A Homemade Life
Welcome to Homemade Life.

To take full advantage of everything offered by our forum, please log in if you are already a member or join our community if not ....

Chilli-head
A Homemade Life
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Who is online?
In total there are 2 users online :: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 2 Guests

None

Most users ever online was 112 on 8th October 2020, 7:09 am
Latest topics
» Hungry Birds
by Dirick55 7th December 2023, 6:04 am

» PRESENTATION
by Chilli-head 23rd November 2023, 2:55 pm

» New Kiva loan
by Chilli-head 21st July 2023, 12:35 pm

» A peat-free compost is top in UK Which? magazine trial
by Dandelion 25th April 2023, 9:42 pm

» New gardening year 2023
by Chilli-head 5th March 2023, 10:15 pm

» What have I done in the workshop today?
by Dandelion 2nd December 2022, 1:12 pm

» What are you harvesting today?
by Dandelion 2nd December 2022, 1:12 pm

» Wartime marrow casserole
by Dandelion 18th October 2022, 4:42 pm

» Late sowings in August ... beans ?
by Ploshkin 11th August 2022, 9:29 am

» Come August, come night in the garden
by Chilli-head 4th August 2022, 3:29 pm

» Welcome guest
by Ploshkin 31st July 2022, 9:16 am

» The Jolly July Garden
by Ploshkin 19th July 2022, 11:38 am

» More mead ...
by Chilli-head 13th July 2022, 12:52 pm

» The June garden thread
by Dandelion 25th June 2022, 9:55 pm

» Plastic bags
by Dandelion 5th June 2022, 7:28 pm

» The merry May garden
by Dandelion 31st May 2022, 10:04 pm

» Fooling around in the April garden
by freebird 1st May 2022, 8:33 am

» March into the garden
by Dandelion 1st April 2022, 7:26 pm

» Mow Suggestions
by freebird 29th March 2022, 5:48 pm

» Some thoughts on resilience
by Ploshkin 12th March 2022, 2:23 pm

Statistics
We have 270 registered users
The newest registered user is Lloyd

Our users have posted a total of 48045 messages in 2416 subjects
Pages we like:

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Hca_button


So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

+6
polgara
Dandelion
mark barker
Sparhawk
John Cossham
Compostwoman
10 posters

Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Compostwoman 27th May 2011, 10:15 pm

Well I think we need a thread about how many/what sort of composting methods we use in our plots. Very Happy

I have (counts in head) 6 daleks, 18 NZ (recycleworks) wooden bins in a 2 x 9 configuration, 3 Komp 850's and a Can o Worms. As well as various heaps and leaf mould bags and piles of wood shreddings around in various places.

Some bins have " weedy/rooty" compostables in, which I only use in the bottom of holes, or spread in the wood when it is finished, some bins are dedicated leaf mould bins, some are dedicated wood chipping bins , some are " grassboarding" bins and some are general purpose mixed composting bins.

2 daleks are used for "personal and humanure" waste, and I make a lot of compost over the course of a year.

So I need to be organised!

some are " grassboarding" bins

Sparhawk wrote:Is that like snowboarding ones, but for summer use?

Ok, will assume you don't know...

grassboarding is a technique where you use grass mowings and cardboard or paper to create a compost which is largely weed free ( depending on temp reached in the bin) and it is a peat like compost. Very Happy


Last edited by Compostwoman on 28th May 2011, 10:56 am; edited 4 times in total
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by John Cossham 27th May 2011, 11:20 pm

OK OK OK.... I occasionally do a head count of my compost system family. I've done one this evening by just walking down my 80 metre long garden and then totting them up when I get back in. The numbers vary as I get given more, or find them, or buy them, I also sell one occasionally, and of course, not all are always in use.

So.....
Wormeries
1 Can Of Worms,
1 Worm Cafe,
1 Merlin Bin,
1 Original Wormery, (exactly the same as the Merlin!)
1 Home Made one made out of a plastic barrel.

Tumblers
1 200 litre cylinder on a metal frame
1 Envirocycle 125 litre
1 SunMar 400 CompostFlow
1 Compostumbler 334 litre
1 Home made Green Wheelie Bin on a wooden frame
plus a Compostumbler 635 which is broken so it doesn't count
plus 2 static 200 litre tumbler bodies with no metal frame

220 litre Daleks
5, two used for storing loam from turf, one with no lid or door, one empty as I only got it a few days ago.

330 litre Daleks
2 with no lid or door (one has turf in it, the other is ex-tumbler material)
13 in good working order

235 litre Compost Machine Daleks
4, 3 of which are my compost toilet contents system

New Zealand Bins, mostly made from wired-together pallets, and up on top of a solid pallet to dissuade rodents
4 full
2 dismantled

Others
1 Green Johanna
1 Green Cone (working)
1 Green Cone (just found on skip, no basket, not installed yet)
1 Komp 525
1 'Air Raid Bin' made from 2 pieces of J-shaped corrugated iron from an Anderson Shelter
1 leafmould enclosure made from chicken wire
2 builders bags

So, working systems for actual compost, rather than storing loam or turves, I make it 43.

I often do a quick hot tumble in one of the batch tumblers and then dig or tip the material out and put it into a dalek for a longer sit. In the past couple of years I've sold over 100 sacks of compost to Edible York, most of which would have been about 20kg, and most I delivered 3 or 4 at a time with my bike trailer. Last year I got £3 per sack but this year they got funding and I've been getting £4.50 per sack. I sell carrier bags of riddled compost for a pound or two (a donation, size of which up to the donor) down at the veg shop I collect most of my compostables from and this year I've offered seed compost and container growing medium too. I have a Scheppach soil sifter for the bigger loads, and a rotasieve for taking to do riddling at other peoples' houses.

My wife says I have OCD... Obsessive Composting Disorder. What do you think? Very Happy
John
John Cossham
John Cossham

Posts : 36
Join date : 2010-01-16
Location : York, UK

http://lowcarbonlifestyle.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty How many compost bins do you have?

Post by Compostwoman 27th May 2011, 11:29 pm

My name is CW and I have OCD.... Laughing

On reading your post, I had a recount and I didn't count up the 4 pallet bins, or the "other " daleks around the side of the garage, or the many builders bags with stuff in, or the home made wormery made from plastic storage boxes... or the various heaps and bags and stuff scattered around or the Green Cone or the "demo" Komp 400......


but one thing occurred to me ....*I* have 4 acres to scatter all my composting stuff around and I *know*...you don't...so can we have a video clip on here?

I know you have done one...!



Last edited by Compostwoman on 31st May 2011, 12:10 pm; edited 3 times in total
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by John Cossham 27th May 2011, 11:59 pm

Well it's not a competition is it?

I may do a better filmette of my little plot, which is 'just' 80 m by 7m, and has over 10 big mature trees and loads more that I've planted, a studio, a garage, a pergola and a lot of mess and untidy areas.... plenty of wildlife!!
John Cossham
John Cossham

Posts : 36
Join date : 2010-01-16
Location : York, UK

http://lowcarbonlifestyle.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty So how many bins do you have?

Post by Compostwoman 28th May 2011, 12:03 am

John Cossham wrote:Well it's not a competition is it?

I may do a better filmette of my little plot, which is 'just' 80 m by 7m, and has over 10 big mature trees and loads more that I've planted, a studio, a garage, a pergola and a lot of mess and untidy areas.... plenty of wildlife!!

No...not a competition at all - sorry if I gave that impression!

but you and I ( I guess!) probably have more bins etc than most other people....so I think it is useful for others to read what we DO have, and what obviously works really well (or we probably would have given up on them!)

And I thought your Fb video was really interesting...you have a large urban garden so it shows people much more what can be done in an urban environment, than my set up, which is obviously geared to a rural plot with more space...

I think your garden is lovely btw, not really messy at all...but then, I guess I am a bit biased..!
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Sparhawk 28th May 2011, 11:23 am

Compostwoman wrote: some are " grassboarding" bins

Sparhawk wrote:Is that like snowboarding ones, but for summer use?

Ok, will assume you don't know...

grassboarding is a technique where you use grass mowings and cardboard or paper to create a compost which is largely weed free ( depending on temp reached in the bin) and it is a peat like compost. Very Happy

I do now, thankyou... Cool
Sparhawk
Sparhawk

Posts : 1787
Join date : 2009-11-15
Age : 56
Location : Isle of Wight

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by mark barker 28th May 2011, 11:43 am

I'm feeling quite left out now.... I want a compost bin! Actually I'm not sure I do, as that'd suggest I'd need to find somewhere to put one (or more!) which would mean I'd have to sort some of the other rubbish out in the garden! Anyone need a bike frame or ten? Wink
mark barker
mark barker

Posts : 659
Join date : 2010-07-29
Age : 49
Location : Swindon, Wiltshire

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Compostwoman 28th May 2011, 12:04 pm

Sparhawk wrote:
Compostwoman wrote: some are " grassboarding" bins

Sparhawk wrote:Is that like snowboarding ones, but for summer use?

Ok, will assume you don't know...

grassboarding is a technique where you use grass mowings and cardboard or paper to create a compost which is largely weed free ( depending on temp reached in the bin) and it is a peat like compost. Very Happy

I do now, thankyou... Cool

I wasn't sure if you were making a joke, or if you didn't know...

Mark, you could always start a "How many bikes do you have" thread...?
AND get a compost bin ( or several) I think your council do discounted ones?
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Dandelion 28th May 2011, 10:47 pm

As a mere lightweight, I have two small daleks, two large daleks and a really big bin (I'm guessing 500l or more?) for bark chippings from the chicken run. I also have a wooden crate which used to be a huge tool box on wheel from Ikea - the wheels fell off, and it's my box for the compost when it's nearly ready. The chickens like sitting in it!
Dandelion
Dandelion
Admin

Posts : 5416
Join date : 2010-01-17
Age : 67
Location : Ledbury, Herefordshire

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by John Cossham 29th May 2011, 12:37 am

mark barker wrote:I'm feeling quite left out now.... I want a compost bin! Actually I'm not sure I do, as that'd suggest I'd need to find somewhere to put one (or more!) which would mean I'd have to sort some of the other rubbish out in the garden! Anyone need a bike frame or ten? Wink

Two compost bins is all you need. You fill one with whatever waste foodstuffs, cardboard, garden weeds, cuttings etc you have, and then when full, you start filling the next one. When number two is full, the first will be ready. You dig that out and then start refilling the first.

For anyone with not enough space for two, one with a hatch at the base might be OK. I don't like having to dig stuff out of the base to make space for the stuff above to fall down, but it is an option. It's quite an art to get that operation right!

For those with even LESS space, a wormery is what you need! The stacking wormeries are very easy to manage, such as Can Of Worms and Worm Cafe... there are others, check 'bubblehouse wormeries' for instance, and there are dog poo wormeries too which have the stacking tray system.
John Cossham
John Cossham

Posts : 36
Join date : 2010-01-16
Location : York, UK

http://lowcarbonlifestyle.blogspot.com/

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by polgara 29th May 2011, 10:30 am

I have one dalek type one which is usually full up with prunings & veggie bits & shredded paper & one dustbin that I fill during the winter with veggie peelings etc & some compost from used pots, that then gets planted with potatos in the spring, after which the resultant compost is just right to do the new pots, so a real circle. If I had my way, I would have several such dustbins, but the OH is not keen on the idea!!
polgara
polgara

Posts : 3028
Join date : 2009-11-16
Age : 77
Location : Sunshine Isle

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Chilli-head 29th May 2011, 9:28 pm

I have just 3 - one rather expensive link-a-bord bin in the garden (must meet aesthetic requirements of Mrs C-H), and two of pallet wood at the lotty. With space for 2 more, once I've shifted the loam pile. 3 are pretty marginal for my needs - still had to buy some New Horizons this year, and I aim to reduce this in future.

I also have to odd black plastic bag of leaves moulding ...
Chilli-head
Chilli-head
Admin and Boss man

Posts : 3305
Join date : 2010-02-23
Location : Bedfordshire

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Leanne 30th May 2011, 8:05 am

only three here too, and like C-H several black sacks....
Leanne
Leanne

Posts : 39
Join date : 2009-11-22
Location : Dorset

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Compostwoman 30th May 2011, 11:07 am

No "only" about it, Leanne, C-H and everybody loveshower

Three bins ( or two, or even one) is GOOD! garden

Lots of people have none Rolling Eyes Evil or Very Mad and they throw away all their compostable material into landfill, so everybody who has compost bins ( heaps, etc) PLEASE

feel pleased with what you are doing to reduce waste and carbon dioxide emissions, biglove

happydance
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by mr_sfstk8d 30th May 2011, 9:28 pm

Are Daleks exclusive to round bins, or are the square ones Daleks too? Anyway, I've two square, squattish bins. Oh, yes, and EXTERMINATE!!!!!!

Or had in operation anyway. Was doing quite well, had two bins, a heap of finished going into garden this year, and over a tonne of greens and browns going into piles to get going again. That was until we got news to move.

So far we've moved over a tonne of finished goods to MIL house, where we'll be growing food starting now, got toms in already. We'll be taking the two bins, perforated dusbins and starting all over again. Exciting and crummy all at once.

For one, I know there's ample material just waiting to be cleared up around the property, so there will be an abundance to get started with, it's just frustrating to have to get at least a year head start to really get going agian. But we will!!
mr_sfstk8d
mr_sfstk8d

Posts : 584
Join date : 2010-12-01
Age : 46
Location : Peoria, IL, US

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Dandelion 30th May 2011, 10:19 pm

Glad you can take the bins with you Mr S. Last time we moved we went into rented accommodation so had to leave our compost and bins to the people who bought our house. Seeing that they chopped down the trees and concreted over the front garden I shouldn't think they had much time for compost, so that hurt a bit.
Dandelion
Dandelion
Admin

Posts : 5416
Join date : 2010-01-17
Age : 67
Location : Ledbury, Herefordshire

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Chilli-head 31st May 2011, 10:02 am

Some people just don't seem to like plants do they Dandelion. This weekend I watched one of my "neighbours" lopping at my apricot tree. It is his right, what he cut off hangs over his property, but seeing branches loaded with fat, green apricots being lopped up and put into the council green waste bags does make me wonder whether some folk are right in the head. The only consolation is that there are a lot more left on my side ...

Anyway, back to compost. I notice that the original post mentioned our methods of making compost, not just the bin count - I'm trying to increase my compost output, and have been using more or less everything to hand from CW's list. Well, I don't like the idea of vacuum cleaner bag contents - who knows what is in there; I'm not that desperate. My third heap is a bit like tghe "grassboarding" approach, but with layers of allotment weeds (mostly grass, comfrey and nettles - much acquired from the rough bit over the fence Embarassed ) and packaging from work - cardboard, brown paper, that maize stuff that looks like Wotsits. The last lot made really nice potting compost.

PS: thanks CW for the encoraging words !
Chilli-head
Chilli-head
Admin and Boss man

Posts : 3305
Join date : 2010-02-23
Location : Bedfordshire

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Compostwoman 31st May 2011, 12:12 pm

Chilli-head wrote:Some people just don't seem to like plants do they Dandelion. This weekend I watched one of my "neighbours" lopping at my apricot tree. It is his right, what he cut off hangs over his property, but seeing branches loaded with fat, green apricots being lopped up and put into the council green waste bags does make me wonder whether some folk are right in the head. The only consolation is that there are a lot more left on my side ...

Unbelievable...headbang headbang headbang

Chilli-head wrote:PS: thanks CW for the encoraging words !
happydance
avatar
Compostwoman

Posts : 5688
Join date : 2009-11-08

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by AngelinaJellyBeana 31st May 2011, 12:27 pm

I've got 3 "Daleks" and a big square one in the garden, all at varying stages. Chicken run stuff, veg peelings, weeds, shredded paper, eggshells, teabags, grass clippings etc all go in, get stirred about every so often and emptied when ready. No real system, just chuck it and wait

At the allotment I inherited a big old ramshackle thing made out of fence panels and old doors. I just use that to chuck in all the weeds and leave them to rot down. Haven't been able to dig anything out as it's too deep for me and too unstable to try and undo a side to get to it, so it's more just a dumping ground Embarassed
AngelinaJellyBeana
AngelinaJellyBeana
Homemade Moderator

Posts : 1328
Join date : 2009-11-10
Location : Oop North

Back to top Go down

So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have? Empty Re: So how many compost bins/heaps etc do you have?

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum