Tale from the compost bin

[growbag]

I have a dalek type compost bin- four sided which took ages to slot together, anyway as I was removing lovely compost from the bottom door there was a sudden crack & groan and 2 sides busted open - compost all over the patio!, but what a wonderful sight, a million worms & small creatures all doing their work. I had to site it on concrete due to lack of space which hasnt deterred the worms. They must have sent out the word it was a good place to be! The compost Plus worms & creatures is now on my plot. As for my back well I have that John Wayne look about me at the moment but alls well that ends well

[Two_Sheds]

Yeah ... never use the little door! Its much easier to lift the whole Dalek up and off

[rustylady]

I prefer the all in one round Daleks, they can be lifted in one go. no joints to worry about. However I get the best compost results from my traditional wood framed square bin.

[NOG]

As with all things in life Rusty...its size that counts. The biger your box the more heat the better compost.

[Paul Wagland]

There's an optimum size though.... I think. If your box is too big (steady now) then you won't get air right into the middle of the heap and it will decompose anaerobically, which stinks and takes ages. About 1m by 1m by 1m is big enough to insulate itself, but not so big it causes these problems.

[pigletwillie]

There's an optimum size though.... I think. If your box is too big (steady now) then you won't get air right into the middle of the heap and it will decompose anaerobically, which stinks and takes ages. About 1m by 1m by 1m is big enough to insulate itself, but not so big it causes these problems.

Which is about the same size as a standard pallet, not exactly but near enough to do the trick.

[jacob marley]

There's an optimum size though.... I think. If your box is too big (steady now) then you won't get air right into the middle of the heap and it will decompose anaerobically, which stinks and takes ages. About 1m by 1m by 1m is big enough to insulate itself, but not so big it causes these problems.

I have to dispute the size thing i have 3 home made compost bins 52inches wide 42 inches back to front and 40 inches deep i line them with nylon sheets and cover the material after filling thus not letting the air in oposite to all teachings .
This way with it all sealed up it gets hotter and cooks better and making usable compost quicker keeping it well topped up when it sinks .
We have a good supply of material with a local landscape gardener dumping his rubbish on our plots instead of taking it to the tip and paying doing him a good turn as well as us he even payed for the key to get in with every body is happy this way jacob