[Yorky]

I've got a compost bin and it is quite slow to break down. I've read that comfrey makes a good accelerator but in the absence of that is worm liquid (castings tea) any good? If so what dilution rate should be used and how often applied?

Thanks in advance.

[medieval knievel]

urine!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine#Agriculture

[ian]

I got rid of my compost heap today although i was saving a lot of space in the municipal bin every fortnight the bin was a cosy home for a big rat and i can't stand 'em could'nt even work the plot knowing it was there, took off bin and turned the semi rotted slimy congealed mess and left it open hopefully it'll go away now, fear of rats is real and really does have an impact ...

[Garlicbreath]

Uuugh! I'm with you on that Ian. Terrified of them too. I make a point of making loads of noise before entering any shed, garage or overgrown area of garden. I abandoned an allotment once because of rats.

[Sean Ph'lib]

[ian]

i was using one of those cone shaped bins actually called a compost machine, supposed to save on the effort of turning, i guess thats why my furry friend made a home there because he was never disturbed.

[Sean Ph'lib]

I've never tried one of those. My bins - I have five - are made from pallets with black plastic stapled on. They make bins 5' x 5' x 5' and hold an awful lot of compost. Everything goes into them - weeds, grass, hedge trimmings, bracken, nettles, docks, apple prunings, briars, brambles, horse manure, chicken manure, kitchen waste, tea leaves - anything and everything, but nothing that's been cooked, and no meat, fish, or anything of animal origin. I even put old fence poles, runner bean poles, branches etc. in; if they don't rot down the first time, they go in again and eventually break down into perfect compost. I do get the occasional rat making a nest in one, but I keep three mink traps set constantly and he soon wanders into one or other of them.

[James Kilkelly]

Sean Ph'lib how do you get on with all the weeds (docks, brambles), any resprouting?
Do you put them in as soon as you pull them, no leaving to dry out for a while?

[Sean Ph'lib]

I just put them in as I pull - or cut - them. No resprouting - my heaps heat up very hot once I close them (with a sheet of black plastic) and nothing survives. Once it cools down, the worms etc move in and away it goes!

[blownin]

good idea sean, i'm starting to make compost bins out of pallets this weekend, do you make them 3 sided or 4 ( do you put a front on them ? ) if so is harder to turn the heap with the front on, also do you have a wooden lid for them or just plastic on top, i put rat poison in short lengths of 4 inch pipes around the site with a heavy stone on top of them to stop them from blowing away.

[Michael196]

Hi there

I have been composting for a few years now, ( 4 years). My site is 3/4 acre . I have 4 x 8x4 sheets of ply (18mm), arranged in a square, with an open top. . One of the ply sheets is cut at half height, to give the opening.

I used to back the ride on up a slope into the bin, but now I deposit beside the composter and shovel in.

With a bin that size, I have never turned it, ( sheer size), however it does take all the year around ashs' all paper from the house, all cuttings, trimmings , everything as well as a second 1/2 acre sites cuttings.

Some years I leave it open to rot ( no cover) somtimes i cover it. When covered the heat generated is quite impressive.

However for a heap that size, it can take 2 years to fully break down, ( no turning) but usually I grow potaotes on the top after the first year ( mad I know), but i needed the space.

that does mean constructing a second unit beside it to handle the the current
year.

last year, the older bin was empited and the bottom 2 foot became part of the veg plot. so already this year the bin is 90% full, but i intend to stack as high as I can .

Left completely alone it will completly compost down to give high quality compost ( maybe 1- 1.5 tonnes).

I take clippings off an old garden that just left the clippings on the ground, for years and the quality was superb. When put on a hedge or planting border, they absolutly thrived. realy produces black gold.

to completly empty this bin takes a good two days. but provides enough mulch for at least 60 feet of hedging, at about 1 foot high. I estimated the cost to buy that much compost at about 5-600 euro.