Composting - Dalek not producing

[Dynamite]

Hi all, my dalek compost bin just seems to go down so quick and doesn't really provide me with much compost. It seems to go from being 75% to the top to 5% in no time at all. I put kitchen scraps, garden waste, paper shreds, grass clippings in, mixed a bit and evenly and in moderation. It sits direct onto soil.

How can I increase my yield? I need lots of compost fast and Hull city council won't even sell any let alone get it free. So much for encouraging re-using and recycling.

Kind Regards............Rob

[Cadalot]

The fact is going down so quickly mean you either have the mix right or its just grass

I have different bins on different plots and they all work at different rates, If you fill with grass it does go down quickly, get the mix right and layer it green and brown add paper and cardboard. I shred paper and cut cardboard into small inch squares. Ask you family and friends for their grass, I get additional grass from my sister, sister in law and my daughter.

[Dynamite]

The fact is going down so quickly mean you either have the mix right or its just grass

I have different bins on different plots and they all work at different rates, If you fill with grass it does go down quickly, get the mix right and layer it green and brown add paper and cardboard. I shred paper and cut cardboard into small inch squares. Ask you family and friends for their grass, I get additional grass from my sister, sister in law and my daughter.

Thanks Cadders. It's definitely not too much grass, it's all well balanced and evenly mixed. It's just frustrating that I do it to get some garden compost and it just disappears. It's getting to the point where I'm wondering why bother.

Kind Regards......Rob

[Cadalot]

This is why you bother



Lush Rich compost that ends up better than anything you can buy commercially, You are doing the right thing just find sources for more raw ingredients, I pick up spent hops from a local brewery and as I say will take grass from any family member.

Yes that is my compost and I did that because it made me happy looking at it and running it through my fingers.

[Mr Bones]

I've not done it Rob but there's a guy on youtube who piled all the ingredients up in one go (including a small amount of stable muck) then turned it every couple of days. He said the fast action composting reduced the amount it shrunk.
Don't lose heart, I have three pallet bays, a dalek and a 6' x 12' x 2.5' bay and still can't make enough.

[Mr Bones]

Wow, that looks like a bit of the good stuff Cads. I can never leave mine that long so it's always kind of toothy.

[Cadalot]

I have two Dalek Armies one on each plot, I have seven on one plot and six on the other, that Dalek was topped up from another so that I could make space to start off another new batch as all were full to the brim. I've been getting great results since I make sure I layer and cut up everything and add coffee grounds and layers of comfrey then the odd bucket of diluted liquid gold.

Spencer Road Plot

Mill Green Plot

Plus this one



Which seems to work better and faster because I keep filling up and it rots down to just above the door each time. I think it has something to do with it having a much greater volume than the standard Dalek

I have used that smiley face compost this year in my SoilFixer Potato in Bucket experiment.



The variations in colour are due to different mixes with coir and SF90

[bario1]

Composting is a long game and in order to produce a lot, you need more than one composter and you need to go out of your way to find materials. Obviously your dalek is doing a great job, you just need to feed it more... fill it to the top, start another one, keep turning and topping both up over the season, and you'll have some nice compost next year. If you need a lot of compost now, you'll have to buy it - what's it for?

[burnie]

This time of year my dalek is pretty low, but once I start harvesting, especially brassicas, then it starts to build in height, I try to turn my heap a couple of times a month and that seems to work. On my rotation plan only the bed with roots in next year gets my compost, the others get manure, so I always have enough.

[Jimmy]

Neighbour with a shovel nicking it ?
Jimmy

[Dynamite]

Composting is a long game and in order to produce a lot, you need more than one composter and you need to go out of your way to find materials. Obviously your dalek is doing a great job, you just need to feed it more... fill it to the top, start another one, keep turning and topping both up over the season, and you'll have some nice compost next year. If you need a lot of compost now, you'll have to buy it - what's it for?

Thanks Bario. I obviously need more raw material to feed the bins but for me, it defeats the object. I can't physically produce any more compostable waste from a family of four than we
legitimately can find. I'm not willing to go and collect other people's waste to do it and even then, the yield looks very low anyway (look how many bins Cadders has!)

Regards as always..........Rob

[Jay-ell]

I agree with turning the bin (or at least using an aerator) But not topping them up once full as you're always waiting for the last bit added to break down.

Get as many free newspapers as you can to boost up the carbon - I usually grab half a dozen each time I go on the bus. Too many greens will reduce down to nothing.

You could try growing more cover crops and green manure in empty beds over winter such as oats.

[Chris11]

Thanks Jay-ell.
I read somewhere a while back that newspaper inks are now safe for compost. I don't know why I haven't been putting more of my free newspaper in my two Daleks, but will do so now thanks to your reminder
Have also got a small paper shredder. Have to see how quickly I can put newspapers through shredder as that would also speed up composting process.

[Jay-ell]

Remember to take the staples out of the news papers first - not good in either shredder or compost. I sometimes just sit there tearing the papers by hand during ad breaks when watching TV or when I've nothing else to do. Don't think my little shredder would manage the pile of papers.

The inks are now made from soya, the printing industry put a lot of research into alternatives to oil based print due to rising prices and looked at renewable sources and (more importantly) ones that can be produced anywhere, and not reliant on the pricing whims of the oil producing countries.

[Peteyd]

I haven't had much luck with mine, seems to be along the same lines - loads of material in = not much out. I wonder if I'm putting too much "green" material in and not enough "brown"

Is this a common problem?