Composter placement

Discussion in 'Compost, Fertilisers & Recycling' started by Fat Controller, Jun 6, 2018.

  1. Fat Controller

    Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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    Getting rid of garden waste was becoming increasingly challenging, so we decided to take advantage of an offer from our council of composters at a subsidised price, and have now got two large 330 litre dalek-style composters; however, now that they are here, we have no idea where we should put them!

    They are a bit big for the area I originally intended them for, and there has also been a lot of growth in that area (I am judging this by photographs, please remember), which is going to make them quite difficult to accommodate without hacking lumps out of trees etc.

    We could put them in a corner at the back of the patio, but I have some concerns - firstly, it is a shady corner that sees next to no direct sunlight - would this have an effect on the composters actually working?

    Also, they do not have any sort of bases on them, so I am concerned about the compost staining the slabs on the patio. I do have some spare slabs that could be laid on top of the existing patio, but would that still leave the possibility for stuff to leach between the slabs and through to the patio? Or, is anything that comes out of the composters not likely to be staining/hard to wash away?
     
  2. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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    I hide my composters away - which means they are in the shade and probably don't work as well. My reasoning is that the better sunny spots in the garden are for plants and people.

    I wouldn't place them on slabs, quite a lot of gunk comes out the bottom so would stain your slabs. It's better to be in contact with soil anyway, worms and beneficial bugs find their way and help compost it down.
     
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    • ricky101

      ricky101 Total Gardener

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      Hi FC,

      Good to see you back and active on the forum :smile:

      Did think about some of those black composters to replace our old wooden square ones, but as you have found they have a very large footprint and two do take a lot of space in a smaller garden.

      Think they are bound to stain the patio flags, there will be concentrate 'juice' coming out from them all the time.

      Probably better sited somewhere else, but accessible, and still on flags or similar otherwise the rats will get in too easily if its on soil.

      Mine are on soil but have now used small flags and wire mesh on the floor to stop the pests getting in.
      Its also in shade , covered by a Bay bush , but it still produces good compost after 6-9 months.

      Generally try and turn it over once, and did use a shredder one autumn, but they really do not work well for anything other than thin hard branches, green stuff is a waste of time.

      Did bagg all the garden waste and took it to the council tip this spring while the old composters were rebuilt, probably just as easy .... ??
       
    • Clare G

      Clare G Super Gardener

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      If you can find a sunny spot where they can sit directly on the soil and attract worms that will speed up the composting process.

      I've managed to hide away two 220L ones (also via the council and with a somewhat smaller footprint) in a sunny corner behind the shed in my small garden. They sit directly on soil and I've never had a problem with rats, even here in the inner city.

      It is good having two because then you can fill one and leave the contents to rot down while you fill the other. Then you can empty the contents of the first onto the borders as a mulch, place any undigested bits in the second bin, and start all over again.

      Mine make good compost and are able to cope gracefully with all my garden rubbish (except things like twigs and holly leaves) and any fruit/veg waste. I am able to leave the compost a fll year to rot down. Meanwhile I give both bins an occasional stir and also keep a supply of brown cardboard (boxes from couriers, supermarket, neighbours, etc) to hand for the one in use. Adding some of this, torn down to the size of my hand, definitely helps with the balance of the compost.

      Only if you have a car! Here I don't, and the council don't do dedicated garden waste collections either.... So anything non-compostable has to be cut up small enough to be bagged up for collection with my other rubbish ... very tedious....
       
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