Help me compost!

[ToysRus56]

Hello!

Talk to me about compost. Id like to start! Medium size garden. Ideally it wouldn't be an eyesoar - tempted to get one of these - thoughts?

https://www.rhsplants.co.uk/product/_/compost-box-sustainable-timber/classid.2000012276/sku.PR30000529/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21901495384&gbraid=0AAAAA-VcshrbWgzCS1o0lR3wnEbPA3LRG&gclid=CjwKCAjwoOjVBhArEiwAUwDak_pscLxgGRhawuI1fTih97upGamakQU41YBjrtC_z3M0Nl18aRAgFBoCm4UQAvD_BwE

Thanks

My neighbour has one of those and the grass he loaded in just sits there. I guess he’s supposed to turn it?

im quite new to composting, bought this https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/composter-black-220l-278266 I put raw food and garden waste in it and it’s definitely working, it gets quite warm inside, the volume of stuff I’ve out in has reduced. I’ve not had any compost out of it though! It’s more about having somewhere to put food and other bits really. I also like this one as everything is hidden.

The kind of composter you get should depend on where you're putting it and how much work you want to/ are able to put into it. The timber framed boxes like you've linked to require you to "turn" the compost heap regularly, which if you're fit and strong, isn't a problem. It also needs to be protected from becoming a nest for rats (not uncommon). Tumbler composters eliminate the nesting vermin problem, and make the "turning" relatively easier (although still demands some degree of energy). Wormeries are also good compost bins, but require a bit more "attention", although the compost doesn't need to be turned. Hotbins are probably the "easiest" as you don't have to turn the compost as long as you mix your browns and greens when adding to it. All types of compost bins need to be emptied into something when they're full (which isn't necessarily when they're "finished"). I empty mine into rubble sacks, which I tie up and leave to continue composting for another couple of months before using in my garden.

For turning, I have found a compost aerator tool to be fabulous - much better than getting a tumbling bin.
They are long, strong metal poles shaped so that you can corkscrew them into the compost. Regular turning works wonders for the composting process and also makes the bin a place of lesser eligibility for rats, mice and bees.

I have a wooden slatted composter but it is just for leaves and grass.

If you are composting food you need a closed composter like the one PP linked to. It needs to be ratproof. When it gets full I empty out the bottom bit through the door and that is generally ready to put on a flower/veg bed. If it isn't completely 'finished' it'll carry on decomposing outside.

But my favourite composter is my Hotbin. Completely ratproof and it is much quicker than a normal composter. It's expensive but I've had it ten years and it's good as new.

https://hotbincomposting.com/?fm_source=g&fm_term=pmax&utm_source=ppc&utm_medium=googleads&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23567140003&gbraid=0AAAAApjGm1kcJYmF826u0I-m8wyhKrOnO&gclid=CjwKCAjww-3VBhAcEiwAwUUIuwfL4_c7QcLgULIwFVlrrjcPqALkPjPjIg2a8IVOTPPzYsHwjtD49RoCMS0QAvD_BwE

(We have a big garden which is why we need more than one composter!)

The wooden composter shown will not retain heat and allow the compost to dry out.

Black plastic bins dont retain heat either

I have built

Its gravel board and odd bits of 2x2 - the lids were from a previous composter I bought currently the heaps are covered in an insulated blanket and old mats

Current version sits on rat proof mesh with mesh sides for the first section where composting starts

Put stuff in the right hand bin, when its full transfer to the middle then when the RH buin is full again move everything on again

Oh and pour diluted urine on the starting bin ideally twice a day to get it good and hot

Those bins are a smarter looking version of a pallet bin which work really well. If you can get two of the larger size and put side by side that'd be a really good system for layering grass clippings and chopped up garden waste. Charles dowding finds his pallet bins and 'daleks' make better, more alive compost than his bigger more industrial scale ones. The crucial things are getting enough material in there and getting the right amount of air and moisture in. I would also line with sheets of cardboard before you fill it to keep warmth and moisture retained.

As pps have said you need to consider whether you are wanting to use it to compost food waste. Onion peels etc would be fine anywhere but anything more tempting to vermin needs another plan. Tumbling bin, hot bin, I'd add bokashi to that - it's a way of pre-composting all food waste in a bucket under the sink. Or a wormery which I have in a cupboard under the stairs but that might be a bit high maintenance for most- makes incredible compost though.

Good luck!

Whoops here in the photo which it seems is 'sensitive'

Food should only be fruit veg and salad peelings, not cooked food and def no meat or dairy.
we have two black daleks and fill one this year, leave it for a year while we fill the second one. We may be energetic and tip the first one out and turn it, or may not.
We use the first one at the end of the second year, so we can then refill it while the second dalek cooks the contents.
Works really well for us

There is a spectrum of approaches to compost making.

At one end is the “perfect recipe” approach, with a bin that retains heat and moisture, and carefully balanced well chopped brown and green inputs that are turned regularly. You’ll get good hot compost fast.

At the other end there is the “organic stuff rubbish heap” approach where you use whatever container is available, chuck in anything that will compost, and leave it for as long as it takes. You will probably get good compost but you’ll need to wait for it and you may get the odd fail where it’s too dry, too wet, too much of one thing or another and you have to do some remedial work.

Everything along the spectrum between these two approaches will work, eventually. It really is up to what works for you.

Well said @LadyGardenersQuestionTime

What works for you will depend on a lot of things you haven't told us, including
how much time you want to put into it
how big is your garden and what sort of waste does it create
what space do you have for making compost
how soon you need it to be ready
what you want to use it for

Do you grow veg? If so the easiest and cheapest thing to do is to dig a trench where you plan to put next year's hungry crops and just fill it up with garden waste as you go along. Cover it over with cardboard in the meantime. Then just top with soil and plant.

I'd also consider getting a pair of Bokashi bins for kitchen waste. They take anything organic and break it down much faster. The end product is a brilliant compost accelerator and you also get 'juice' that you can use as a plant food.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-inspiration/get-gardening/bokashi

I've got a hotbox compost bin - small garden so no real space for 3 bins or a compost heap. The hot box is relatively tidy and can sit on the drive.

I put veg peelings, cardboard and some garden waste in it. It rots down fairly effectively even though I don't pay enough attention to it to get it to work at the recommended temperature etc.

I used to just tip everything into compost heap made from pallets when I had an allotment - and would get good compost in a year - but it was also full of weeds...

So I pay more attention to the one at home and don't put weed seeds in it.

Also fill up the garden green waste bin for collection every two weeks as I can't fit everything in the hotbin.

Which ever sort you buy, you need at least 2. I have three at home. One is emptied every year. Second bin is emptied into the first one, third one into the second. I don't do sny other turning, but if i did would get faster compost.You need one with a lid to retain heat and moisture. I do make sure mine don't dry out.

What space do you have, what time do you have, how much energy do you want to put into it and what will you do with it?

Sorry everyone been in back to back meetings! Thank you so much for all of your responses. Right so Id say I have a medium size garden. Not massive but not tiny. I would definitely like to include food waste (nothing cooked/ dairy of course), so see wooden pallets compost bins are out. I'm a very keen but amateur gardener so would like to produce a decent amount. Id say I have a medium budget - I don't want to spend loads and loads, but I'm busy (kids) so want something that just works. Probably not something that relies on me having to turn lots because realistically I worry I'll forget. In the short term it will be used in the garden/ a tiny veg patch. In the long term I hope to have a allotment. Does that narrow it down? Thanks again

Wee is good for compost.

Oh, fab. You could do a hotbin for simplicity since you have the budget. Volume produced would also be pretty good since it is fast. However if it were me I'd then have one of these wooden slatted ones to put it in to store and mature. Or a combo of slatted bin for garden waste, bokashi bucket for food which goes into the same bin once fermented works brilliantly.

Kate Flood (Compostable Kate on instagram) is good for explanations and simple how-tos. Chopping garden waste up is a really good way to speed things up and get more in.

However, I can't remember which pp said it but essentially you'll get compost eventually whatever you do! Just a matter of speed and preference really!

This is me. DH used pallets to create 3 squares. I take about a year to fill a square. By the time I’ve filled all 3 the first one is dark crumbly loveliness. I don’t do any turning or fancy stuff. Just put in 50 50 wet v dry. Wet being grass clippings, food waste (only uncooked veg stuff or egg shells, no meat ex). Dry stuff would be shredded paper.

I’ve got a ‘Dalek’’ type compost bin, I put in fruit and vegetable peelings, egg shells, weeds and old spent bedding plants.
I NEVER put in grass clippings or very woody stems or lots of leaves, those go in my green council wheely bin and is collected fortnightly for central composing by my local authority.
I was given a bag of tiger worms many years ago and they do all the work, they seem to breed prolifically and the compost reduces quickly the warmer the weather. I have never turned my compost in the 30 years of doing this.
Every early winter I remove the bottom two thirds of the bin and spread it around the garden. The top third contains the most worms and that then starts off the next lot of compost.
Its like magic!

If you are just starting out just get a wormery and a dalek. Keep it as simple as possible to start with. Getting good home made compost is not straightforward and takes a lot of management, but you can get usable stuff from these two things, although it takes longer than you think.

I put my dalek in a space big enough for two daleks. Every spring I lift it up, then put the uncomposted stuff back into the empty dalek, and bag up the good, decomposed stuff for use in the garden

I had a dalek one but it was too big for our needs and I didn't like the look of it! I've now got one from Amazon that you bury into the soil with a lid. Not sure what they are called but it has holes in the side for worms to enter. It's only small so fills up quick but you could get multiple. It's my first time composting and I didn't worry too much about if I was doing it right, I just threw stuff in and it worked.

Thank you! Desperately trying to think of a suitable pun - this is all (composted) food for thought? Food (waste) for thought? Anyway you get the gist. Think I need to go away and look into these methods - thank you vv much for putting me on the right track I'm excited to be part of this community!

Fabulous! I think whichever method you pick there'll be people happy to answer questions and help you tweak it and get it working well, like @Gloriousgardener11 has. Once you get the microbes and worms working for you you'll never look back!

I may have found my people... I got 2 Bokashi bins but they are bad solution for me. I live alone & simply don't produce enough kitchen waste. My Bokashi bin is full of grass clippings atm & has never produced any "juice". Council in Norwich by default makes you pay for a brown bin; I put thorny & weedy things in the council bin. I also have a simple pile of clippings at end of the garden hoping it will pile up & keep the brambles down.