Compost bin is full. I vestarted clearing down the beds. The clippings have been put in a bag; poured a litre of water; tied at top;put in greenhouse . Comments?
Why put them in the greenhouse, stack em outside near the compost bin; until you can get another one started or empty the existing one. My greenhouse is currently full of tomatoes, peppers, dahlias, cacti and other stuff and in a few weeks will be full of overwintering tender plants. I couldn't get a bag of rubbish in ther even if I wanted to.
It won't rot down well sealed in a plastic bag, the contents will go anaerobic and smelly. It will eventually rot but not as quickly as if you put it on a heap.
Your compost bin will lower in just a few days at this time of the year. I'm sure that bag full will fit in there by the end of the week.
Thanks for contributions. That bag will be followed by several more, so space may still be a problem. So if I ensure its not air tight? My thinking was that it might rot down at a faster rate due to higher Sept temperatures in greenhouse?
A compost heap is, if you like, a living thing. The plant matter and micro organisms of which it is composed don’t rot so much as de-compose. Its success depends on getting a number of factors right, but they all work around getting them working together in the de-composition. Water blocks out oxygen and the micro organisms need oxygen. So bagging the plant material is not the best way to allow oxygen to get the process started. Heat is not so much something to impose on the plant matter and micro organisms, it’s created as a result of them acting together. They create heat, they don’t need heat supplied to them. So the best way to have a successful de-composition is to mix wet stuff like grass clippings and dryer stuff like twigs and old leaves. Best to have a balance of both. Add oxygen by turning the mixture from time to time. And be patient.
I’ll say add oxygen , all mine with the huge effort when turning my gargantuan compost heap that always fails miserably to get hot enough. As for being patient I fail miserably on that score too being the world’s worst at investigating if seeds have germinated only to destroy some poor unsuspecting seed as my sizeable finger squashes it just as it is about to sprout
Have you got room for another compost bin? That way, when you empty the first you can turn the contents of the second into it, so aerating and speeding up the whole process.
Just pierce the bag with numerous holes to allow in air. This is what some people do to get leaf mold. Takes a year or so.
I agree - stick a good few holes in it just now, especially round the base, until you have room to put it in your proper bin. It isn't the same process for breaking down as it is for leaf mould, but as long as it's got moisture and can drain out the bottom, it'll be fine. A 2nd bin is really worthwhile if you can get, or build one. I expect keeping it in the greenhouse could be quite good as it'll also be warmer, but only if you have the room for now.
I stack all of my garden waste in a heap and leave for 12 months. I do not turn it and it is not enclosed in a bin of any kind, but I do every so often give it a dusting of Garrota, a compost activator, other brands available. I run 2 heaps, one for fresh matter and the other to be used as and when required. There is no smell, no rats, etc., but I am lucky enough to have a garden big enough to have heaps. It is true, you can pile up green stuff to about 3-4 ft. and within a couple of months it will have reduced down to a couple feet high. If you are limited by garden size or are a "control freak" gardener who needs everything to be neat and tidy in the garden, heaps are not for you. I enjoy looking at a heap of compost rotting down quietly but it is not to every ones taste!
Aww really appreciate your replies. No room for a second compost bin. I put in the greenhouse because I was thinking the higher the temperature the quicker (in the morning) the mixture will get to optimum level ( but I take Tidemark's point). Putting holes in bag - definitely, especially in bottom to drain out excess water. I understand Ian's point about the mix being smelly, Anyway, I ve got a little experiment going - one black bag outside in the sun, other one in greenhouse. Sad or what? ( I use to be a Science teacher!)
Suspect that at this time of year they'll be quite similar. As the direct sunlight will act on both to raise the temperature to about the same temperature, probably above the greenhouse air temperature. The only difference might be as the sun goes down outside one will cool down a bit faster also on cloudy days the greenhouse one will be a bit warmer.
