Kitchen Garden Forum

Thanks for all the previous comments. I'd like some advice on the best compost containers.

I have the following plastic bins (all sold for composting):
- A square one 3x3 foot and about 4 ft 6 high, with air vents
- A round one about 2 foot in diameter, about 4 ft 6 high (supplied by local authority recycle people)
- A square one a bit wider than the first

I have been trying to keep the first two going with fresh stuff (as per the previous posts) with the idea of turning the results out into the third one to finish it off.

The problem I have with the first two plastic ones is mixing up the contents (not enough room & access) and getting the results out at the bottom (insufficient access to really work a spade around). Taking it out at the bottom seems to be the only to mix the stuff up, but it's not working well.

Would I be better ditching these three and moving to two larger square ones (of the slatted wooden sided variety)? These would appear to offer better access to turn the contents up.

Since reading that the amount of carbon to nitrogen on a compost heap should be about 30 to 1 - yes, 30!! - I have made sure that all corrugated cardboard packaging is torn up and put on. The results have been a marked improvement on my previously produced mush. But I have also noticed on other peoples heaps on our allotments that a lot of dry stuff on the surface of a heap conceals a lot of material rotting down nicely - but that takes about 2 years or so to produce what is required.

mike

I think it depends on what you put in. My compost takes about 9 months by the slow method, but I don't put in a lot of woody material. Most of it's soft leafy stuff or vegetable matter and, as you say, quite a lot of cardboard.

Our method is two compost heaps at any one time. The clean one takes everything that cannot perpetuate itself either by seed or roots, the dirty one is what doesn't qualify for the first bin or even if there is a suspicion of a problem which includes dock, thistle, nettle, crops that have gone to seed etc. No turning either for us as there just isn't time or effort to spare. The odd thing is that we have yet to fill the dirty compost, it just keeps going down on its own. The plan was that one day we would spread it out, anything that grew would get weedkiller spray, it hasn't yet happened.
Allan