Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi - hope someone can help a newbie!

I'm composting for the first time this year in a Dalek-style compost bin and I don't think my balance of 'greens' and 'browns' is right. I put a lot of moist kitchen waist in but there isn't a lot of drier bulky stuff. The compost is a bit smelly (which I did expect, and it's only when the lid's off) and there seem to be a lot of little flies inside.

I thought I might visit a pet shop and put some straw in and give it a good mix - good idea?!

I might be able to get some horse manure, so would this be good too?

Thanks in advance!

hi jenny,
do you know somone with rabbits or guineapigs or chooks? a neihgbour or a niece prehaps? this would be your best option, you would add to the brown part of your compost and add nitrogen, i certainly wouldnt BUY anything to add it goes against the grain of making your own "free" compost. do you know a sales rep? do they recieve things in cardboard box's for promotion? are you making the most of loo rolls, tisues, egg box's, hair from your brush?? what about you or your husbands or friends or famillys work place do they get deliverys in cardboard box's? most work places have to pay to get them put in landfill so its worth asking around.
flies are part of the proccess unfortunatly they are just somthing you have to put up with on the up side they are usually the ones who help pollinate your plants, and bad smells are also quite normal though these lessen but dont dissapear altogether if you get the balance right.
the trick i think is to place the darlic as far from the house as poss, I recently discoved (from a trhead on here) a 5 lt compost container for inside with a click shut lid from sainsburys £2.99 we had a 10lt one but were plagued with flies so we kept it out side the backdoor the one at sainsburys holds two or three days worth of kitchen waste without smells or flies (as our composters are the allotment this is perfect for us) if you cant find the answer else where go to your pet shop and ask for their refuse from rabbits etc. any vegy animals will do but please dont buy anything, it isnt neccisary and you may as well buy your compost if thats what your going to do, also straw and hey take ages to rot on their own without the animal dung to help them, you could also try persuading your male friends and family to collect their wee to help speed things up.
hope that helps

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Thanks!

Might try and work up the courage to go to our local pet shop and ask for used bedding - hadn't thought of that before

do it girl !
chances are they are paying for land fill space, so just ask they can only say no, so what? but you need to make the most of whats available, what does your mum, your dad, your sister your neighbour do with their loo rolls egg boxs etc? we now have 4 neighbors givings us grass cuttings etc. they just leave them on our doorstep, in a bag and we take care of it, O.k. so we occationally get a bag of crisps packets with the grass but we feel its a fair trade for the amount of free compost it gives us over the year
also you would be suprised at the amount of stuff great aunts etc are willing to accumilate on your behalf.
give it a go, try even youre local church or mosque, they will both be happy to ask for what you need on your behalf, if it helps the planet, brings people together, you may even make new friends,
honestly you will be suprised once you start asking, I'm a medical rep so work mostly from home but even my regional manager who I see maybee twice a year every september he pasess his banana skins on to my manager who i see once a month to help ripen my toms and chillis, just ask, garenteed they will think your at least a bit quirky and worst a bit mad but all will want to help, it helps them think they are doing there bit without the effort.
go for it!

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Also, dried trimmings from your garden would be a help.

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...you can find me moderating at The Grow Spot Gardening Forums...

And don't forget the used coffee grounds from Starbucks. And if you haven't got a Starbucks then most other coffee places will dole them out - take along a black plactic bag, if you ask.
And for cardboard, just need to find out when shops have their rubbish collected and patrol the streets early morning, you'll get more than you need that way.

Sue

Hi, sorry to butt in

Do you shread the cardboard up quite well before you add it? I can get hold of quite a bit (turns out our local sainsbury veg manager is very nice and more than willing to help ) Should I limit it to a certain amount per bin? I only have the one at the moment, but will be making some more with some pallets over the next couple of weeks

Also, silly question maybe (sorry ) do you just leave it to get on with composting? Or should I turn it?

Thank you

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"Nothing contrary to one's genius"


http://chrissieslottie.blogspot.com/

I make little newspaper parcels of my kitchen waste ... so its a mix of brown and green as it goes in. Works for me.

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

Thanks everyone!

There are some great suggestions there. I'm def going to go to a pet shop and ask for bedding and I'll be making better use of cardboard etc. I might put more newspaper in our caddy to line it too.

If you've got a cat, swap it for a couple of guinea pigs...all the compost accelerator you could wish for, and they eat weeds/kitchen scraps

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

I love guinea pigs, best composters in the whole world. Eat all the waste veggies, turn them into nice neat little pellets, all ready to go into the compost heap with whatever they decide they don't like (which isn't much). Alternatively I just move the guinea run and cut the lawn with the Flymo which sucks up all the poo, half-eaten bits, dried leaves falling off the trees etc, all ready to go onto the compost heap.

don't forget to empty your hoover into the compost too!

i've filled up my dalek now but not put any newspaper or cardboard in - probably should have - but i'm happy to let it all rot down till next autumn

gonna get another 2 daleks - already got enough stuff bagged up to fill a second one and make a start on the third- but will make sure to use some cardboard and newspaper this time - might even pee on it as well

the newspaper parcels idea is brilliant - my kids currently take peelings etc down to the compost bin using a saucepan etc which just makes more washing up .....

how much newspaper / cardboard etc to green waste should we use?

about 50/50 if you can. I use 2 sheets of tabloid newspaper, fill with peelings and roll up like a fajita. Perfect, no mess.

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

This Friday's Gardener's World Monty Don is going to show how make the perfect compost.

NN

I tear up the insides of toilet rolls & kitchen rolls & add them to my compost bin as a dry layer (I keep them in a small bin in the kitchen until I've got enough to make a layer). You can also tear up newspaper & junk mail but glossy magazines aren't recommended because of the inks in them.

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

This has all been really useful to me too, thanks everyone. I do have a question though: I've just taken on my 1st lottie and there are 2 compost boxes there. One is about half full of manure and compost covered with a carpet and seems to be rotting down quite well. Should I add fresh stuff to this now and mix it in or use this, I think it may have been there for a couple of years, and start the 2nd box?

On the subject of manure...there are some horses round the corner from my house (within wheelbarrow distance!) and I'd like to use some "well rotted manure" on my plot (as the books always say). To rot it down should I mix it in with the compost or make another pile? I'd even thought I might dig it in as it is and let it rot over the winter

Jenny - for the last two years we've had the local gymkhana in the field next to us and I've barrowed the muck up to the garden. I laid it on top of the rest of my stuff in the compost bin(I've got three wooden ones) so that any liquid would perhaps kick start the other compost, but allowed me to take the well rotted pony poo off in February to lay on my potato patch. It is a system which has worked very well these last two years.

This year the gymkhana was 2 miles away -

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~
Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.
~ Mary Kay Ash

I suggested to my 17 year old son he peed on the compost on Saturday. He's convinced I've lost the plot now

so what was teh verdict on monty dons perfect compost??

here's a nice site, might be useful:
http://www.compostthis.co.uk/

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

Rotten so and so had 6, yes 6 compost bins. I've only got one - best get the hammer and nails out then Scarey

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)