Gopher wrote:
In message , Ophelia
writes
Gopher wrote:

OTOH (;-), should there be no modesty inducing shrubbery easily
accessible there is always Garotta which seems quite effective, if
not fostering the same level of personal involvement.

Ahaaa. I have heard of that!!

saved Thank you:)

If you had the choice and if modesty and cost were not a
consideration, which would you choose?

It would depend on mood, age, liquid consumption and various other
intangibles. Also exact location of compost heap and wind direction.
Taking everything into consideration I'd probably (indeed _have_ for
the last few years) for Garotta. It's not as cheap as second hand
beer/tea/water etc. but it lasts quite well if kept dry.

Hmmmm given all those variables, I might be forced to agree:) Thank you:)

Well, you can discount the 'wind direction' component - there's
absolutely no indication of 'additive drift', except perhaps if you have
a very large family which drinks inordinate amounts, and you have a very
small compost heap.

My compost heap generally accepts a couple of litres a day, and you'd
never know.

Or perhaps I have a permanent cold?

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

Composting Question
 

The message
from Derek Turner contains these words:
On Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:00:43 +0100, Bob Minchin wrote:

My current heap is not rotting down at all well and is predominantly
autumn leaves

For future reference, do NOT put autumn leaves in the compost heap/bin.
Composting is a bacterial process, autumn leaves need to be broken down
by fungi, which is a much slower process. Gather them up into plastic bin-
liners, seal the tops with tape, stab each bag with a garden fork a few
times and forget about them until the spring/summer after next. Trees are
not stupid: they take all the goodness out of leaves before dropping
them, all that is left is organic matter that will become leaf-mold then
humus in the soil. Add to improve the soil condition but /not/ to add
fertility. Compost is compost, leaf-mold is leaf-mold - is different (to
paraphrase Tom Conti)

All good stuff - except - that trees not only 'download' as much useful
stuff as possible from the leaves before they fall, but deposit there
waste-products.

These are useless to trees as compounds, but not necessarily to other
plants, especially after decomposition by bacteria and/or fungi, and the
leaf-mould will have nutrients a-plenty.

Leaf-mold, OTOH, is USAnian, therefore Not British[TM] and not so good.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk