Compost bin worms

[Lobworm]

I have this compost bin which I have been enthusiastically (but possibly misguidedly) filling for the last few months. It’s nearly full, but I don’t think it’s becoming compost.
It mostly has guinea pig hay& waste plus some garden trimmings and kitchen waste (no meat/fish) the odd bit of newspaper
I was thinking about buying some worms www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/products/composting-worms
Could I just drop them into the top of the bin? And then start a new heap maybe with worms in from the start. Or do I need to do something special?

I think you'll find if you dig deep in the bin there will be loads of worms in it anyway. The red ones are the compost worms

What I would do is move the bin. Get a garden fork and move the top layers and maybe some of the sides back into the bin and you may have compost ready to go at the bottom of the pile. If not you'll have aerated it and mixed it up which will do it good.

Garotta compost mix can speed the process up. (Or wee on it...)

I think you'll find if you dig deep in the bin there will be loads of worms in it anyway. The red ones are the compost worms.
Agreed. Also you have to remember that worms don't like the cold - they will work better as the weather gets warmer but they don't like it too hot, either! You want Goldilocks conditions.

🤢 okay. I do give it a shake from time to time. It’s in a shady corner of a south facing garden. It is scotland, so has not been warm. I’ll find a fork & give it a poke at the weekend. Thanks, I really haven’t a clue what I’m doing.

It'll be fine. Compost takes much longer in winter. As others have said, tip it out, mix it up put it back, and it will really help. If the contents are very dry, you could add a bit of water.

If you were able to add a second bin you can leave the first one to "cook" while you fill the second bin, so everything has a chance to break down

Have you had to mow the lawn yet? Grass cuttings really help to get the temperature up and it working beautifully. It’s usually around 6 to 12 months to get a reasonable usable quantity.

I agree, get a second bin, it will save all the turning/mixing
You will find once the scond bin is full the first bin will be ready (unless you are filling it very quickly, and it doesn't sound like you are)
what is amazing is how the volume shrinks- once its properly ready the bin will only be about half full.
I love making compost, its very satisfying

Ours hasn’t rotted well either and still full of dry leaves though does have worms lower down. I’ve left the lid off for a couple of days as wondered if it’s been too dry ? And would be careful to add worms if yours might be too dry too as they probably need plenty of damp rotted stuff too to be happy.

We’ve had our bin for over a year and it still isn’t useable yet which is annoying as it’s full and I was hoping to have compost for the garden , plus space to continue making it!

Interested that it could be too dry. The Guinea pigs wee for Britain, so the hay & paper I put in is often very wet, and I sometimes swish out the kitchen bucket & tip that in too. I thought if it was too wet it would go to the dark side. Also the lid mostly doesn’t fit all that well so sometimes it will get rain.
I wonder if a heap would be better than a bin. But could that attract rats? We’re in a well populated suburb, I don’t want to upset the neighbours.
It hadn’t occurred to me to add leaves, there’s loads down there. I am loving the compost lesson!

I wonder if a heap would be better than a bin. But could that attract rats?

Believe me that bin is doing nothing to deter rats if they wanted to get in they would be in already.

@GestationalDiabetes

Ours hasn’t rotted well either and still full of dry leaves though does have worms lower down. I’ve left the lid off for a couple of days as wondered if it’s been too dry ? And would be careful to add worms if yours might be too dry too as they probably need plenty of damp rotted stuff too to be happy.

We’ve had our bin for over a year and it still isn’t useable yet which is annoying as it’s full and I was hoping to have compost for the garden , plus space to continue making it!

Lobworm your mix sounds great, agree with others that a mix and some grass clippings and just carry on as you are.

GD are there a lot of leaves in the heap? They rot down slowly and in a different way (mostly fungi rather than bacteria doing the decomposing) so can really slow down your heap. Best to do them separately in a binbag with a few holes punched in it. Takes time but eventually makes ‘leaf mould’ which is gorgeous stuff (yes I’m a bit compost obsessed!)

Fair point. Visible rats then 😁 rats doing their thing in a bin isn’t too bad, but skipping about flaunting themselves where anyone could see….😱

Flaunting themselves ! 🐀🐀🐀

napody thank you, I am delighted with this alternative for leaves as we are surrounded by wonderful woods and the wind often gathers helpful piles for us. I didn’t realise they take so long as I also added loads to our veg bed to build it up but now can’t plant as they are too slow!
I don’t have grass cuttings to replace them though as we have an automower that mulches it back into the lawn . But could try carboard.
I will try your bag method and have heaps of bags from our lovely neighbour who knows I like collecting seaweed too (he has bags from his chickens’ food) .

Put in a tub of natural yoghurt to get it going! But really compost sort of hibernates in the winter. It really slows down. Third green third paper third veg peelings - and a bit of water. That gets it going. And yes to a bit of a stir every few weeks.

Would wrapping the bin up in bubble wrap help it? Keep it warm? I’ve seen the hot composters in the garden centres (can’t afford them).
I briefly thought about a hot water bottle, but that’s silly.
Interesting about yogurt. It’s just a big stomach really isn’t it.

On leaf mould - where the compost bin is collects leaves which have clearly been rotting down for some time, could I dig that up & use it? What’s leaf mould good for, I haven’t actually planned my planting yet, too much else on. I do have a bag of green potatoes to plant in bags at some stage.

Oo. I’ve just seen a mini hot composter on gumtree for £95 - worth it?

Have a look on your local council's website. Ours dropped kitchen waste years ago but still offer a significant discount on hot composters to local households. I think our green johanna was half price and it's very efficient, plus keeps warm throughout the winter. Not a magic cure though - still a good 6 months for decent compost!

I think you can’t really compost easily with just 1 bin. As really you need to fill it, then not use it so it can rot down and start using the other in the meantime.

We have three on rotation. Veg and fruit peelings, grass and leaves, garden cuttings, tea or coffee leaves, add cardboard chopped up sometimes.
In summer a bin tots down in about 4months. Winter takes at least double, as it doesn’t do much dec-April.

Do you have somewhere a bit warmer? As a bin that gets heated by sun will go faster. Ours are just 1m x1 m each made from old wood slatted. So open at the top. I just close off full on with thick cardboard.

Men's urine. I've no idea why but I've been looking at composting methods as I've just got an allotment and I keep seeing people saying wee on it to get it started

What’s leaf mould good for
It doesn't contain much in the way of nutrients but it is good for soil structure and improves moisture retention. It also controls mineral flows and aids in the prevention of leaching.
It makes a good mulch.

We have the green Johanna too , subsidised from our council. But we didn’t buy the winter jacket which was an extra so wonder if we should have or indeed have bubble wrapped it instead ! Good idea to look out for another composter .

Just to update. I think bin 1 is too heavy on the brown stuff so at some point I’ll address that.
I have started a second bin, but I have no worms.I’ve discovered that large sections of the garden have double layered plastic & the heavy clay soil is practically sterile, not a worm in sight, and even if there were they can’t get up into the compost heap.
so added worms it will be once I cut a hole in the plastic for them to burrow through.

Just hopping in with a compost story. Went to Eltham Palace yesterday ( well worth a visit) and was talking to one of the gardeners, all their beds are mulched every year with thick layers of gorgeous looking compost, we said “oh you must have amazing compost heaps” and they said no, they send all their garden waste away to be composted, then it comes back ready to be used! Apparently it is done at a really high temperature so it kills all the weed seeds , even bindweed and dandelions. Wow , I want to be rich enough to sent my garden waste away to be composted.

@viques

Our council does that with garden waste bins then you can collect free compost from the recycling centres in the warmer months. You bring your own bags and shovel it out a skip yourself . Might be worth checking to see if your council does something similar.

@womaninatightspot

i will see if they do! I quite like my compost bins and my council doesn’t do food waste collections so I need to do something with kitchen waste, they aren’t doing garden waste collections atm but when (if) they do start again it would be great. I already get free horse shit from the local stable.

handy hint coming. If you go to get something like horse manure (or council compost) and need to take your own bags then use those good sized bags for life from the supermarket. They have handles so easy to move,they have wide tops so easy to fill, the amount they hold is carryable by a reasonably fit woman , they stack well in the boot and don’t fall over, they fold up small for reuse next time. Plastic sacks are awkward, tear, fall over and are hard to fill.