wanting a compost bin

Hi, I am wanting to create my own compost and need a little help, what ate the best compost bins to buy? What can I put in them and how long does the process take, do the smell and does it help where they are put like sunlight or shade?

Keith

 

Hi Keith idealy you need 2 or 3 !!!! , your local council also may be able to help as I have two and the local council supplied them so get in touch with them .


How long it takes all depends on what you put in them , but mine is normaly 12 months.

Best in sunlight as the warmth speeds up the rotting down process

Mine dont smell unless I overload with grass clipings dont put any house hold food in as you will attract rats

Spruce

 

I use old dumpy bags, but even they are overflowing at this time of year.

Mind you, one of those has got Steve's pumpkin growing in it.

 

Hi Keith,

Spruce is right, you really need at least two bins, one filling whilst one is rotting down. You mentioned in your intro post that you are in Nottinghamshire. Nottingham City Council offers bins at special prices to residents so should be worth contacting them via their website.

 

I'd say how many compost bins you have is determined ultimately by the size of your garden. I've got 8 in my 70' x 40' garden and all but one are bursting at the seams, especially now when things are being cut down or have (or soon will be) finished fruiting/cropping etc.

Having said that, my bins aren't particularly large (probably only about 1 cubic metre capacity) but because they have to be on show, I used Alan Titchmarsh's wooden beehive compost bin plans and painted them so that they actually look like beehives. As others have said, they do need to be in the sun, those of mine in the shade can take 2 years to produce decent compost. I use mine in rotation, depending on what went into which bin last, but from what I've put in (and am still putting in) this year, I expect to be able to use compost from all of them next Spring - they may not be completely rotted down, but I would anticipate each will be about 80% useable compost - the remainder just gets put back at the bottom.

You can put pretty much anything in a compost bin except cooked food, fat, bones and citrus fruit. Mine, like most people's, gets grass clippings, the cardboard insides of loo and kitchen roll, kitchen and garden waste, used kitchen roll, torn-up newspaper as well as tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells and I often throw in spent compost (from seed trays, tubs, containers etc.)

A compost bin should certainly never smell unpleasant - even at the height of their 'rotting process', mine only ever give off a slight damp earth type smell. The secret is to put things in layers (so far as you are able), about 4" of 'greens' then a similar layer of 'browns' - which is quite easy to work out, 'greens' are your peelings, grass, plant material etc., 'browns' are the dry stuff, paper, carboards, dry leaves, small chopped up twigs etc.

The only other 2 things you need to think about are:

1) Don't let your heap get too dry (sling a bucket or can of water over it - or leave the lid off occasionally when it's raining) as this helps with the rotting down process and helps keep ants away.

2) Turn it occasionally - or, as I do, use an old broom handle to give it a 'stir' every so often. This helps aerate the heap, stopping it forming a slimy, stinking mess (just in case you haven't got your brown/green ratio 'perfect') and, because the centre of the heap is most likely to be the hottest and therefore the most efficient bit, it also helps to bring the stuff at the sides into the centre and helps the whole thing rot down more quickly.

 

Yea you certainly would not want a horrible dirty rat anywhere near your garden.
Nobody likes a rat

 

I got one cheap from my local council, it is a plastic one with a tight fitting lid. It can smell a bit in the summer but making sure it is not too wet helps. When the lid is on the smell is pretty much contained unless you right over the top of it.

 

many of my clients have the standard plastic compost bins with the little flap on the bottom

If I were to buy, I would look at the tumbling ones which makes it a lot easier to turn the compost, especially when the bin starts getting full

I would also buy 2 medium sized bins, as it takes a long time to get proper compost