Composting with a black plastic dustbin?

Yorkshire, United Kingdom

For all of you GOY members who use compost bins.....I would realyy like to give this a go, perhaps on a small scale to start with. Would this work?...I have read that I could use one of the black plastic dustbins and cut off the bottom and then rest it on the soil.
If I do this .. what can I fill it with and what should I do to maintain it? I have read that you need to turn the compost, will this be possibe using this method? And should I cut a kind of opening at the bottom of the bin to allow access to the compost.
Also will it attract vermin?

4 Mar, 2008

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Answers

Happy

HI ANDREA I GOT MY COMPOST BIN FROM MY LOCAL COUNCIL FOR £5.00 IT CAME WITH A BOTTLE OF ACCELERATOR AND SOME HINTS AND TIPS AND WAS WELL WORTH THE INVESTMENT ,MAYBE IT MAY BE WORTH A QUICK CALL TO SEE IF YOURE COUNCIL DOES THE SAME .GOOD LUCK.

5 Mar, 2008

Celandine

We also got first bin from the council and then another of our own. We put lots of vegetable peelings, fruit, weeds etc.The council officer said they had done experiments to see whether the compost needed turning and actually showed it worked better if it wasnt turned. I think if it's open at the bottom you get the worms needed for breakdown more quickly. We did get mice at first and had to bury the rim at the bottom so they couldn't get in. Haven't had any more, although next door's decking provided a home for rats which we had to leave poison out for in a container that birds etc can't enter. We put the compost on the garden after a year - it looked very good.

13 Mar, 2008

Zanemolly

I have loads of little black flies in my compost and all over the outside of the hatch opening at the botton where you get the ready compost out what can i do to get rid of them and is the compost still usable

3 Aug, 2009

Celandine

The answer I got when I asked this question about flies was that they are part of the breakdown process and do no harm. The thing is not to have your container too near the house.I just ignore them now! I don't have a hatch so I wait a year and then empty the whole thing.

4 Aug, 2009

How do I say thanks?

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