Our local council offered three free plastic dalek composters; I have
these scattered around the garden to receive the kind of weeds I don't
compost in the big compost bins.

The daleks take couch grass, docks, seedy weeds etc and because they
are dry, are heavily infested with ant colonies. It's slow work but the
ants eat everything and turn it into a fine friable soil. When a dalek
is finished I just lift off the container and move it to a new location.
The compost stays where it is.

Here's the latest pile left after I lifted off the dalek.
I'm about to plant rhubarb there.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost1.jpg

close up. Apparently ants don't eat plastic binder twine.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost2.jpg

Janet.

On Sun, 14 May 2017 14:02:32 Janet wrote:

Our local council offered three free plastic dalek composters; I have
these scattered around the garden to receive the kind of weeds I don't
compost in the big compost bins.

The daleks take couch grass, docks, seedy weeds etc and because they
are dry, are heavily infested with ant colonies. It's slow work but the
ants eat everything and turn it into a fine friable soil. When a dalek
is finished I just lift off the container and move it to a new location.
The compost stays where it is.

Here's the latest pile left after I lifted off the dalek.
I'm about to plant rhubarb there.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost1.jpg

close up. Apparently ants don't eat plastic binder twine.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost2.jpg

That looks lovely. About how long does it take?

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

In article ,
lid says...

On Sun, 14 May 2017 14:02:32 Janet wrote:

Our local council offered three free plastic dalek composters; I have
these scattered around the garden to receive the kind of weeds I don't
compost in the big compost bins.

The daleks take couch grass, docks, seedy weeds etc and because they
are dry, are heavily infested with ant colonies. It's slow work but the
ants eat everything and turn it into a fine friable soil. When a dalek
is finished I just lift off the container and move it to a new location.
The compost stays where it is.

Here's the latest pile left after I lifted off the dalek.
I'm about to plant rhubarb there.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost1.jpg

close up. Apparently ants don't eat plastic binder twine.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost2.jpg

That looks lovely. About how long does it take?

Very.. that one had been on the go for two years. Certainly far slower
than my main compost heaps.

Janet.

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 15 May 2017 02:08:19 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article ,
says...

On Sun, 14 May 2017 14:02:32 Janet wrote:

Our local council offered three free plastic dalek composters; I have
these scattered around the garden to receive the kind of weeds I don't
compost in the big compost bins.

The daleks take couch grass, docks, seedy weeds etc and because they
are dry, are heavily infested with ant colonies. It's slow work but the
ants eat everything and turn it into a fine friable soil. When a dalek
is finished I just lift off the container and move it to a new location.
The compost stays where it is.

Here's the latest pile left after I lifted off the dalek.
I'm about to plant rhubarb there.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost1.jpg

close up. Apparently ants don't eat plastic binder twine.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost2.jpg

That looks lovely. About how long does it take?

Very.. that one had been on the go for two years. Certainly far slower
than my main compost heaps.


You mention seedy weeds. Weed seeds survive my compost heap,


and when
I spread the compost around as a mulch, I know I'm giving myself work
for the future. Do seeds survive in your daleks or do the ants digest
them in some way so as to prevent their germination?

TBH I don't know the reason I don't get many weeds in dalek compost
areas. This might be because I don't use the finished compost on
seedbeds or in pots etc; it becomes a rich mulch/feed in situ where the
surrounding planting closes in pretty fast, so emerging seedlings
wouldn't stand much chance. Usually (though not in the above case) the
daleks are tucked away among shrubs, hidden from sight but a convenient
dumping spot.

Without ants, they are really bad at decomposing plant material
IMO... probably don't get hot enough. Which is probably why ants do so
well in there.

Janet.

On 15/05/2017 11:01, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...

On Mon, 15 May 2017 02:08:19 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article ,
lid says...

On Sun, 14 May 2017 14:02:32 Janet wrote:

Our local council offered three free plastic dalek composters; I have
these scattered around the garden to receive the kind of weeds I don't
compost in the big compost bins.

The daleks take couch grass, docks, seedy weeds etc and because they
are dry, are heavily infested with ant colonies. It's slow work but the
ants eat everything and turn it into a fine friable soil. When a dalek
is finished I just lift off the container and move it to a new location.
The compost stays where it is.

Here's the latest pile left after I lifted off the dalek.
I'm about to plant rhubarb there.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost1.jpg

close up. Apparently ants don't eat plastic binder twine.

http://jaybeesgarden.org.uk/images/antCompost2.jpg

That looks lovely. About how long does it take?

Very.. that one had been on the go for two years. Certainly far slower
than my main compost heaps.


You mention seedy weeds. Weed seeds survive my compost heap,


and when
I spread the compost around as a mulch, I know I'm giving myself work
for the future. Do seeds survive in your daleks or do the ants digest
them in some way so as to prevent their germination?

TBH I don't know the reason I don't get many weeds in dalek compost
areas. This might be because I don't use the finished compost on
seedbeds or in pots etc; it becomes a rich mulch/feed in situ where the
surrounding planting closes in pretty fast, so emerging seedlings
wouldn't stand much chance. Usually (though not in the above case) the
daleks are tucked away among shrubs, hidden from sight but a convenient
dumping spot.

Without ants, they are really bad at decomposing plant material
IMO... probably don't get hot enough. Which is probably why ants do so
well in there.

Janet.


Interesting we use our 3 to take kitchen waste only, they turn into
wormeries which once again eat everything, we have them stood on brick
pavers to stop rats tunnelling in (they like to eat the worms!) But I
hadnt thought to compost weeds using an ant labour force, are there any
weeds you have found they don't cope with?

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

In article ,
says...


Interesting we use our 3 to take kitchen waste only, they turn into
wormeries which once again eat everything, we have them stood on brick
pavers to stop rats tunnelling in (they like to eat the worms!) But I
hadnt thought to compost weeds using an ant labour force, are there any
weeds you have found they don't cope with?

I don't compost pesky marestail and ground elder (both arrived in a
load of free soil last year)... I've spent too many hours removing them
to risk any further problems. But everything else I've put in there
disappears, roots and all.

Janet