Grow Your Own Magazine

Last year one of my neighbours - all of whom think that the nicest thing to put in your garden is concrete - reported me because of the smell from a load of manure that I'd spread on my garden. Unfortunately for them they'd seen the manure delivered, they hadn't seen my OH then get out the trailer and take it straight to the lottie - it never left its plastic bags at home. Because of this though I've been a bit wary about starting a compost bin here and, to be honest, I could do with one. I've now discovered that my council, via Re-cycle Now, are offering the Can-O-Worms for £66, which I believe is about a 33% reduction. I reckon I could probably get away with this as the neighbours are highly unlikely to recognise it for what it is, but just in case, could one be kept in the shed year round? I know Wiggly Wigglers sell a sort of wooden 'hide' for them, but these are probably beyond our budget and I don't think my OH has the carpentry skills to knock together a homemade version. A wormery would probably be a better solution than a bin anyway as there is a fairly constant supply of quite small amounts of the casts, plus the liquid feed, which is what I'd really need for my small garden at home. If it can't be kept in the shed, does anyone have a good idea about how to disguise one? I know that any 'smell' would only be in the neighbours' imagination, but I really don't need the hassle and they already think I'm a bit weird anyway. I accept that this is probably paranoia kicking in, but try proving you haven't dug manure into your garden to some officious idiot, it isn't easy and he carried on as if I were guilty of some heinous crime against society.

What are you worried about worm farms do not stink and do not forget the rich black stuff that trickles from the bottom is the best fertilizer you can get bar non (in my opinion) it is black majic no kidding jacob

You can keep it in your shed no problems, I know somebody who keeps one on their basement. The only concern you would have is if it got too hot but believe me, it'd have to get really hot for it to be much of a problem.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

You and I know they don't smell, but the point is I have neighbours who think that the entire planet should be sterile and would certainly claim that it did smell if they knew of its existence in their protected little worlds. I'm glad you find it so good though, Jacob as I'm definitely going to get one.

Thanks Alison, I hadn't thought about the basement, which is just so much wasted space here - apart from the freezer. It would even mean I didn't have to go out in the rain to fill it.

This may sound wacky but depending on how much waste you want to deal with have you ever considered using a blender/juicer/magimix? It's not so daft as it sounds 'cos you can often get an old one at car boots & it can be kept in a utilty or shed easily. The subsequent liquid can be poured straight onto plants or simply into a airtight container. No waiting for compost & no smells or visible piles! High quality liquid feed straight where it's needed.

M

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Closed hearts will never be filled with
the beauty of the prescence of others...

I have a 6 x 6 compost heap, and a Dalek, and neither of them smells.
It sounds as if your neighbours will complain about something else if it's not about your composting. Don't live your life by their rules, ignore them.

You can always construct a trellis round 3 sides of the bin and grow a clematis or something up it. Idiots.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

You're so right Two Sheds, We usually do all the composting at the lottie and bring a sack-full or two home when needed, but it's a real pain and I'd like to do a little bit of it here. My neighbours though are complete pains at both sides and seem to feel that the entire planet was constructed purely for the benefit of themselves and their darling offspring, who obviously can do no wrong. As for complaints, to complain about manure that stayed here - bagged - for less than an hour is obviously either their imaginations or malice. The worst part is that even though the chap who came to check said that there certainly wasn't a problem either with manure or anything else, he was not able to tell me who had made the complaint in the first place. It does make you a bit paranoid, but I'm just continuing to be polite to everyone and plodding on with my life as I always have. This did happen almost a year ago, but I was very upset at the time and I just don't want to give them any more ammunition. - Apparently it's OK for a neighbour's child to repeatedly boot a football against your car until a dent appears in the door, they're 'only playing' according to the parents and 'too young for us to do much' according to the community bobby - who to be fair did make several patrols down our road in the weeks following the incident in an attempt to catch them in the act, whereupon he could have 'had a word' - Please note though, I didn't make a formal complaint to the policeman, but was chatting to him about it in the park when I'd taken my grandson to the swings, nothing has been said to the parents about this other than by us when we asked them to make their kids stop and this all occurred after the manure incident so it isn't a feud that's starting to run out of control. Also, as I've said, I don't know who made the manure complaint so it could be completely different set of people from the ones who damaged the car.

Put a grill on the can o worms and it looks like a bbq?
I'd be tempted to make a big smelly manure filled heap, but that's just me being naughty! Oh and peeing on it helps the decomposition...

the Can-o-worms at £66 is certainly better than full price.

I like my worm farms from wiggly wigglers and at the moment they are doing a fantastic deal, usually £66 for the housing only, but if you buy a slight seconds, few scratches maybe but completely sound, a mere £30.

I got a full price one a few years back and have since got 2 new slightly second sets. The slightly seconds take a lot of inspection to see why and where they are slightly seconds...and do just the same marvellous job.

No smell, lots of lovely worm tea and worm compost/casts depending on which stage you harvest.

I have to admit that I spoil my worms somewhat and to speed up the process, I do put my compost to go in the wormeries through a blender first. I like the previous idea of picking up a blender from a boot sale or similar, it just all breaks down alot quicker.

HTH

MrsB x

I keep mine in the shed all year round and it works fine but you do need to make sure it doesn't get too warm if the sun shines on the shed all day. I find the worm juice is has a bit of a strong smell as it's bottled but when it is diluted it is almopst odour free.

Good luck with it.

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Digger-07

"If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right" Henry Ford.

What the....is this someone from the council coming out to check...what???

Are there smell regulations? How do farmers cope?

We've got a can-o-worms and they don't smell - they've even been 'professionally house moved', twice, with no problems!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Sorry....with my enthusiastic post earlier, I forgot to put a link in to the product I was talking about, I think that this is the one.

April at Wiggly Wigglers

Kind regards

MrsB x

Does your council recommend composting? Most do now, and some even provide discounted compost bins, so it seems unlikely that the neighbours would get anywhere with a complaint about a wormery, where everything is contained anyway. Councils are trying to encourage us to reduce our waste so I would think they would be supportive.

Round our way we periodically get absolutely foul smells when the farmers spread the muck. It even makes its way to Sittingbourne town centre, but although everyone moans, I don't think there can be anything done about it, because its been going on ever since we moved here 3 years ago, and probably way before then too. I'm from a farming background, and more tolerant than 'townies', but this seems to permeate everything, even food tastes bad. Still it goes away eventually, and none of us are any the worse off.
It's a shame your neighbours can't find better things to do with their time than make life a misery for others.

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I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!

http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

Ahhhhh! Kent "smells".

The land would not be the same without them.

After a few years you just get used to the smell. I think you are in the middle of a "sensitive area" but I doubt very much that the local housing authority would take a negative view to any composting or wormery or any kind of "helping the environment" scheme. In fact I think they would encourage any such scheme!

Other people don't have the same power than the local environmentalists that make the fantastic composter/wormery deals possible.

We have to all work together, and with nature to make a better place for our land/our veggies/our flowers and our trees.

Rock on organic growers say I!!!

Kind regards

MrsB x

Yep, someone from Environmental Health came due to the complaint. He did say that more than half the time they're called out for malicious reasons and that even if I had spread the manure it wouldn't really have been a problem, but they are duty bound to follow everything up. As for the farming, my mum lives in an area where there are 'country smells' all the time, no-one would dream of complaining, but here it seems as if people expect everything to smell of rose-water.

Mrs Bond - thank-you.