Wednesday 22 January 2020

Back to Black


Today the weather was pleasant so I set about the task of emptying out the mature compost bin.  At the far end of our rectangular garden we have two 'daleks', one in each corner.  Our kitchen (and garden) waste gets added to one while the other is left to rot down - with the help of brandling worms. It is high time I did this as, with slower breakdown at colder temperatures,  the active bin has been brimming full for weeks.  The end result is, at most, a third of the height of the full dalek.  Now emptied the waste can be directed to the second bin where there is plenty of room. 

Here's the same bin at the beginning of the year (9/2/19)


With dalek in place:


I have bagged up the compost for now as I have yet to decide where the greatest need is:  flowerbeds or tubs.  Most likely I will avoid the option of taking them to the allotment as this involves transport. This black stuff is like gold dust. 




4 comments:

  1. I only started our garden compost heap off in the autumn. I'm trying a square compost bin to see how it performs. You can't really get enough of the true black stuff can you.

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    1. My cue for emptying out and restarting a bin is when the other when is full to brimming. And no, there is never enough of it.

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  2. Sounds you have the same two-bin system as me. Very handy to have the extra one, to let the first rot down fully, isn't it? I also have a third, where I dump any large, twiggy stuff and soak it regularly, to try to get some fungal breakdown started. And those are just the bins at home, never mind the allotment :)

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    1. Yes it is a system that works. I do have a pile of scrubby prunings too. Not very pretty but it is rotting down too - just very slowly!

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