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#1
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Compost bin
I am very new to gardening so forgive me if my question is facile. I got a
compost bin free from my local council - it's one of those large black ones that looks a bit like a Dalek :-) I put my organic kitchen and garden waste in there. Every time I take the lid off I am greeted by a swarm of smallish flies (I guess they're not really "flies"). Is this normal? Would this indicate that my compost is not well? Any answers would be gratefully received. Regards, Gavin |
#2
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In article , gavin wrote:
I am very new to gardening so forgive me if my question is facile. I got a compost bin free from my local council - it's one of those large black ones that looks a bit like a Dalek :-) I put my organic kitchen and garden waste in there. Every time I take the lid off I am greeted by a swarm of smallish flies (I guess they're not really "flies"). Is this normal? Would this indicate that my compost is not well? Yes and no, respectively :-) Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#3
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"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... In article , gavin wrote: I am very new to gardening so forgive me if my question is facile. I got a compost bin free from my local council - it's one of those large black ones that looks a bit like a Dalek :-) I put my organic kitchen and garden waste in there. Every time I take the lid off I am greeted by a swarm of smallish flies (I guess they're not really "flies"). Is this normal? Would this indicate that my compost is not well? Yes and no, respectively :-) Regards, Nick Maclaren. Care to enlighten me, Nick :-) |
#4
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In article , gavin wrote:
I am very new to gardening so forgive me if my question is facile. I got a compost bin free from my local council - it's one of those large black ones that looks a bit like a Dalek :-) I put my organic kitchen and garden waste in there. Every time I take the lid off I am greeted by a swarm of smallish flies (I guess they're not really "flies"). Is this normal? Would this indicate that my compost is not well? Yes and no, respectively :-) Care to enlighten me, Nick :-) Yes, it's normal. No, it does not indicate a problem with your compost. They are probably true flies, called by gardeners compost flies, but could be any number of species. Ignore them. They tickle, stick to paint, and otherwise make minor nuisances of themselves, but so what? Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#5
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"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... In article , gavin wrote: I am very new to gardening so forgive me if my question is facile. I got a compost bin free from my local council - it's one of those large black ones that looks a bit like a Dalek :-) I put my organic kitchen and garden waste in there. Every time I take the lid off I am greeted by a swarm of smallish flies (I guess they're not really "flies"). Is this normal? Would this indicate that my compost is not well? Yes and no, respectively :-) Care to enlighten me, Nick :-) Yes, it's normal. No, it does not indicate a problem with your compost. They are probably true flies, called by gardeners compost flies, but could be any number of species. Ignore them. They tickle, stick to paint, and otherwise make minor nuisances of themselves, but so what? Regards, Nick Maclaren. Thanks very much Nick. I must be pretty thick because I read your first response as No, it's not normal and Yes it does indicate a problem with your compost! Good grief - get a grip, man! Regards, Gavin |
#6
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In article , gavin wrote:
Thanks very much Nick. I must be pretty thick because I read your first response as No, it's not normal and Yes it does indicate a problem with your compost! Good grief - get a grip, man! Not really. I was once a tolerable pure mathematician, and still tend to think (and post) that way. Don't ask about the joke about the physicist, statistician and mathematician .... Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#8
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#9
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Victoria Clare wrote in message .209... (Nick Maclaren) wrote in news:ch57m9$jf8$1 @pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk: They are probably true flies, called by gardeners compost flies, but could be any number of species. Ignore them. They tickle, stick to paint, and otherwise make minor nuisances of themselves, but so what? If they are annoying you, I find spreading newspaper (just one sheet thick) on top of the compost seems to reduce the population, and the newspaper breaks dowm quite quickly and joins the compost quickly. (Don't put too many sheets on at a time though, or it forms a lump and takes ages to compost. Layers interspersed with other stuff is the way to go) Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- I agree with Victoria. Another solution is spread a thin layer of soil/used compost over the surface. Spider |
#10
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On the topic of compost, does anyone have a good suggestion as to how
to deal with a lot of grass cuttings? I'm told (& have seen) that if I put too much grass on the compost heap I end up with a dark, soggy, smelly mass. What is the best suggestion for diluting the grass? |
#11
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"Dave_R." wrote in message ... On the topic of compost, does anyone have a good suggestion as to how to deal with a lot of grass cuttings? I'm told (& have seen) that if I put too much grass on the compost heap I end up with a dark, soggy, smelly mass. What is the best suggestion for diluting the grass? The best solution is to add plenty of other biodegradable stuff. Kitchen waste excluding meat fish and bones which will attract foxes and rats. Prunings from garden plants Cardboard boxes ripped up Kitchen paper [used] Pets cage droppings {hampsters birds etc] used vegetable oil news paper The list is endless copped up wollen cardigans can also be added but do take off the buttons they dont tend to rot! Diane |
#12
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On 9/1/04 3:35 PM, in article , "Dave_R."
wrote: On the topic of compost, does anyone have a good suggestion as to how to deal with a lot of grass cuttings? I'm told (& have seen) that if I put too much grass on the compost heap I end up with a dark, soggy, smelly mass. What is the best suggestion for diluting the grass? Hi Dave I have experienced the same problem. You ask for 'the best' suggestion. Well, my best suggestion comes in twos or more. Firstly, keep your compost covered, keep the rain out. I put an old rubber mat directly on top of the grass (to keep the heat in) and above that a piece of plywood to keep the rain water off. On top of that I put a sheet of black plastic that covers the complete bin top to bottom...I want to keep the heat in!! Now, after you have figured all that out...this is the key...add a manure of some kind. This year I used dry chicken manure that I keep in a barrel beside my bin. So it goes like this: I cut the grass, when the catcher is full, I empty it onto the pile then sprinkle a dry chicken manure on top. I cut the grass and when the catcher is full I dump it into the bin then add a sprinkling of dry chicken manure on top. So it is freshly cut grass...chicken manure....freshly cut grass, chicken manure. When all the lawn is cut put a rubber mat (old carpet with a rubber base works well...anything like that, that will seal the top to keep the heat in...my rubber mat came from an old Toyota Corolla Station Wagon (Saloon, I think you call them). There are two, no three, reasons why I use dry chicken manure. 1. It is easy to 'sprinkle' and spread, more or less, evenly. 2. Adding water to chicken manure (or any manure) releases the nitrogen as ammonia...you can smell it as it goes on it's merry way and leaves your garden (where you want and need it). For compost piles, use the dry stuff, it carries much more nitrogen that is needed for the decomposition of grass and other 'stuff'. But you need to cover it with a rubber mat to retain 'the good stuff' (nitrogen) and keep the heat in. 3. My third reason for using dry chicken manure is because it is available...thank you Lord! I used to have several piles of grass clippings that would break down eventually. This year using the above method I have only 1/2 a pile. Dave, I know that this message is not totally organized and/or in a logical sequence. Most of what you need to know is there to the best of my knowledge and no you do not have to buy a Toyota to get a rubber mat to cover your compost bin...just use your mothers! Cheers, Gary Fort Langley, BC Canada |
#13
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"Dave_R." wrote in message ... On the topic of compost, does anyone have a good suggestion as to how to deal with a lot of grass cuttings? I'm told (& have seen) that if I put too much grass on the compost heap I end up with a dark, soggy, smelly mass. What is the best suggestion for diluting the grass? one way is to dry the grass out before composting, I use empty onion sacks from the local veg market. If it gets too dry use natural urea which adds moisture and activates de-composition. HTH David |
#14
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In message , Dave_R.
writes On the topic of compost, does anyone have a good suggestion as to how to deal with a lot of grass cuttings? I'm told (& have seen) that if I put too much grass on the compost heap I end up with a dark, soggy, smelly mass. What is the best suggestion for diluting the grass? For certain values of "too much" this must be true, but I have no problems at all adding roughly 1-2m^3 of grass clippings to mine every week. It immediately starts rotting and reaches a peak temperature of 70-80C internally after a couple of days (slightly funny stale smell of short chain fatty acids). It then slumps and I turn it over to mix in and finish the top dry bit. It has mostly all gone by the time I next cut the grass. Obviously I do mix in hedge cuttings when I have them since the heap at these sort of temperatures will consume quite thick hedge prunings too. You can encourage it to go faster early in the season with a proprietary accelerator like Garotta (cut with cheaper ammonium sulphate). I suspect you may only need to do this step when establishing a new heap though. I remember having trouble in a house with a 20' square lawn, but in my present fairly large garden I have never had a problem. Regards, -- Martin Brown |
#15
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In article ,
Martin Brown wrote: In message , Dave_R. writes On the topic of compost, does anyone have a good suggestion as to how to deal with a lot of grass cuttings? I'm told (& have seen) that if I put too much grass on the compost heap I end up with a dark, soggy, smelly mass. What is the best suggestion for diluting the grass? For certain values of "too much" this must be true, but I have no problems at all adding roughly 1-2m^3 of grass clippings to mine every week. It immediately starts rotting and reaches a peak temperature of 70-80C internally after a couple of days (slightly funny stale smell of short chain fatty acids). It then slumps and I turn it over to mix in and finish the top dry bit. It has mostly all gone by the time I next cut the grass. No, it's not quite like that. "Too much" depends critically on how lush and wet the clippings are - it is only a problem when they compact into an anaerobic block and turn into silage. You can add a cubic foot of really soggy grass and have a (minor, temporary) problem, or an arbitrary amount of drier grass and have none. Obviously I do mix in hedge cuttings when I have them since the heap at these sort of temperatures will consume quite thick hedge prunings too. You don't even need the temperature. I run a cold heap, and 1/2" thick privet prunings rot down quite happily - in a year or two. It really is quite hard to make a complete failure of composting, given that the solution to almost all problems is to rectify the compaction or dampness problem and try again! Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
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