tonnes of compost for lottie

[Eden]

Hello there,

I've finally dug over my allotment today and it is in real need of a good feed. Does anyone know if it is possible to get a ton or two of compost? Buying it at garden centres will cost a fortune and I remember a year or so ago on Gardeners World Monty Don got a skipful of compost as a christmas present. He said it was from the local council. I've e-mailed them and am waiting for a reply but I was wondering if anyone else has managed to buy compost from the council, my compost bins just don't make the amount I'm after, many thanks
Eden

[pigletwillie]

We can buy it from Lount recycling centre which is south of Nottingham. Where bags are £3 ish each, a ton (collected yourself) would only cost about £10. If you wanted a great load the hire of a small tipper lorry would be cost effective as they hold 2-4 ton and would not be too expensive hired for a morning especially if you do several compost runs in it.

Try calling rather than emailing as I find emails to the local council always have a somewhat delayed response.

[shirlthegirl43]

Our council doesn't do the composting themselves so we don't get to buy it

[Eden]

thanks so much Piglet, I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

[Snadger]

Our local council sells the compost at 2 pounds per bag but if you buy 20 bags they only cost 1.50p per bag!
They are 50 Kg bags so thats a tonne of compost for 30 quid...doesn't sound bad to me!

[Cutecumber]

Our council have a VCU (vertical composting unit) which is very quick at turning green waste into compost - unfortunately for us residents, the deal is that a local farmer uses the output on his land. I was told that they have some problems with health and safety issues in terms of selling it to the public, which is a real shame. I suspect, in time, it will be made available as clearly many other authorities sell their compost.

I do find it rather irritating that we have to buy back the waste that we reponsibly took to the recycling centre, and which saved the council money on landfill tax. Hmmm.

(I work for the Council by the way, so I can be as cynical as I like! )

[lainey lou]

buy back[/I] the waste that we reponsibly took to the recycling centre, and which saved the council money on landfill tax. Hmmm.

Yes you're right Cutecumber, it is a bit annoying.
We just try to compost as much as poss ourselves, have 2 compost bins at the lottie and one at home. I also use the bokashi system (bought cheeply from the council) so I can even put cooked food, meat and fish scraps and bones just about anything really in the compost, plus while it ferments, you can collect bokashi juice which when watered down makes a brilliant plant food - a little goes a long way!
Can't recommend the system highly enough!

Regards
Lainey lou

[Alison]

Lainey Lou, what do you do with the pickled stuff from your bokashi bin? I bought ours ages ago but it's taken a couple of months (probably longer) to fill the first bin as I'm tending to only use it for meat scraps, manky potatoes, onion peel and the like ie stuff which I don't want in the normal compost bin / wormery. I've hardly had any juice off it and what I have had has been dark brown with bits in it and I've simply put it down the sink as it's a bit yucky. The waste is covered in white furry mould (is this normal?) but doesn't really smell of anything other than the bran. I was going to leave it a bit and then bury it into my compost bin. What do you think?

[The Doctor]

I'm always a bit wary about buying compost in bulk from an unknown source. At least the commercial stuff has usually been sterilised. My neighbour had a lovely rose garden until he got hold of a large bulk lot from the council and inadvertantly introduced some black spot lurgy and decimated them!

There's no telling what diseases are in stuff bought from the council or local farmer!

[lainey lou]

Hi Alison
I put all my kitchen waste through the bokashi, once it's full i leave it for 2 weeks ( i have 2) then chuck it in the compost bin where it breaks down really quickly. Alternatively you can dig a trench and bury it, it will break down into lovely compost within 8 weeks or so.
The amount of juice you get depends on whats going into the bin, it tends to be more with higher quantites of fruit and veg waste. The juice can either go down the plug hole to eliminate odours or you can dillute it 1:100 as plant feed. I usually get 1-2 tsps every 3 days or so but this does vary.
If the mould you have is white that is fine and normal however if it is grean thats a sign that the waste is putrifying and you need to chuck it and start again.
Dont forget you can put all sorts in even stuff like leftover pasta, pizza,cake (as if!!) anything really!
Hope this is some help
Good luck!
lainey lou

[lainey lou]

ps check out;
www.bokashi.com.au/How-Bokashi-works.htm

[Paulottie]

I'm always a bit wary about buying compost in bulk from an unknown source. At least the commercial stuff has usually been sterilised. My neighbour had a lovely rose garden until he got hold of a large bulk lot from the council and inadvertantly introduced some black spot lurgy and decimated them!

There's no telling what diseases are in stuff bought from the council or local farmer!

I would doubt that black spot was introduced with the compost, The heaps are huge and get hot enough to kill weed seeds and fungal spores.

I have seen Chichester operation on an old WWII airfield, it is contracted out. If I remember right it was about £100 for 3x tonne bags delivered.

You might also try spent mushroom compost. I think we paid about the same for a five tonne loose load. These things are usually better if you club together with other lottie holders.

Although it will no doubt improve soil structure you said 'feed' Eden. It is likely to have little value as feed especially as most of the nutrients will be leached by spring, the time to apply fertilizers is then and that might be chicken guano, blood fish and bone, rockdust, or growmore etc.(not organic)

[Snadger]

............................. you can collect bokashi juice .......................

Regards
Lainey lou

I presume bokashi juice is the politically correct terminology for sh*t water, or liquid manure??

[lainey lou]

Hahahaha!
it's smells a bit like home brew and my plants love it, thats all i need to know!

[mrs potato head]

Hello there,

I've finally dug over my allotment today and it is in real need of a good feed. Does anyone know if it is possible to get a ton or two of compost? Buying it at garden centres will cost a fortune and I remember a year or so ago on Gardeners World Monty Don got a skipful of compost as a christmas present. He said it was from the local council. I've e-mailed them and am waiting for a reply but I was wondering if anyone else has managed to buy compost from the council, my compost bins just don't make the amount I'm after, many thanks
Eden

We managed to get about a ton free from our council last spring.Could have done same about a month back, choose not to.
Our local council - Teignbridge are very 'green', unfortunatly not all of residents in area using compost system are, or prehaps uneducated about what compost is about.
We found masses of plastics in it and lumps of unexplainable foreighn bodies.
Apparently because of the amount of meats etc that are mixed in with raw waste, and the acceleration methods used in processing, high levels of Salmonellla were found. Kind of put us off using it.

Good luck however

L