Having limited spaceI invested in a dalek in the autumn, which
I have been slowly filling over the winter and spring. Not
being in a hurry for compost, I'm happy to just let it get on
with it, although I shall be careful how much grass I add when
mowing starts in earnest.

Problem at the moment is that the bin is home to masses of tiny
flies, which fly out and land on me when I go to add anything.
The leaflet that came with the bin said "they are harmlees but
you don't want too many" and not to use pesticides!

So how do I reduce the pests?


--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

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On 22/04/18 21:23, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Having limited spaceI invested in a dalek in the autumn, which
I have been slowly filling over the winter and spring. Not
being in a hurry for compost, I'm happy to just let it get on
with it, although I shall be careful how much grass I add when
mowing starts in earnest.

Problem at the moment is that the bin is home to masses of tiny
flies, which fly out and land on me when I go to add anything.
The leaflet that came with the bin said "they are harmlees but
you don't want too many" and not to use pesticides!

So how do I reduce the pests?



Mine are like that too. I'm not sure if you can - the cold compsoting
action makes it a veritable home for worms and flies.

You *could* try reducing the amount of kitchen waste that sits on the
surface by mixing in shredded paper or wood chippings if you are able to
produce one of the other. I do not know if that would work, but it won't
do any harm.


On an aside, as slow as daleks are, this:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/91/c3...8dbea85f47.jpg

(I have one, without the fancy wooden bits) makes it easy to aerate the
pile which does help with speed of composting and reduces the tendency
for it to turn into a lump of crud.

On 22/04/2018 21:23, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Having limited spaceI invested in a dalek in the autumn, which
I have been slowly filling over the winter and spring. Not
being in a hurry for compost, I'm happy to just let it get on
with it, although I shall be careful how much grass I add when
mowing starts in earnest.

As long as you mix it well with the existing contents of the bin, or
with other compostables I wouldn't worry too much about the amount of
grass cuttings.


Problem at the moment is that the bin is home to masses of tiny
flies, which fly out and land on me when I go to add anything.
The leaflet that came with the bin said "they are harmlees but
you don't want too many" and not to use pesticides!

So how do I reduce the pests?

Again I wouldn't worry too much but a layer of grass cuttings on top of
kitchen waste may/will cut them down. This time of year I have a large
container for kitchen waste and shredded paper which I only add to the
compost when cutting the grass. a layer of shredded paper cuts down the
fruit flies in the separate container.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In article ,
Roger Tonkin wrote:

Having limited spaceI invested in a dalek in the autumn, which
I have been slowly filling over the winter and spring. Not
being in a hurry for compost, I'm happy to just let it get on
with it, although I shall be careful how much grass I add when
mowing starts in earnest.

Problem at the moment is that the bin is home to masses of tiny
flies, which fly out and land on me when I go to add anything.
The leaflet that came with the bin said "they are harmlees but
you don't want too many" and not to use pesticides!

So how do I reduce the pests?

Wait for summer, and get the swallows to help :-) More seriously,
just ignore them - as people say, a layer of something (including
wood shreddings, weeds etc.) will reduce them, as they breed on
things like kitchen waste. I have some on my traditional heaps, but
they are exposed to predators and so don't get quite as numerous.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I've had dalek compost bins for several years now and I don't think of them as hot composters. They become quite efficient wormeries, but they take a lot of filling.. Anything goes in including all my grass cuttings.. They are placed on a bit of garden and not aerated at the bottom, thus allowing the worms to get in. Once the worms are really active you will see lots of them inside the lid. Grass cuttings can overflow into another dalek, so any excess worms can be transferred across.
I usually leave it for about 18 months to two years before emptying it. Slower than hot composting but almost oure worm castings.