Question about Compost bins
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Question about Compost bins YMC 10-12-2008
Posted by YMC on October 12, 2008, 6:52 am
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Hi,

Due to the layout of the house - I probably need to locate most of my black
plastic compost bins (3/5) to an area of the garden which gets full sun. I
tried it before - but the worms invariably fry during Summer.

But would the composting process still work? (I'll put a bucket of water
each day to keep it moist)

I tried the open concept - but the compost invariably dries up and does not
decompose. Doesn't work so well.




Posted by 0tterbot on October 12, 2008, 9:32 pm
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> Hi,
>
> Due to the layout of the house - I probably need to locate most of my
> black plastic compost bins (3/5) to an area of the garden which gets full
> sun. I tried it before - but the worms invariably fry during Summer.
>
> But would the composting process still work? (I'll put a bucket of water
> each day to keep it moist)
>
> I tried the open concept - but the compost invariably dries up and does
> not decompose. Doesn't work so well.

apparently (using that as soemthing of a disclaimer ;-) the process of
organic stuff breaking down has an ideal temperature range of
(approximately!!!) 15-25 degrees or so. (if i could think what book i read
that in, i could check, couldn't i? ;-)

it has to do with ideal operating temperatures for worms & bacteria etc,
rather than the stuff itself (which clearly has no opinion).

when it's hotter than that (considering sun exposure and colour of bin), you
might experience far less decomposition than you'd hope for (that is my
experience). the worms & bugs either clear off or they die if they can't get
away. you might also find the compost has overheated (grey matter in the
compost, smoke coming out - again, my rather alarming experience). compost
which has overheated entirely, as well as not breaking down properly (but
rather, smouldering) might present a fire hazard of some sort. you can cool
it by leaving it open, watering & airing it regularly, but it just won't be
the same once that's happened, the bacteria will be dead & it takes _ages_
to get going again.

if i were you i'd think about what sort of shade could be provided for
summer. a simple shelter comprised of posts and shade cloth, perhaps? you
can use wet hessian over the top, but that sounds like a pointless hassle to
me if you could organise shade over the bins instead.
kylie



Posted by YMC on October 13, 2008, 10:26 am
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options


> apparently (using that as soemthing of a disclaimer ;-) the process of
> organic stuff breaking down has an ideal temperature range of
> (approximately!!!) 15-25 degrees or so. (if i could think what book i read
> that in, i could check, couldn't i? ;-)
>
> it has to do with ideal operating temperatures for worms & bacteria etc,
> rather than the stuff itself (which clearly has no opinion).
>
> when it's hotter than that (considering sun exposure and colour of bin),
> you might experience far less decomposition than you'd hope for (that is
> my experience). the worms & bugs either clear off or they die if they
> can't get away. you might also find the compost has overheated (grey
> matter in the compost, smoke coming out - again, my rather alarming
> experience). compost which has overheated entirely, as well as not
> breaking down properly (but rather, smouldering) might present a fire
> hazard of some sort. you can cool it by leaving it open, watering & airing
> it regularly, but it just won't be the same once that's happened, the
> bacteria will be dead & it takes _ages_ to get going again.
>
> if i were you i'd think about what sort of shade could be provided for
> summer. a simple shelter comprised of posts and shade cloth, perhaps? you
> can use wet hessian over the top, but that sounds like a pointless hassle
> to me if you could organise shade over the bins instead.
> kylie

Thanks Kylie. I don't think the hessian bag will work. Its just very hot.

I've relocated one of the compost bins to a very shady spot. And I'll try
and relocate more in that corner.

I'll keep one in the hot area - minus the worms - and see how that fares
over Summer. That spot is fairly large and out of the way and sight - hence
my desire to place my compost bins there.



Posted by Andrew Gabb on October 19, 2008, 4:11 am
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YMC wrote:
> Due to the layout of the house - I probably need to locate most of my black
> plastic compost bins (3/5) to an area of the garden which gets full sun. I
> tried it before - but the worms invariably fry during Summer.
>
> But would the composting process still work? (I'll put a bucket of water
> each day to keep it moist)

I have 5 big Gedyes in the open sun (in Adelaide), and I put
everything in them, including roses, couch, ivy, food scraps, etc.
Wouldn't go any other way - I've been doing it for years. I've tried
open, but it's too much work and takes up too much space.

I add the stuff a layer (about 15-20 cm) at a time, with about 2-3
spades of soil and a small scoop of blood and bone, and water each
layer. The food scraps go in from another bin about once a month,
usually with green stuff on top to seal the smell in.

I turn them over about each 4-8 weeks. This is easy with a Gedye -
you just pull the bin off the heap, put it next to the heap, and
shovel the heap back into the bin - about 10 min per bin. I normally
add some water at this stage, particularly in summer. The compost
shrinks so if you're turning over (say) 3 bins you end up with at
least one bin free, which moves to the start of the line.

In hot weather I tend to wet them about once each 2 weeks, with
about a bucketful using spray.

Generally the heap won't work well if it's too dry *or* too wet. It
needs both air and water. It certainly will have troubles if it's
too cold too, which is why they need to be in the sun in winter.

Too things I've found out (pretty obvious really when you think
about how these things work). The heap composts faster and takes
less space if you clip green stuff to lengths of about 30 cm or
less, ie less bushes and more stalks and leaves. Secondly, green
stuff composts much faster than dry stuff.

Works for me.

Andrew
--
Andrew Gabb
email: agabb@tpgi.com.au Adelaide, South Australia
phone: +61 8 8342-1021
-----

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