Composting

[tootyfruitypickle]

I’m thinking about starting composting. I’ve just moved to the countryside from a big city and noticed that none of my neighbours here put out food bins, I think they’re all composting!

However I am v worried about rats! I have a fairly small but wide garden. I’ve looked at green Johanna but that doesn’t seem completely rat proof ? Reviews are a bit mixed. The other idea is to get a bokashi as first stage and then empty into the green Johanna? This would get around the rat problem? The green Johanna is discounted via the council so works about the same as getting 2 bokashis (tho do you still need to wait 2 weeks before emptying bokashi into compost?)

My garden is very very sandy, so is going to need a ton of compost digging in, esp as I want to grow veg, so this would presumably pay for itself fairly quickly. Just not sure if my system outlined above is right?

Thanks!

I used to be moaned at by the dcs in the 90s (when I had a compost bin by the sink in the kitchen) they now ALL have inside green bins and DD2 with a garden has 2 compost heaps!!!! It's fashionable now to be green which of course it shouldn't be.

I should be what we ALL are doing.

You’re so right! My mum has always had an open compost bin. I asked her last week about rats and she said she’s never had a problem. I’m just a bit paranoid as I had rats (inside) my last home and they took a very long time to get rid of (and a lot of flies when we did!).

I try to rationalise that rats were here before us (and will be here after us). In our house we have 'something' in our attic, we're in rural MW France; they could be polecats or mice or rxxx !

But as I said upthread I spray any gaps in the plaster on the ceiling and or (attic opening) with a homemade mint spray and they go away (I hate poisons etc.) I have to remember to repeat it every 2 weeks or so. , they all hate unusual clean smells. Mice hate cinnamon sprinkled around too.

if you feel you have might a problem you can prevent it by spraying around your bins etc. it does work!

Yes Witch I forgot that they hate loud noises too.