What type of compost bin is best?

[Greig]

Wife doesn't want it lying in a heap at the back of the garden so I'm going to invest in a bin.

Any do's and don'ts? Thanks.

[rustylady]

You could build yourself a wooden one out of pallets if you can scrounge any. I've got a couple of the black plastic "daleks" at the allotment and a homemade wooden one at home. Both types give good results, but I find the daleks heat up quicker.

[Greig]

You could build yourself a wooden one out of pallets if you can scrounge any. I've got a couple of the black plastic "daleks" at the allotment and a homemade wooden one at home. Both types give good results, but I find the daleks heat up quicker.

I did think about a Dalek and they seem to be fairly reasonable in price. With or without a base though?

[hamesy]

I've got a dalek from B&Q, 330 litres I think. I had a slight problem getting it down the allotment but once in place, I filled it up in no time.

[alldigging]

Local councils often have a scheme to offer them cheap...
Worth a look.

(After asking on freecycle of course!)

[rustylady]

I did think about a Dalek and they seem to be fairly reasonable in price. With or without a base though?

Without a base, and site it on soil or grass.

[alex-adam]

If you go for a Dalek, try to get one without a hatch at the bottom, in my experience, the simple conical ones seem to work best - and if possible get two.

You will find lots of information on compost on-line if you Google 'compost making'

a-a

[Bigmallly]

Have a look at this Greig before you decide.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ins_62925.html

[dominic10]

I'm in the process of clearing an overgrown half allotment plot and we have built a large composter out of pallets and we have nearly filled this in three and a half weeks digging out the clumps of grass - we did layer it with the stable litter from the site. We have just freecycled some paving slabs and the guy offered us a black darlek which we took straight to the allotment. We inherited 3 large compost heaps - we've dug out two and will use the darlek to put most of the third pile in which is the newest pile and still rotting down. At home we have several pallets as a darlek would be too small. As a small woman I am able to access a pallet but will have to rely on my OH to deal with the darlek I think as I understand it it difficult to get at the compost unless you lift them up.

[Bigmallly]

As a small woman I am able to access a pallet but will have to rely on my OH to deal with the darlek I think as I understand it it difficult to get at the compost unless you lift them up.

Unless you used the lift-up hatch at the bottom which I do without any problem when it is ready for use. The only problem you would encounter is turning it over, you really need to be quite tall.

[veggiechicken]

I have a Dalek - £5 from the Council. I'm a shortie too so find it a bit awkward to use, in fact I usually have it on a lower level in the garden so that I can stand above it and drop things in.
It is also no longer round - probably because I squashed it into the car - so the screw on lid doesn't fit and has now blown away into some brambles where it can stay.
The door on the bottom is also useless as it doesn't close (again a result of squashing?).
I've never managed to get it full enough to need to empty it completely and reaching in to stir it up would be nigh on impossible.
And, another thing, if its not on completely flat ground, it has blown over and rolled down the hill. If it was full it might have been more stable.
You may have guessed that we don't really have much respect for each other.
One point in its favour is that you can move it around the garden whereas a pallet bin is more likely to stay in the same place for good.
I'm going to build another pallet bin!

[Kaiya]

I have three daleks - bought one, got two from the council at buy one get one half price but they were still expensive at about £23 for the two - depends on your council - but convienient for me to order them that way. The third one is now half full, mostly with oak leaves and horse bedding, for later mulching. I don't use the doors, and I'm 5'7 but I didn't have an issue moving one earlier in the year - just lifted it up, the pile fell over a bit as I did so, but then I just shoveled it about until it was where I wanted it, and put the unrotted stuff back in. It did manage to do a good job at composting on probably half the contents in 6-9 months or so. I did also have a young rat in it, which was a bit startled that it's home was up for demolition without planning permission. So I suppose that's a benefit to daleks - they aren't permenant homes for rats.

I did lose a lid from Dalek 1 as VC did, blew away into a neighbour's plot - that one is now tied on. The council ones though are tight enough. And I did need to level the soil and I actually buried the edges a bit (literally about an inch - very half hearted!) to give them some protection from the winds we yet. They managed the recent storm fine.

If I had pallets and space, I'd probably have a lovely 3 bay pallet bin set up. As I don't, I'm happy with my dalek invasion force.

[TallGirl]

I wouldn't go for either; Daleks are too small to get properly hot in the middle, and wooden pallets are less insulated and more vulnerable to getting too wet from the rain or too dry from the sun.

We got two cubic-metre plastic thingies that sit side by side. I fill one while the other is rotting down, and so far it's worked. Three would be great if space permitted. I turn them over from the top which is a bit of a stretch because they're awkwardly located. They have emptying hatches at the bottom but I never use them. Only real complaint is that the hinges are a bit flimsy and I had to weight down the lids with rocks to stop them blowing off.

Now, I'd really love three of those heavy duty frontloading wood ones, but space and cash just don't permit * sigh *.

If it was a choice of Dalek or pallets, I'd go for two daleks. Try the council or Freecycle?

PS, chicken wire under the bottom of the bins lets worms in but keeps the rodents out (or that's the theory anyway)

[Sanjo]

3 Daleks for me too. 2 of them have finished compost and the 3rd is working. I also have another that I use to store my spent container Toms compost to use on other things.
I do find the door at the bottom a bit awkward, especially as i have very fine roots from my nearby fruit bushes/trees appearing in them, which is tending to bind everything together.
When it's full though, I just access it from the top which is no trouble.
My lid is very tight fitting and required both of my hands to remove it so i am lucky there.

[taff]

I tired daleks and didnt get on with them. I found I couldnt stir them properly, and the amount fo stuff I had to compost didn't get composted quickly enough. Mind you, this was before I found a use for grass clippings, when I had to put them in the dalek, think black and stinky, but hey, it was hot
You might find you prefer one method over another, so it's entirely up to you.
I currently have a compost tumbler and a pallet bin. The tumbler worked really well last year in the summer. The pallet bin has an old door on top of to stop everything getting too wet, but I think I'm going with bury everything from the end of this summer.
I want to plant a tree where the compost bin is, and completely re-design the garden and what happens in it and where, so there won't be a compost heap, just areas for the compost to rot.
I think I'd probably have liked to try those plastic square ones though...