Aarghhh rats in my compost bin!

[Gunpowder]

In a moment of lockdown madness I ordered a compost bin. I’m not a gardener but I was feeling a bit apocalyptic and worried that our food waste wouldn’t be collected. Just opened the lid and something moved. I made DH go and poke the bin with a fork and the most enormous rat ran out. It was honestly the size of a small cat. WTF was I thinking? What do I do? If we get rid of the compost bin will Rattigan come and live in our house?

Arg this has got me worried! I’ve also joined lockdown madness (and in new home ) so have just proudly set up my brand new green Johanna .

I do have a ton of paving slabs, shall I set it on them? But can worms get through ?

I’m dithering about position- almost total shade under a cherry tree or a better site logistically but it gets full sun from 12.

I’ve already begun bokashi , got one full bin doing it’s thing. I was hoping this combi would mean no rats

But can worms get through? You could add a heap of soil to the bin, preferable humus-y stuff with lots of rotten wood or leaves, because that'll be the species of worm you want for the compost. They breed very quickly.

Sun would be good, but be prepared to water in hot weather if needed.

Pp is right about the worms, they are a different sort to soil worms. I have always kept a bit of old compost in as a “starter”. But also leave a gap of 1cm or so for drainage and insects. Worms will work it out!

I go for full sun. Used to be in shade and was too slow. People manage to compost in hot countries so I doubt our British sunshine will cause a big problem.

The green Johanna instructions say the shadier the better, but that means under a lovely tree and it’s a shame really. Better place is sunny all day from 12 🤔

Green Johanna seems to be a different sort of system so best to follow instructions rather than some random on the internet like me. It says it takes 2/3 food to 1/3 garden waste whereas my bin is max 10% food waste so probably doesn’t get as hot.

As far as I can see, the Green Johanna is simply an insulated bin so that high temperatures are maintained during composting. Maybe the worry is that if the bin is in the sun, it will get too hot and combust (in the same way as haystacks used to self combust if the hay wasn't suffiently dry when stacked)

Some info on the process here:
www.carryoncomposting.com/142941485

Combust ?! That’s a new worry !!

Combust ?! That’s a new worry !! I've never had it happen, but I have seen a compost heap with an over-abundance of grass cuttings opened up to reveal ashes in the middle of the grass cuttings. Can't remember if it was my heap or someone else's!