Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling

Thanks for that, shredding will commence! Hopefully the heat of the composting will kill them - poor thing, unfortunately its a plant I really can't stand!

heres as promised pics of my beehive composter ive got it on my balcony for now so ive loaded it with loads of things that im keeping for my allotment when i get one so its come in handy for now.

Looks like a book advert to me.. the Backyard Aquaponics website has all the info you`ll ever need and its free :wink:Edit, AV8 appears to have registered on the garden web forums today too. Just to post...the same dodgy book advert lol

Whizz-away and She-wee are devices that enable a girl to pee standing up or sitting in a wheel chair etc. I experimented with one of these whilst mountaineering a few years back.It is quite a feat of mind over matter to pee standing up - doesn't come naturally to a girl. In the end I didn't...

I lift my Dalek off (its cone shaped), place it alongside, and then fork the stuff back in to mix it.I wee on most days, that helps get the temeprature up (although this time of the year it may not help much, and more moisture is required in Summer and very little in Winter)My compost looks...

Can anyone help - an elderly friend asked me if she can repot her poinsettia using left over azalea compost - I have no idea! I would be very grateful for an answer - many thanks Fi

I don't have much bare ground until late autumn and then I simply spread the compost on the surface and let the worms drag it in and finish the job with a light forking in spring. I keep a few bags stored over winter for putting into pea and bean trenches in spring.

Very very good advice :thumb: Aeration, moisture balance and C/N balance is the key to good composting. .

They're only red when they've fed (on blood). Mostly they look like grey dust. If it's far enough away, they should die soon. The cold weather coming soon :( should help too, but it doesn't totally eradicate them. Sounds like they're coming from the bedding. BTW Dettol dilutes slightly in...

Hi allI came across something on t'internet earlier about the latest buzzword to do with saving the planet. That word is 'biochar'.Basically, it is charcoal, but with the oils and gases captured during production rather than just evaporating away.Here's the general idea from what I gather:...

If you want to be organic then glyphosate is definitely out. There are now concerns that it might leave more residues than they first thought. I have used glyphosate in the past and it is very effective. Its effect on nettles is particularly impressive. Best used as a spray. However I would not...

I went on a Master Composting Course at Ryton Gardens. The compostable bags take 18 months to rot down and the stuff inside does not get access to air, so i would not recommend it for either compost heap or wormery. The trouble with putting them in the recycling bin is that the binmen cannot...

Basically what you have it what we all have, a wasp smörgåsbord! Not only rotting fruity scraps but also all the insects that inhabit the bin. Wasps are great recyclers and unless they are causing problems a best left undisturbed. Just tuck your jeans inside your wellies when you go to tip...

That's the chappie. I'll take my camera and photograph the instructions on the packet next time I'm in town

"including bbq"Presumably only if Briquets used?We have fabby hand-made (for want of a better word) charcoal, which is basically just going to leave wood ask, isn't it?By the by, if you are a BBQ-with-coals fan, rather than a gas-barbie, proper charcoal is a dream compared to the stuff in...

One of the reasons that shiny paper doesn't compost well can be due to the coating used to make it shiny, i.e. the clay - this clay is difficult to break down, which of course it must do before the paper itself can begin to degrade. If the paper is shredded or better still torn, the fibres in...

We've two 'daleks' with well established worm colonies and we take out about two thirds of each 'dalek' every six months.

Thats what I do kev, provided the potato tops were healthy when you pulled them up there's no problem.

Yes, you can. A good mix is green waste (garden waste) and brown waste (kitchen and cardboard). We are lucky having a "green" bin that the council collect so all weeds, grass clippings, dead headed flowers and dead annuals go into it, along with cardboard. But we have a small bin in the kitchen...

Good evening Greg and welcome to the site. By fertilising I assume you mean feeding? If so, now would be a good time. Do you have fruit on the trees?