The water butt at the bottom of my yard is actually a compost bin - its only taken me 6 months to lift the lid LOL
Anyway it appears the previous owners have put gravel in there and there was loads of wood lice when i lifted the lid.
Should i tip it and start again?
Is the gravel ok to be in there?
How do i get it going again? There alot of stems in there not rotted down.
I've put shavings, newspaper, chicken manure, veg scraps and tea bags in.
???
Why would anyone put gravel in a compost bin? If you want it spread about your plot along with all your lovely compost, then keep it!
Personally, I would start again! It's a good time of year to be starting a bin with the warm weather coming, just move it and start loading!!
;)
Hmmm i thought it might be best to start again grrr... No idea where i'm gonig to put it though.
I have no garden at home - hence why we are getting an allotment - we just have a concrete yard grrrr
I might just tip it upside down and see whats in there and put as much as i can in bags as OH is going to the tip at the weekend I hope!
Wait!- Gravel at the bottom of the bin could be a good thing as it will help with aeration and drainage. If its only a small layer of gravel you may as well fill-er-up...
Good luck,
Truff
Yes i did think that BUT the bin is 1/2 full and i can see gravel just 3 inches down so thats that theory out!
I'll let you know what happens when i empty the bin LOL
i would take the bin off the heap (if it's moveable), assess the contents and then load it up. even if you have gravel - assuming it's not rubbish and contains bits of glass - it may well be useful for something - making paths? etc
Well i tipped the bin upsidedown yesterday and then back up again, there is only a little bit of gravel and underneath is some lovely well rotted compost so I'm keeping it going!
I've given it as good a stir with a big stick as i can - so good news! ;D