Experiences with compost - hot stuff!

[bellebouche]

Managing a largish veg plot (350M²) plus another 5000M² of gardens, paddock & orchards we're generating a lot of organic matter for compost making now so this weekend just past I set about knocking up some new compost bins from bits of old palette.

It all went well and as a little experiment I left a little temperature probe in the heap as it got underway and I was astonished at how quickly it heated up and starting cooking away.

Within 24 hours the core of the heap had reached 66^oC

So, that's a great start to help with making hopefully large quantities of good stuff to go back into the garden.

Anyone else got any compost tales or tips to share?

[bellebouche]

[alit]

yes, that is excellent.  the trick is to keep layering different stuff on and pull it all out again and rebuild compost every week or so.  We don't do it religiously every week but in the summer get fantastic compost in just a few weeks.  The other thing is to use 'midnight water" !!!!!!!  Think about it.  it really adds the nitrogen and does the trick.

[cleo]

More of a `don`t do it` tip. Years back when I had lotties in Leeds my neighbour piled a huge amount of pigeon poo into his. It literally smouldered for days and as for the smell----------------

[PREMTAL]

Hi All,
         Cleo touched on a subject that you should be made aware of, using pigeon droppings in your compost is a bad idea. :(

Pigeons, especially feral pigeons carry more diseases than rats and some of the nasty ones can be passed on to humans by contact with their droppings.

Tuberculosis, salmonella and ornithrosis can be found in their droppings so don't be tempted to compost it. ;)


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[Motherwoman]

I get a neighbour's rabbit hutch clearings for my heap,is that a bad idea?

[cleo]

nope

[Robert_Brenchley]

I though the poo of vegetarian mammals was OK?

[Merry Tiller]

I've got a family of voles living in mine, they're almost tame, hope the local kestral doesn't spot them

[jennym]

One autumn I got a lot of fresh horse manure, piled it in the pallet compost bin with some other stuff, put about a foot of soil on top and sowed some loose leaf lettice and carrot, Early Nantes I think. Covered the top of the bin loosely with boards (light and rain still got through) and was rewarded in January with a lovely crop of baby carrots and lettuce. The "hot bed" principle really does work!

[Amazin]

I have a dalek composter for the garden. It's plastic which is great for absorbing and generating heat. The only trouble is, it's too deep and narrow to turn the contents - I've tried (picture pair of legs frantically waving from top of dalek).
To counter this I have to be meticulous about layering to make sure it rots down evenly... and also remember not to lean so far in...

;D

[katynewbie]

;D

I have a dalek which I have not used yet. It's going into full time production any minute now! Had thought that I would just take the whole thing off and then re-load from the top down, ie all the stuff at the top of the old heap would now be on the bottom. Does that make sense? Would it work?

???

[Amazin]

Absolutely, but when I tried to lift mine it proved impossible!

[PREMTAL]

Hi Robert,
                there was a time when that was true but it was along time ago,
the use of steroids, growth hormones and antibiotics has put paid to that.

Cows, sheep, pigs to name but a few are subjected to the above mentioned to ensure that market demand is met.

What goes in must come out in the urine a faeces, I was like yourself of the mindset that  the manure from herbivores was safe for use but it seems that this is not the case.

Government literature on this matter is sketchy at best and there is no specific information that I have found to state that the above mentioned are not residual that has definitive back up to the claim that it is not.

I only use comfrey and nettle tea along with liquid seaweed extract and rely on my organic compost for humus.

It is a matter of choice for me and not declaration that all should follow my chosen way to cultivate crops. ;)

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