I sent off for a subsidised compost bin in the hope of reducing our
household waste output (kitchen scraps and guinea pig bedding, mostly -
we already recycle as much as we can).

Now it has arrived, it looks enormous in our very small garden, even
though it is the smaller of the two on offer (220 litre size).

I have been reading the archives on this group and becoming more and
more daunted. I have a few specific questions - sorry if they have all
been answered befo

1. Do I really need to put the thing in a sunny spot? It takes up the
whole width of our flower bed, and would have to go in the spot
currently used by a lovely plant that pops up all by itself every
summer.

2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

3. If I don't need to get the compost out in a hurry, would it be OK
to just pile stuff and let it rot down slowly, or is turning a
necessity to make it work at all?

4. Can someone explain to me what the difference is between a hot heap
and a cold one?

Thanks for any advice and encouragement you can offer,

Dani
Brighton

In article .com,
"Dani" writes:
|
| 1. Do I really need to put the thing in a sunny spot? It takes up the
| whole width of our flower bed, and would have to go in the spot
| currently used by a lovely plant that pops up all by itself every
| summer.

No. Put it whereever you feel like - out of sight is good. You
can buy green wire "chicken netting" at garden centres, wrap it
round the bin, and plant climbers up it. I do that with my
water butt. Canary creeper, climbing nasturtiums, morning glories,
black-eyed Susan, Eccremocarpus scaber etc. are all good, as they
can be cut down to get at the bin. Even climbing beans and squashes,
but they are a bit big for a small garden!

| 2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
| rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
| black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
| they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

It won't make any difference to that, but raising it is generally
good.

| 3. If I don't need to get the compost out in a hurry, would it be OK
| to just pile stuff and let it rot down slowly, or is turning a
| necessity to make it work at all?

If it contains a mixture of kitchen scraps and guinea pig bedding,
it should be fine without being turned over. The critical need is
to prevent it compacting into an airless mass. You may need to
add some water, as the bedding is dry - you want it thoroughly damp
but not saturated.

| 4. Can someone explain to me what the difference is between a hot heap
| and a cold one?

A hot heap breaks down faster, but is more sensitive to ingredients
(i.e. they have to be soft material and the right dampness). Worm
farms are cold and even more sensitive. A cold heap is slower, but
will compost almost anything. A hot heap will turn into a cold one
if there is material that hasn't composted during the initial
bacterial action.

It is unlikely that you will be able to run a purely hot heap if
you include guinea pig bedding, as that is semi-woody. Your mixture
is a very good one, but will take the best part of a year to rot
down. I run a series of definitely cold heaps and they take a
couple of years, but that includes unshredded hedge prunings, bones
and old duvets :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article .com,
"Dani" writes:
|
snip lots of useful info on compost heaps.

I note that a heap can take two years to break down completely if it's
cold, and I suddenly feel a lot better about mine :-)

I bought one of those dismantlable square bins - I forget how many
litres, but it's huge, and on the go for just over a year, still not
full - and they are a nightmare to turn. Trying to get in there with a
garden fork is a pain, as you need to rest the fork handle on the edge
for leverage, and the sides of the bin click out of place. I also feel
at this stage that I should let that decompose, and start a new one.
I am seriously thinking of investing in a two-sided modular wooden one
- you know with those slats which slot into side frames - are they as
good as a plastic bin for composting? Unlike the OP, I am blessed with
a large garden, and would only have to shave a bit off the rhubarb to
site it.

As regards rats, I had some in the initial stages, but turning the
contents of the bin regularly seems to have scared them off. Haven't
seen the tail of one, nor indeed any evidence of their visit. Also,
following advice I got here, I do not put in any bread, meat or cooked
food, just veg scraps, grass clippings - not too much, those go to
mulch beds straight out of the mower - twigs, weeds, tissue and
shredded paper, etc.

It is undoubtedly a brilliant way to reduce the size of one's bin. No
doubt, soon, it will also provide wonderfully nutritious mulch for my
flowers and veg.... patience, patience...

Cat(h)
The world swirls...

In article . com,
"Cat(h)" writes:
|
| I am seriously thinking of investing in a two-sided modular wooden one
| - you know with those slats which slot into side frames - are they as
| good as a plastic bin for composting? Unlike the OP, I am blessed with
| a large garden, and would only have to shave a bit off the rhubarb to
| site it.

I use 10m of pig netting, cut in half and with each pair of ends
wired together. I hammer poles in to keep it in shape as it fills,
and move the wire when I need to start a new heap.

| As regards rats, I had some in the initial stages, but turning the
| contents of the bin regularly seems to have scared them off. Haven't
| seen the tail of one, nor indeed any evidence of their visit. Also,
| following advice I got here, I do not put in any bread, meat or cooked
| food, just veg scraps, grass clippings - not too much, those go to
| mulch beds straight out of the mower - twigs, weeds, tissue and
| shredded paper, etc.

Not from me, you didn't. I put all of that on, and the only problem
with rats is caused by next door's junk pile. Turning the heap is
the key, and the idea that they are attracted by particular ex-food
items is largely an old wife's tale.

| It is undoubtedly a brilliant way to reduce the size of one's bin. No
| doubt, soon, it will also provide wonderfully nutritious mulch for my
| flowers and veg.... patience, patience...

Yup. And it's good for potting, too, especially if made with
enough twiggery.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Dani wrote:
1. Do I really need to put the thing in a sunny spot? It takes up the
whole width of our flower bed, and would have to go in the spot
currently used by a lovely plant that pops up all by itself every
summer.

Nope - put your plastic compost dalek somewhere out of the way - where
it suits you. Onto earth is the best, but anything will do if you're
pushed for space. I have my compost heap sited in the shadiest corner of
my garden to as to avoid wasting valuable growing space with better
growing conditions.

2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

You can, but I never bothered when I had a dalek. Be prepared for the
odd slimey bit of compost but no other problems. NB - you may need to
raise it if you're going to position it over concrete or other non-earth
surface.

3. If I don't need to get the compost out in a hurry, would it be OK
to just pile stuff and let it rot down slowly, or is turning a
necessity to make it work at all?

Absolutly! Pile it in at the top, and let nature get on with it - empty
out when the bin is full - use everything that has composted, and put
everything that hasn't back in. You can turn it - but with a dalek it is
VERY difficult - I know - I've tried and failed, and concluded it wasn't
worth it!

4. Can someone explain to me what the difference is between a hot heap
and a cold one?

A hot heap is generally built in one go with a particular mixture of
stuff that is known to heat up. It heats up and composts faster. Its
also said to kill off more weed seads. A cold heap is one that is
assembled gradually, again from a mixture of stuff. This will be what
you have unless your guinea pigs have the runs big time.....

If you can try mixing in the guinea pig bedding (c/w with guinea pig
output) with your grass cutting - it will rot faster.

Put all you kitchen scraps in - I put all food related paper (e.g.
grease proof, kitchen towel), uneaten food (not much in our house!), veg
off cuts, bones, fruit skin & stones etc. in, I also put in liquids such
as undrunk tea, gravy, vegetable cooking water etc. etc. I collect my
kichen waste in a solid plastic container with a tight fitting lid, and
empty into the heap every few days when it is full.

Put all your garden waste (grass cuttings, weeds, prunings) in the heap
as well, but don't put in too much twiggy stuff - your heap will take
years to digest it. I put small light, sappy prunnings into the heap.
But when I prune the hedge, the results get put in the council garden
recycling.

HTH

Sarah

On 19 Aug 2005 04:55:51 -0700, "Dani"
wrote:

I sent off for a subsidised compost bin in the hope of reducing our
household waste output (kitchen scraps and guinea pig bedding, mostly -
we already recycle as much as we can).

Now it has arrived, it looks enormous in our very small garden, even
though it is the smaller of the two on offer (220 litre size).


Dani,

I had one of those in my not very large garden. I've now got a second
one since I like it so much!

Mine aren't in sunny positions and aren't raised up from the soil. I
thought it was supposed to stand on the soil to help the worms climb
in.

I'm pretty sure I don't do things properly. I shove in various
left-over vegetables and banana skins, egg-boxes, some newspaper and
bits of clippings from the garden - grass cuttings and anything that
isn't too woody. I think I should probably chop things up a bit more
than I do.

If I remember I sometimes stir things around a bit. If it looks a bit
dry I might water it.

Every few months I open the door at the bottom and I usually amazed
to find that there's stuff that looks like compost there. A minor
miracle. Sometimes I find bits that haven't rotted enough so I just
put them back in the top. It's all very easy.

I hope that's encouraging enough for you!

Anne

Dani wrote:
[various questions, well answered already]]
2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

You are supposedly never more than 5 metres from a rat in the UK, if
our local environmental health expert is to believed. But that is no
reason to feed them.

The advice to avoid meat scraps is well-founded. I have seen two of
these daleks destroyed by badgers, after chop bones and the like.
Shredded, they were.

"Dani" wrote in message
oups.com...
I sent off for a subsidised compost bin in the hope of reducing our
household waste output (kitchen scraps and guinea pig bedding, mostly -
we already recycle as much as we can).

Now it has arrived, it looks enormous in our very small garden, even
though it is the smaller of the two on offer (220 litre size).


we sent for one of these too. Massive aren't they :-((


I have been reading the archives on this group and becoming more and
more daunted. I have a few specific questions - sorry if they have all
been answered befo

no need to apologise on this newsgroup :-))


1. Do I really need to put the thing in a sunny spot? It takes up the
whole width of our flower bed, and would have to go in the spot
currently used by a lovely plant that pops up all by itself every
summer.

No.


2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

No. We have these things on soil, half soil and concrete, and concrete and
in ALL of them, the little red worms which do the work for you have found
their way in :-))


3. If I don't need to get the compost out in a hurry, would it be OK
to just pile stuff and let it rot down slowly, or is turning a
necessity to make it work at all?

No to the first bit and it helps in the second bit. With regards to the
ritual of turning :-(( Do it the easy way ;-) Has the bottom of your Dalek
got a door at the front? Ours has. All you need to do when the fancy takes
you, (once every six months) is to open the door, hook out the bottom 6
inches and chuck it back in on the top :-)) 20 minutes work :-)) After a
couple of goes at this, the stuff is ready for sifting and putting on/in the
garden. (we take ours out by the wheelbarrow load and chuck it on the
borders as a mulch :-)) Keeps the weeds down


4. Can someone explain to me what the difference is between a hot heap
and a cold one?

One's hot the other's cold ;-)) Already been explained to you. If you shred
Marigold Plants and chuck them into the heap/bin, they really get hot, but
by chucking stuff in as and when it comes, it won't get very hot. Still
work, but like watching pain dry ;-)


Thanks for any advice and encouragement you can offer,

The best bit of advice is don't take it too seriously :-)) The bit of earth
you are so serious about now, will still be there when you are 6ft under its
surface feeding the Daisies :-))
Honest :-))

Mike


Dani
Brighton

Dani makes reference to a small garden. Ours is 20 ft x 75 ft at the back of
the house and 20 ft x about 20 ft at the front. We still produce enough
'stuff' to feed 2 big Dalek Composters and if we shred the bushes, another
Beehive Compost bin. Enough in it to open to the public and enough to
gobsmack the neighbours as to the amount of birds in it. House and Hedge
Sparrows, Greenfinches, Bluetits, Starlings, Collared Doves, Wrens, Robins
and at times a Thrush (Good for clearing the slugs and Snails and works in
conjunction with the Frog). Thought 'someone' might be interested ;-)))

Mike

In article .com,
wrote:
Dani wrote:
[various questions, well answered already]]
2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

You are supposedly never more than 5 metres from a rat in the UK, if
our local environmental health expert is to believed. But that is no
reason to feed them.

The advice to avoid meat scraps is well-founded. I have seen two of
these daleks destroyed by badgers, after chop bones and the like.
Shredded, they were.

How do you know they weren't looking for worms - one of badgers'
main foods, and an unavoidable/essential component of compost?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Dani" wrote in message
oups.com...
I sent off for a subsidised compost bin in the hope of reducing our
household waste output (kitchen scraps and guinea pig bedding, mostly -
we already recycle as much as we can).

Now it has arrived, it looks enormous in our very small garden, even
though it is the smaller of the two on offer (220 litre size).

I have been reading the archives on this group and becoming more and
more daunted. I have a few specific questions - sorry if they have all
been answered befo


We have a similar Darlek and have started to get lots of small (fruit?)
flies in the bin. When you take the lid off it's like a cloud of them and
they have started to get inside the house.

Should they be there and is there anything we can do to keep their numbers
down.........our new pond might help once we get the frogs, but that'll be
next year!

Thanks very much
Karin

In article .com,
writes
Dani wrote:
[various questions, well answered already]]
2. Should I raise it up on bricks to add air? Wouldn't this allow
rats/foxes to get in and fish out the food scraps? We have had our
black sacks opened by both rats and foxes in our garden, so we know
they are around and don't want to attract them (the rats, anyway)

You are supposedly never more than 5 metres from a rat in the UK, if
our local environmental health expert is to believed. But that is no
reason to feed them.

Can anyone tell me why rats should have a preference for cooked food?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Kay wrote:
In article .com,
writes
[...]
You are supposedly never more than 5 metres from a rat in the UK,
if
our local environmental health expert is to believed. But that is
no
reason to feed them.

Can anyone tell me why rats should have a preference for cooked
food?

I pondered this many years ago, and came to the conclusion that
people meant not cooked food as such, but the mixture of food left
over from a meal, which would include animal products which we would
rarely throw away before cooking.

--
Mike.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
The advice to avoid meat scraps is well-founded. I have seen two of
these daleks destroyed by badgers, after chop bones and the like.
Shredded, they were.

How do you know they weren't looking for worms - one of badgers'
main foods, and an unavoidable/essential component of compost?

I don't, really, other than the fact that other peoples bins weren't
attacked, and they hadn't put things in that smelled so strongly. Of
course, once the badger had learned what the tall things were...

In article ,
Kay wrote:

Can anyone tell me why rats should have a preference for cooked food?

I blame the supermarket and fast food culture. From the viewpoint
of a civilised entity, it is hard to distinguish humans from rats.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.