Topic: Compost activator ?

[joji]

We got a box of compost activator today. The thing is it has no instructions on how to use it. Can anyone help please? :)

We need to know how much to use and wether to sprinkle it on the veg / fruit layer or on the soil layer that we are covering up the green stuff with.

[katynewbie]

If its the powder type i think you just sprinkle it on between layers. Same with the "water it on" types. On the other hand........p**s on it and save your money..works just as well!! Also, get some comfrey plants and bung that in!!

Good luck!!

[wardy]

Whichever is on top, eg the last thing you put in.  Only a sprinkling is needed.  Actually it's not needed to be honest but if you have it you might as well use it.  I have some (freebie) and I use it as I've got it but you can also use comfrey, nettles or human urine (men's is supposed to be preferable to lady water but hey if you need a pee on the allotment DON'T WASTE IT!  ;D

[joji]

 :o  are you telling me  that human P E E is ok in the compost heap ? :o we are soo  :o

Thanks guys  :-[

[wardy]

Yes we are!  There is actually a book on the subject (wouldn't you just know it  ;D) and it's called sommat like Liquid Gold and all its uses  :)  Don't know why mens' is better than womens' but hey we have to let them be better at somethings  ;)

My husband won't do it and wastes it behind the shed much to my annoyance.  Shall I offer to catch it?  No, sorry for going there  ;D

If I need to "go" I keep a washed out container in the shed for "going" in and decant it into a compost bin.  I have put pictures of my compost on here so it proves the theory  :)

[suzylou]

My husband also refuses to help out on the allotment by weeing in the compost.  I offered to hold a towel up but he wasn't having it :P  Once my shed is complete (thanks for nothing, B&Q!) I'll at least have something of my own to...erm...contribute!

Bit of a running joke in our house is that Bob Flowerdew in EVERY article we've read and programme we've seen/heard him on either advocates (a) burn it or (b) p**s on it :>  We try to guess which it will be this week....  :D

[joji]

My oh dosn't have a problem with peeing any where, as some of the husky races we go to don't have any loos so the nearest tree is prefrable. ;D. So peeing in the heap won't be a problem. ;D

[terrace max]

lady water

  ;D - you're so genteel Wardy!

I heard it's best to dilute pee before adding to the heap, And the first one of the day is best. Fortunately I seem to have a endless supply of (liquid) potty contents for my heap!

[philandjan]

I don't have a problem with the re-cycling of my water because I'm tall enough to reach but Jan does find it a bit hard to perch on top of a 330 litre composter
 ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Compost activator is just about adding nitrogen to help rot down woody material. The human version is as good as anything and cheaper than buying it. I've tried adding it to one bin and not to another, and it makes quite a difference.

[terrace max]

Does it compensate for the relative coldness of the winter compost heap, I wonder?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Compost does rot in cold weather, but obviously a lot more slowly, unless you have a really hot heap.

[Alimo]

My husband is worried that the garden will have the aroma of a telephone kiosk (if you get my drift), so doesn't provide me with any liquid gold.  Is there any smell??

Alimo

[philandjan]

Smell depends upon what's in your compost!

Rotting cabbages will never smell nice, no matter how much you shower them  ;)

None of our composters actually smell like telephone boxes despite their regular "watering" though, to be fair, we don't have any telephones in our composters.

  :D

[joji]

I don't think you will get the smell of a telephone box because the waste water is taken down into the soil and neutralized. After a week of liquid gold being administered it does not smell as if it has been watered on in that way. Plus the fact that it is in open air so you won't smell anything like a telephone kiosk anyway. :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

The only thng on my plot which smells like a phone kiosk is the pee bucket. Not even the pee barrel can rival it, and there are 50-odd gallons in there.

[redimp]

I like the smell of my compost heap and it has never smelled like a telephone box either - despite my best efforts.  The smell of a compost heap is of a natural and valuable process and is rich and the smell of the resulting compost is even better.

[tim]

I was just going to ask, Robert - has anyone done a controlled test.

Yours may not have been controlled, but it's a starting point.

[redimp]

And a controlled test is where you get one plastic darlek bin and one that is made of a mixture of pallets and chicken wire.  Put the plastic darlek in a hot place and pee on it reguarly.  Make sure that pallet one is in a shady windy place prone to frosts. Open up next year and declare the peed in darlek the winner.

My application for a job on Gardener's World is in the post.  ;D

[terrace max]

A bad-smelling heap is not composting properly and needs a better balance of ingredients...