Backgarden composting

sarahirl

Has anyone taken up the county council's offers of home composting;

"Subsidised Home Composting Starter Kits (including Compost Bin 280L, Kitchen Caddy and Booklet) are available from Dublin City Council priced €40. The Compost Bin and Caddy can be bought individually for €30 and €10 respectively.

These can be purchased at the following location:

Shamrock Terrace, Aldborough Parade, North Strand, Dublin 3. Ringsend Civic Amenity Facility, Pigeon House Road, Dublin 4
Sustainable Ireland, 15-19 West Essex Street, Temple Bar

Alternatively, you may order a compost bin and have it delivered for €55. Please telephone our Customer Services Department at 222 2000 for further details."

I thought, for some reason, that compost bins had an inbuilt thing to stir up the material with to aid in aerobic digestion. Does anyone have one of those?

Also there are bins for €150 that speed up the composting process? Are they worth it?

We have a heap of garden waste stashed away in a corner - should we just enclose it a bit by sticking sticks in the grounds around it to prevent flowing out of material and start adding kitchen waste to it? Cheap option here!

tampopo

sarahirl wrote:

Has anyone taken up the county council's offers of home composting;

"Subsidised Home Composting Starter Kits (including Compost Bin 280L, Kitchen Caddy and Booklet) are available from Dublin City Council priced €40. The Compost Bin and Caddy can be bought individually for €30 and €10 respectively.

These can be purchased at the following location:

Shamrock Terrace, Aldborough Parade, North Strand, Dublin 3. Ringsend Civic Amenity Facility, Pigeon House Road, Dublin 4
Sustainable Ireland, 15-19 West Essex Street, Temple Bar

Alternatively, you may order a compost bin and have it delivered for €55. Please telephone our Customer Services Department at 222 2000 for further details."

I thought, for some reason, that compost bins had an inbuilt thing to stir up the material with to aid in aerobic digestion. Does anyone have one of those?

Also there are bins for €150 that speed up the composting process? Are they worth it?

We have a heap of garden waste stashed away in a corner - should we just enclose it a bit by sticking sticks in the grounds around it to prevent flowing out of material and start adding kitchen waste to it? Cheap option here!

Yeah, I got mine about three years ago for €28 incl delivery. They just left it in the front garden, though my bell IS broken.

€150 to speed up the composting process. Absolutely not worth it. Just turn it regularly.

Yeah, stake your garden waste and if you can get a bit of chicken wire to enclose it, it would be better. By all means include your kitchen waste.

silverharp

I made one over the weekend, 4 wooden pallets and some nails, cost 0

Sonnenblumen

or you can do it with style..........

Thierry

There is a version also available at most garden center, which includes worms (from Australia), reducing the time you actually get the compost by a factor of 4.
It is a called a wormerie or something like that.

Quite expensive, (200), but if you are on hurry to get your compost that the one to use.

Thierry

there is the wormerie" also, available from most garden centers.

Verocious worms, reducing the composting process by a factor of 5.

paddyc

hey folks

was loking at the today in woodies


do any composters have bottoms on them as these ones didnt... its just i would think if i puttign kitchen waste into it thst i might attract rats and the likes to the garden...

any thoughts or suggestions?

thanks paddy

Irish_Army01

The Co council gave me one for free..have it two years now..:)

maniac101

Over a year ago, I bought 2 bell-shaped plastic ones (composters of course) with lids on top and detachable bases (EUR50 each). The idea was that I could be topping up one while the other was composting. Not working too well so far. The main problem is that the waste cant be turned by just opening the lid. There is a small opening at the base which is presumably for turning the waste, but it’s completely impractical and inaccessible. Turning now involves removing the main bell part of the composter, chucking all of the waste onto the driveway, replacing the bell and forking the waste in through the top again. A difficult and messy process. I think if I was to start again I’d do what silverharp has done and build my own. The waste is very slow to break down. I’ve used an organic accelerant on the heap but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Any ideas about what I might be doing wrong?

silverharp

maniac101 wrote:

The waste is very slow to break down. I’ve used an organic accelerant on the heap but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Any ideas about what I might be doing wrong?

I'm no expert but turning is important. I may only turn every 2 months over the summer but you can tell that it compacts and doesn't compost as well. The mix is meant to be 2/3 green to 1/3 brown and grass should be allowed to dry before you put it in. Heat is also important so if in the shade it will take longer. Sometimes I water it if I think it has gotten too dry but don't know if that does anything.
At the end of he day though it will compost and whatever is left just chuck it back for the next year. I tend to end up with too much brown material, so may leave one of the bins as a holding pen and try and get the mix right for the main bin.

tampopo

maniac101 wrote:

Over a year ago, I bought 2 bell-shaped plastic ones (composters of course) with lids on top and detachable bases (EUR50 each). The idea was that I could be topping up one while the other was composting. Not working too well so far. The main problem is that the waste cant be turned by just opening the lid. There is a small opening at the base which is presumably for turning the waste, but it’s completely impractical and inaccessible. Turning now involves removing the main bell part of the composter, chucking all of the waste onto the driveway, replacing the bell and forking the waste in through the top again. A difficult and messy process. I think if I was to start again I’d do what silverharp has done and build my own. The waste is very slow to break down. I’ve used an organic accelerant on the heap but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Any ideas about what I might be doing wrong?

Hello, yeah, maybe you missed your opportunity in May. Either 5 years ago or at the last Local & European election campaign, I snagged myself 2 election posters for the purpose of turning out my compost just as you do, but on your driveway.

The election posters do a great job of keeping the ground clean. Just slide the first one under the edge of the bin, overlap the second one. Lift the bin, throw onto the posters. Replace bin, empty the contents back into the bin. Lift posters. They store easily behind a shed or somewhere out of the way.

Who said Roystan Brady was useless!!!