Topic: Turning compost

[pumkinlover]

I just wondered is anyone does this?
Apart from television gardening presenters that is? It's not that I dispute the reasoning  behind it but if I did turn my compost I wouldn't have the energy to do anything else!  That said I get a lot of compost due to the rabbits so although it takes a long time to turn into the desired result and I have about 20 daleks and tardis's  I just wait.

[Palustris]

I turn the heap about every two months or so. Mainly because most of the material going into it is grass cuttings (courtesy of our green keeper neighbour) and leaves from the leaf mould heap. It takes about 2 hours or so to turn it. I keep one empty bay and move the material into it as a way of re-mixing. It would be nice to be able to turn a heap every week as those with machinery and or workers can do.

[Obelixx]

OH turns ours but not often.  We have a mix of 1 metre cube boxes provided by the local council, slighly bigger ones made from wooden pallets, a 3m long by 1m wide one with concrete walls on 3 sides left by previous owners and a similar sized loose heap next to it.   They get turned when full and it takes about a year for them to cook well and be ready for use, largely because there isn't enough rain to dampen them thru the recent spring and summer heatwaves and droughts.

[Paulh]

I've never managed to get compost bins to work hot and "properly", they sit brewing anaerobically which is fine except it doesn't kill the weed seeds. I have one bin on the go at any time which I top up until I've got too much garden, kitchen and allotment material to hand, so I start the next one. Grass cuttings, shredded paper and torn cardboard boxes will go in when to hand.

By autumn I have at the back of my plot four or more Daleks whose contents are of various maturities. Usually the contents of the oldest one or two (which were started the previous autumn) are ready to be spread on the plot. The ones that aren't quite yet ready I will move into a smaller Dalek sited on the part of the plot where I will spread it in the spring: the further six months maturing usually works well. I just have to lift off the bin and spread it around.

Any rawer vintages I combine into one Dalek that will stand at the back until the next autumn (unless I have a need for compost before then and find the contents ready). Then I start filling up the Daleks again with all the sweetcorn, squash, bean and potato haulms that autumn offers.

During the year I may from time to time combine a couple of the maturing Daleks if I need an empty one to fill, but otherwise the contents don't get turned.

[JanG]

I just wait on the whole. The only time a heap gets turned is when it looks like the bottom half or so is ready to use but the top layer not so ready. Then the relatively uncomposted matter gets turned into an empty bay and the composted material used until it creates an empty bay which another heap can be turned into. So once in its life it gets turned and it only takes a few minutes to fork the material over to the next bay.

Like Paulh, our compost never heats up enough to kill weed seeds. Before composting, I try to separate out the weeds which have flowers or seeds but in practice a lot of weeding is hastily done and mixed up rather, so our compost is good stuff but does create nice beds of weeds.

[Obelixx]

We try and put seedy weeds out to dry before they go on the heaps and we always leave couch grass, thistles and bindweed till completely dry.

Like JanG, OH tends to turn our heaps over the winter so the good stuff can go on beds as mulch and the emptied bays can be filled with the turned stuff.  We tajke the lids off the coered ones so they can get a thorough wetting in the rain but then they go back on to help warm things up enough for breaking down.

[JanG]

I’m wondering about leaving seedy weeds out to dry. It seems a good idea but don’t lots of seeds remain viable in a dried out state and then germinate when moistened? Perhaps it works to leave them to dry then get rained on, so that they germinate before going on the heap. Interesting. I must observe more closely what happens to a strew of seedy weeds!

[pumkinlover]

My Compost daleks and tardis only get used for non weeds, although I suppose that there will be grass seeds in the hay.
I have tried the opposite to other posters by soaking weeds over winter in buckets.

One day I will hoe often enough to not get weeds. (Says she yet again)

[Harry]

I just wondered is anyone does this?
Apart from television gardening presenters that is? It's not that I dispute the reasoning  behind it but if I did turn my compost I wouldn't have the energy to do anything else!  That said I get a lot of compost due to the rabbits so although it takes a long time to turn into the desired result and I have about 20 daleks and tardis's  I just wait.

Mine (2 tardises) get turned maybe twice a year at totally arbitrary times, usually when I get a lot of new stuff to add in. I fork one out into a bulk bag, then turn the second into the first, then the bag into the second. Strictly the latter doesn't so much get turned, because it is flipped twice, but it gets mixed up a bit. On the whole, I think it's plenty just to mix in new additions by turning over the top half.

Has anyone ever really filled one of those composters :D. They seem to be infinitely fillable, each time slumping down.

When I get my proper pallet one going, I anticipate that will barely get turned, just a bit of stirring.
I honestly think these TV and Youtube pundits tell us the theory, but do they REALLY do anything like the regular turning that they suggest?.

[Obelixx]

An alternative to composting is to soak weeds in huge buckets of water for a couple of weeks then strain and dilute the resulting liquid to use as fertiliser but we have a large terrain which includes a 25 x 29m veg plot so there aren't enough buckets to go round.

I do make nettle and comfrey teas but we still need big heaps to cope with the annual mowings, prunings and weeding and they do need turning to mix it all up.  It keeps OH busy and gives me compost for my veggies so we're both happy but not religious about it.

[Digeroo]

I do not turn my compost.  It is in several Daleks.    I do poke it  with a cane regularly to get air into it.  Last year mine heated up quite well but when I use it for seeds there are still a few weeds coming up.  Perhaps two to each module so not too much of a problem.  The seedlings look happy. 
This year the compost is not as good, even though they have had lids on the mix seems much wetter.   
I am hoping to add two bins together so it will all get turned and so have a spare bin to start with the spring weeds.   But I also like the ground underneath where the bins have been, it grows things like crazy.  And the area just in front of a bin is great protection when Mr North West Wind Esq gets into action. 

[Deb P]

At home my system is similar to paulh. Using two daleks for kitchen waste mixed with garden stuff and lawn clippings means the contents do get hot but not for very long. They do rot down pretty fast though.
Last year I left them untouched as a wild bee colony took them over so I'll be emptying them carefully soon and hoping they have moved on one way or the other….

I can't get a hot heap at the lottie so just have one giant fresh pile with an old wheelie bin for ‘ bad weeds’ mostly couch and docks and a blue water bin for drowning useful weeds like dandelions nettles and comfrey and use that for watering hungry plants in the summer. The bad bin dries out the weeds over summer and they are then bunged on the fresh heap layered with the fresh stuff. 

[Digeroo]

I turned one of my Dalek bins yesterday.  Glad I did because it was dry at the bottom.  The rats had brought in quite a lot pieces of plastic, so I have taken those out.  Managed to mix the wet and dry up.   Maybe I can persuade it to heat up again.   

[Obelixx]

OH has emptied our biggest (1M h x 1m w x 3.5m l) all over veg beds and filled it again by turning the loose heap next to it.   It's been thoroughly rained on these last few days so he's just covered it with green plastic sheeting that's been removed from what is going to become a small wildflower meadow.   It'll stay covered all summer while the heap next door gets re-filled with whatever we prune, weed or mow.

The 3 other usable metre cube heaps have been emptied too so we're going to have to buy in manure for the tomatoes and curcubits - and my roses and dahlias.