Inherited Dalek composters - nasty!

[Corris]

I have just moved in to my new house *does little dance* and have 'inherited' two Dalek composters - both half full of black, slimy, stinking mess.

What do I do?

I have to have composters that work, I'll be needing it.

[rustylady]

I know it's going to be a horrible job, but you need to empty those Daleks!! I would guess they're full of lawn clippings and nothing else. They're better sited on earth rather than concrete, too. Your black slimy mess can be mixed with "browns" (shredded newspaper, cardboard etc) and put back into one of the Daleks to rot down properly. Good luck.

[rustylady]

Corris, I've just read your other thread. Lucky you to have such a big garden. As for the Daleks, get some of those weeds strimmed down and mix them in with the slimy mess in the Daleks, together with browns. You need to mix it all up together so it gets some air in it.

[Corris]

EUWWW - I don't think I'm going to enjoy this gardening lark quite as much as I expected.

I dumped two bags of horse poo into one yesterday and have spent the morning exhorted the OH to go pee in them (he's less keen than you'd think) - having read through the advisory's on here - but fork it around. Oh dear. it really really smells bad. I can make out a bunch of flowers in one and couple of nana skins and that's about it - it is just black and fetid.

Thanks for the 'lucky you' - you wouldn't think so if you saw it - The front is sloping, and they have done some shingly grass thing at the bottom, with out of control hedging and grass which is all mossy (dead mossy but mossy). The side is head high and impenetrable - I haven't ever made it to the bottom of my garden, and only have an IDEA of what is there by walking down the outside of the boundary hedges and seeing where the neighbours stop - and the back garden is all 1970's raised patio's with walls with coping stones and knee high lawn with big holes dug by their alsation.......

I don't feel lucky, just overwhelmed at the moment.

But it's clay (we dug posts to put a clothesline up, and the walls went sheer and shiny and the water just stayed in there when we did the postcrete - so I know it's clay and I'll need tons and tons of compost. Which was why I checked the daleks (that and the fact that I found them in the hedge).

[rustylady]

Take a tip from TwoSheds (another Norfolk grape). Rock the daleks backwards and forwards to loosen them, then just lift them off. Your heap should dry out a bit then and smell less. You can then fork them over and pile them back into one of the Daleks.

[Two_Sheds]

I dumped two bags of horse poo into one yesterday

That's not going to work, you've really got to get some air mixed into that black smelly mess. The reason it's bad is that it's rotting anaerobically ... as Rusty says, take the tops off, leave them exposed to the elements for a few days/weeks

They'll dry out, smell better, and then you can start forking & mixing them back into those daleks. Adding some scrunched up newspaper balls too, to make little air traps.

I had this problem too, and it took just over a year to sort it, but it did work.

[Corris]

Thanks both - one is sited about three feet from my bedroom window and one about four.......... perhaps I'll wait for a sunny day.

[rustylady]

I really think you need to move them away from the house

[zazen999]

What I'd do is to dig out trenches for your veg patch, and shovel the stinky mass in but layer it with cardboard/shredded paper/newspaper and bury it. Or - build a new large compost area with pallets [maybe on top of your next year's veg patch], and again, layer it with browns, cover it and let it steam for the summer. Turn it in Sept and use the daleks for new stuff.

[Two_Sheds]

^ that's a good idea, it doesn't tie up your daleks all year

[zazen999]

That's what happens when you spend too much time with the sustainable waste team!

Not too much time, just alot of time. You can never spend too much time with them as they are all lovely.

[Two_Sheds]

^ good video Zaz. I disagree about not using large quantities of newspaper; you shouldn't chuck in loads at once cos it doesn't rot down, but I use them to wrap my kitchen scraps in, like chips wrappers.


Corris, there's a bit at 5:00 about grass clippings