Author Topic: Compost for free ( nearly)  (Read 3266 times)

picman

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Compost for free ( nearly)
« on: July 13, 2022, 14:26:54 »
I guess the days of reasonably priced bags of ‘good’  compost are over, and looking at the price of the peat free stuff forced upon us leaves me only one alternative, to make my own.. I don’t have a receipt but I am gathering hopefully suitable material in a ‘ton’ builders bag . We get horse manure and wood chip delivered free to the site so barrow loads of that gets mixed with grass cuttings, and some ‘compost maker’ granules. I add the occasional shovel of nice soil, water and worms if I find some, plus the odd nettle and comfrey leaves. Come the autumn I shall add some dead leaves to the mix. My plan is to use my rotovator to break and mix it all before bagging it. It wont be sterile and possibly too rich for seeds etc, but worth a try . Any suggestions for other materials are welcomed .     

Tee Gee

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2022, 16:29:52 »
I am having a go as well, where I have saved  all my spent compost in Dustbins & Daleks over the last couple of years.

I now have a stock of around 5-600 litres in store, along with all the pots/planters I have filled for this year's crops.

My plan is to try and do a bit of soil/compost rotation, where approx 50% will be in store and the other 50% in use.

My theory is; for the past30-40 years I have rejuvenated my soil each year, so why can I not just rejuvenate my spent compost.?

Working on the John Innes formula I am using spent compost as the loam content and this year I have used a peat based multipurpose compost as my peat (fibre) source.

In future years because I have a source for free horse manure, I will store this in a Dalek for a year.,

Then I plan on using the year-old horse manure  in lieu of peat based multipurpose compost for my fibre content.

As you all know, John Innes composts come in 4 strengths that is Ji Seed / Cutting Compost, and Ji1/2 & 3

What you might not be aware of is; all of these composts are made from the same loam/peat/sand content with variable amounts of fertiliser, which I am calling "Base Mix"

This means I can pre-prepare bulk quantities of "Base Mix" and just add enough fertiliser to give me Ji 1/2 & 3.

I did a rough costing on what I made this year, and I was producing my compost for 3-4p per litre. Which includes buying in my multipurpose compost, something I won't have to do if my horse muck exercise works.

I knocked up a little slide show to show you my set-up, but sadly I cannot upload that on this forum, so I have added a few photos instead.


Deb P

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2022, 20:53:44 »
Blimey, what a set up! That looks incredibly thorough….I don’t think I’d have the space or patience to do that TeeGee, but have nothing but admiration for those having a go!
I have a lot of compost bins at home but struggle to get enough brown waste to balance it….I shred all our our junk mail etc so that all gets composted but we don’t have enough!
If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴

http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk

picman

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2022, 08:57:59 »
Yes , very scientific Tee Gee , think my approach is more trial and error . Was thinking i could add some Fish blood and bone , silver sand, grit and perlite in my final mix ...the wood chip seem to be rotting down well ...

Nora42

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2022, 10:39:53 »
i too have been empting my compost bins this year. 2 very open ones on my allotment have produced some very good stuff. these have a variety of composable debris chucked in them over the 1- 2 years they are in use. all non flowering weeds and tap root weeds drown first go on the heap. as do fallen apples dried leaves stalks and privet hedge cuiings form my hedges at home. anything that had not composted down goes in the next empty bin. it always has some soil from lumps of grass i dig out in spring these are left to dry out completly before being covered. i also tear up corregated brown cardboard and add this to these heaps. my dalec compost bins at home have compostable kitch waste and old potting compost added to them - the resulting compost made in these bins is richer darker denser stuff than the bins on the allotmet. this year i got 10  bags of lidl peat free and mixed this with my made compost. the new bin had all the unrooteed compost added, then a layer of cardboard and then a thick layer of unsieved darlec compost topped off with a bag of shop bought peat free . i planted a squash in this and it's growing better than the ones in the ground.  all good fun but i do need to put a layer of shop bought compost on top of my home grown stuff. i repotted a fig tree and now have 4 very heathy tomatoes plants growing from the base. win win.
Nora
Norf London

Palustris

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2022, 15:32:06 »
Next time your microwave needs to be replaced, if the old one still works, but has gone rusty inside as they do, keep it in the garage/shed/greenhouse and microwave your home made compost for a weed and pest free mix for seed sowing. Just make sure there is no metal in it.
Gardening is the great leveller.

Tee Gee

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2022, 16:10:03 »
That is exactly how I got the one in my greenhouse.

It was originally used in our kitchen, but the turn table gave up turning (I guess the drive belt may have broken) So we bought a new one and the old one is now used to sterilise my seed/cutting compost!

Paulh

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2022, 19:26:27 »
Nora, that's very much the same as I do. I try to avoid twiggy stuff and now am using more card and shredded paper. It is of variable quality and consistency but it's only used for digging into the plot. so it doesn't have to be great. It stands for about a year and may get turned (if I need to move the Dalek for access). I can live with some remaining dtalks and clumps of grass cuttings: they will be digested in the soil.

I don't add tree leaves in any quantity (unless shredded when I mow the lawn) and used potting compost from pots or growbags goes straight on the plot.

I won't win Composter of the Year but it works for me.

pumkinlover

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2022, 08:27:16 »
I have been making home made compost and recycling it for the last few years. Mainly with success. I've got a tumbler composter on the allotment and am using that to mix the dry stuff which is mainly rabbit bedding, grass and vegetable waste.   Then it goes into daleks with some household liquid fertiliser and borage and comfrey.
But I've been using BF&B and just a guesstimate of how much to use. So I've bought some JI base and going to be a bit more scientific and even actually use the correct quantities!  I've only been using the microwave to sterilise the seed compost or the top layer of the pot. 
Thanks for inspiring me to do this a bit better!

Vinlander

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2022, 12:16:05 »
I'm going to recommend rotting down woodchip - on its own (it encourages specific fungi that work faster than composting) - it takes 1.5 - 2.5 years to turn soft and chocolate brown but when it is, many plants prefer it to soil and put on a huge spurt (immediately after that point they need fertiliser - preferably liquid). I haven't tried everything but examples are volunteer tomatoes (and other thugs) and tuberous peas. Carrots are happy in it but for them I mainly use it as the top layer in builders' bags of rough compost (it raises them above the carrot fly). I suspect shallots would like it - it's noticeable how much they prefer compost to heavy soil; onions not so obviously.

It's also good for restoring the structure of old compost that has gone claggy (that even happens with peat-based - just a lot slower).

I prefer to convert it in 30cm deep trenches - it's quicker than a heap and I don't need to dig them because they are my paths (that topsoil was wasted underfoot until it made my raised beds). I think the treading helps to rot it - I think it makes it stay damper, longer.

At home I do the same thing with prunings (NB. any stick longer than 20cm is begging for a chance to trip you up). They take a little longer to rot but when they go brittle they become little sponges in the soil (micro-Hugelkultur?).

The plant roots really don't mind going round them or through them - they've been coping with bigger stones for billions of years! Just putting prunings in a black binbag will do the same thing but paths are useful.

I may have said this before - on waterlogged areas you're better off filling the paths with prunings - heavy traffic on chip can turn it into wooden quicksand.

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

JanG

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2022, 06:01:41 »
In support of the virtues of woodchip, I became convinced of its fertility even when not fully rotted. A couple of years ago I had a tallish heap of fairly fresh woodchip. A squash seed somehow managed to self-sow itself on top of the heap. An impressively vigorous and high yielding squash plant developed, spreading itself over an adjacent lowish barn roof as well as down the heap and fifteen feet or so across the ground. It was certainly a very happy squash plant.

picman

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #11 on: August 03, 2022, 09:51:54 »
The wood chip addition seems to be favorite , i have been topping up my experimental  'ton' bag with more wood chip, a little manure and grass cuttings,  I have a secret ingredient too... the run off from a covered area drains into a butt on the site, its under some tall trees, the water it collects is brown, I have used it before on my compost heap, seems to quickly aid the breakdown.  Looking at the peat free compost seems to be mainly wood fiber and sand .

Hepsibah

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2022, 17:40:41 »
I'm a horse owner with an allotment and a multi fuel stove and this year I have been making poo-bricks to dry and burn this winter. It seems the resulting ash is terrific stuff to spread on the soil.
https://www.backwoodshome.com/your-manure-pile/?fbclid=IwAR03-bpVu4oj6Scat_1IREeE6fSoTxwjv9wdXWWLYQGefVY-xAiaFQzkssY
If you have a source of fresh horse muck and a wood burner, perhaps it might be worth considering.

Paulh

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2022, 18:15:28 »
It's one way of keeping the fuel bills down!

Do they float? So you can play pooh-sticks with your poo-bricks?

pumkinlover

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Re: Compost for free ( nearly)
« Reply #14 on: August 08, 2022, 08:50:52 »
I'm a horse owner with an allotment and a multi fuel stove and this year I have been making poo-bricks to dry and burn this winter. It seems the resulting ash is terrific stuff to spread on the soil.
https://www.backwoodshome.com/your-manure-pile/?fbclid=IwAR03-bpVu4oj6Scat_1IREeE6fSoTxwjv9wdXWWLYQGefVY-xAiaFQzkssY
If you have a source of fresh horse muck and a wood burner, perhaps it might be worth considering.

Reminds me of the story from a nursing colleague in a rural area. She visited an elderly lady who asked her to get something out of the sideboard. In it were packages of neatly wrapped dried human poo. Despite having a gas fire now she was still making firelighters with it.

 

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