Last year was my first year here. I filled up a Darlek and cold-composted across most of last year. To be honest, most of that was used even before the end of the year. So it's all starting from scratch at the beginning of this year again. My production does not meet demand, as it were. So, this year I want to up my composting game.
Hi Steve we made compost boxes out of pallets filled them with cow manure right up then left for 10 months and we had fantastic compost better than anything you buy. I sieve it for fine seeds and the rest I use in pots Mandy in Devon
Great video Steve, Have you considered buying a black IBC Tank and line the inside with insulation to make a super strong compost bin as it would be on a pallet ready and you could even put wheels on it to move into the polytunnel for the winter.
Our city has a program that collects yard trimmings and food scraps. They then compost it and it is free to city residents. This reduces the amount of refuse thrown into the city dump and hopefully prolongs the time before another site has to be found. I’ve gotten loads of compost to start new beds. I mix it into our native clay soil, mix in some composted chicken manure and leave for 3 months. Plants are so happy and earthworms love it.
Great looking compost, I love composting vlogs. I have a 3 bin system made of pallets with a fixed roof. Just today I turned one of the bins that had cooled down and I mixed in some greens to hopefully get it started again. On my daily dog walks I collect bags of weeds and cut grass etc. - if I am lucky some of the horses have left me precious gifts on the farm tracks 🙂, a ruck sack is your friend.
Great episode. I have two rather flimsy bins made from wood scraps. I tried to plan how and what went into them but then hubby did some trimming and lawn care and threw stuff in higgledy piggledy. It’s been totally frozen for about three or four months. My plan is empty them and redo the layering process with stuff I’ve saved over winter. I may have to rebuild but I’ll see what this year brings. Not sure I have the energy just yet. Lol! Good luck with your plan. I love it.
Hi Steve, Nice job on your compost 💩 Our winter, here in Central Florida, is pretty much over. We are having a cool day ( 65°F) after a rain. It's been great planting weather. Take care, My Friend 👍
I am going to attempt to buy no compost this year. I have a 3 bin process at my home garden whereby I start with my hotbin and slowly top up my two daleks where I store half full with spent compost with unfinished hotbin content and I let the worms mix the hotbin contents in the daleks.
Hi Steve, your compost looks fantastic! Great video with lots of helpful information. I am composting and have a bin to empty and start again. You are right, its the only way forward for us all to make our own. Thanksforsharingandtakecare🙂
Hi Steve when I sieve my compost I put the debris into my hot bin -nice update was going to do the same in spring with my traditional compost pile -reckon will do it a lot faster-👍
Great video Steve. Ive got a sheet of plain 50mm celotex which im going to either use as a seedling propagator or hot bin. It came as packing when we bought a load of celotex insulated plaster board for the house renovation. Ask at builders yards and sites as often they have damaged sheets and will give them away. Our normal heap is sitting at 50c which im pretty happy with this time of year.
I got a big plastic tote thingy that I compost in which I transfer the finished compost into an old metal bin and old compost bags to "age" and let the worms do their job so get best of both, then spread on the garden or fine sift for seed trays
Great compost, I just brought some no peat compost, it OK not great, hopefully the seeds will grow I've added a second second compost bin so I'm hoping to make more of my own, need to source more material though I think
Ha, my compost bins and the entire garden are still under a foot of ice and snow. But, I'm doing 3 more 2' deep raised beds this spring which will be filled with mixed horse and goat manure with bedding, of which I have literally tons, and left to compost in place. Once it's cooled down I put red wigglers in and I'm good to go. No turning needed ever :). 🐎🐐🥦🫑🌶👍
I’m going to start again with my compost, started it without a clue what I was doing. I’ve looked at hot bins but out of my price range so I’m interested in your home made one 😊
Hi Steve ive just done my compost like you filled to the top ! Where do you get compost thermometers from! look everywhere! lv your videos you have taught me lot lv Irene 😘 xx
Nice video Steve I've got a few ICB tanks that could not be use for water collection, I've collecting card board and just started to fill the first one with dead plants that the frost left me mixed with the card board I am thinking maybe 3 of these will be hopefully it will be ready for next year I am sorted this year with what I've got but I may need more not sure yet still building raised beds
Hi Steve, great result from the hot bin. Did you add water when you filled it with the mulch from the poly tunnel? It looked a little dry when you were putting it in your barrow. JP
Cheers Steve just been looking for composting ideas all weekend, where did you get that hot bin from, is chicken fresh muck safe to put in compost heap or will it burn the roots.
@@barrychristian4050 thanks for the reply, I’ve just been looking at some other videos on hot bins, they all seem to put small batches in at a time, I have a lots of waste with several compost heaps on the go, do you think you I could fill it up in one or two goes? I always chip and mulch all my ingredients first.
@@adamdavis2198 I am by no means an expert but I think if you have lots of waste with plenty of greens and browns then go for it, layer it up and the bigger mass will help it cook quicker, turn it at least once to put outside to the inside and all should be golden 👍
Hi Steve I’ve inherited about 5 darleks on my new plot, alongside the 2 on my original one. I’ve got a metal cage currently filled with manure covered in tarp. I’m lucky I can get more for free. Would you put it in the bins instead or mix with homemade compost? Not sure whether to line the cage & make a homemade hot bin 👍🏻
I've become that weirdo at work that has setup a food bin to collect banana peels and teabags 😂 I had a 100l hotbin but I now also have a 200l one, got 2 mouths to feed haha
Hi Steve thanks for the vid, I love everything compost :D This is really interesting as last week I pulled the front off my big 4' cube compost heap and there are still chonky bits in and i was wondering what to do and decided to top dress my hummocky rows of compost I have under a big plastic sheet I use to suppress the marestail. Theres still time for the worms etc to find it til I need to plant into it and its only as a top dressing along with a couple of rows that are top dressed with rabbit poopy bedding and a very experimental row with sileaged marestail root thats had 6 months at least in the drowning barrel then double bagged and left to bake in the sun over last summer. Let see if its dead eh... Just today Ive bought a big bucket of Vitax compost accelerator which im assuming is ammonium sulphamate (it says nothing on it) just to kick start my 4 heaps that really need to get a wiggle on as I want to use a lot of it this spring for mulching and create room for more to go in when we start cutting the grass again. Great to see what youre doing with your almost-compost!
Invested in a the 100 litre hotbin composter this year. Only had it going for about a month but struggling to get temperature up high enough. Grass is too wet yet to cut but hopefully when I get grass cuttings it will be easier to get it up and keep it at temperature 🌡️
Hi, have you thought about trying coffee grounds? Many coffee shops are happy to give you their used ground coffee. Ask for the used filters too. Add cut up pieces of cardboard/shredded paper/leaves and some wood chips or pieces of twigs/pruned branches. The key is to mix it up in a tub before you put it in the bin. My hot bin has been between 50 and 60C all winter, and the temperatures are usually below freezing. A couple of weekends ago, it was -25C, but my hot bin was steaming. I feed it with coffee grounds from my company cafe most days. Green Pine needles are also a great booster. I cut up the branches of my Xmas tree and added them to the bin a little every week. The tree trunk will help fill my raised bed in a few months. Just one thing, though, it seems decaying used coffee smells like marijuana and skunks. I had no idea until my daughter started to complain that my car smelled like weed. So don't leave it sitting too long in your car or garage. I had left the used coffee in my garage until I could add it to my bin. I hope this helps
@@lynnemcewan1076 thanks so much for all the information. I'm adding coffee grounds and shredded paper etc. I think I'm just not getting the ratios right. But good info. Thanks. ❤️
Last year was my first year here. I filled up a Darlek and cold-composted across most of last year. To be honest, most of that was used even before the end of the year. So it's all starting from scratch at the beginning of this year again. My production does not meet demand, as it were. So, this year I want to up my composting game.
Hi Steve
we made compost boxes out of pallets filled them with cow manure right up then left for 10 months and we had fantastic compost better than anything you buy. I sieve it for fine seeds and the rest I use in pots
Mandy in Devon
Great video Steve,
Have you considered buying a black IBC Tank and line the inside with insulation to make a super strong compost bin as it would be on a pallet ready and you could even put wheels on it to move into the polytunnel for the winter.
Our city has a program that collects yard trimmings and food scraps. They then compost it and it is free to city residents. This reduces the amount of refuse thrown into the city dump and hopefully prolongs the time before another site has to be found. I’ve gotten loads of compost to start new beds. I mix it into our native clay soil, mix in some composted chicken manure and leave for 3 months. Plants are so happy and earthworms love it.
Great looking compost, I love composting vlogs. I have a 3 bin system made of pallets with a fixed roof. Just today I turned one of the bins that had cooled down and I mixed in some greens to hopefully get it started again. On my daily dog walks I collect bags of weeds and cut grass etc. - if I am lucky some of the horses have left me precious gifts on the farm tracks 🙂, a ruck sack is your friend.
Great episode. I have two rather flimsy bins made from wood scraps. I tried to plan how and what went into them but then hubby did some trimming and lawn care and threw stuff in higgledy piggledy. It’s been totally frozen for about three or four months. My plan is empty them and redo the layering process with stuff I’ve saved over winter. I may have to rebuild but I’ll see what this year brings. Not sure I have the energy just yet. Lol! Good luck with your plan. I love it.
Great stuff Steve.
That compost looked amazing👍
Hi Steve, Nice job on your compost 💩
Our winter, here in Central Florida, is pretty much over. We are having a cool day ( 65°F) after a rain. It's been great planting weather.
Take care, My Friend 👍
That compost looks gorgeous 🥰
I am going to attempt to buy no compost this year. I have a 3 bin process at my home garden whereby I start with my hotbin and slowly top up my two daleks where I store half full with spent compost with unfinished hotbin content and I let the worms mix the hotbin contents in the daleks.
Hi Steve, your compost looks fantastic! Great video with lots of helpful information. I am composting and have a bin to empty and start again. You are right, its the only way forward for us all to make our own. Thanksforsharingandtakecare🙂
I compost in a geobin. It makes about 3/4 of a yard of finished compost. I am upping my game and having a double bin built.
Great looking compost!
♥️ Always enjoy watching and learning xx
Hi Steve when I sieve my compost I put the debris into my hot bin -nice update was going to do the same in spring with my traditional compost pile -reckon will do it a lot faster-👍
Great video Steve. Ive got a sheet of plain 50mm celotex which im going to either use as a seedling propagator or hot bin. It came as packing when we bought a load of celotex insulated plaster board for the house renovation. Ask at builders yards and sites as often they have damaged sheets and will give them away. Our normal heap is sitting at 50c which im pretty happy with this time of year.
I got a big plastic tote thingy that I compost in which I transfer the finished compost into an old metal bin and old compost bags to "age" and let the worms do their job so get best of both, then spread on the garden or fine sift for seed trays
I bought a load last summer to start this year off, it was dear enough back then, hopefully things ease up through this year.
I'm tempted o buy one of them now, looks brilliant 👍
i am a believer in bokashi composting as it has a great turnaround time
Great compost, I just brought some no peat compost, it OK not great, hopefully the seeds will grow I've added a second second compost bin so I'm hoping to make more of my own, need to source more material though I think
Ha, my compost bins and the entire garden are still under a foot of ice and snow. But, I'm doing 3 more 2' deep raised beds this spring which will be filled with mixed horse and goat manure with bedding, of which I have literally tons, and left to compost in place. Once it's cooled down I put red wigglers in and I'm good to go. No turning needed ever :). 🐎🐐🥦🫑🌶👍
I’m going to start again with my compost, started it without a clue what I was doing. I’ve looked at hot bins but out of my price range so I’m interested in your home made one 😊
Hi Steve ive just done my compost like you filled to the top ! Where do you get compost thermometers from! look everywhere! lv your videos you have taught me lot lv Irene 😘 xx
Nice video Steve I've got a few ICB tanks that could not be use for water collection, I've collecting card board and just started to fill the first one with dead plants that the frost left me mixed with the card board I am thinking maybe 3 of these will be hopefully it will be ready for next year
I am sorted this year with what I've got but I may need more not sure yet still building raised beds
Hi Steve, great result from the hot bin. Did you add water when you filled it with the mulch from the poly tunnel? It looked a little dry when you were putting it in your barrow. JP
Cheers Steve just been looking for composting ideas all weekend, where did you get that hot bin from, is chicken fresh muck safe to put in compost heap or will it burn the roots.
Would put it in a compost heap to add nutrients/nitrogen but not straight on to plants as you said would likely burn them
@@barrychristian4050 thanks for the reply, I’ve just been looking at some other videos on hot bins, they all seem to put small batches in at a time, I have a lots of waste with several compost heaps on the go, do you think you I could fill it up in one or two goes? I always chip and mulch all my ingredients first.
@@adamdavis2198 I am by no means an expert but I think if you have lots of waste with plenty of greens and browns then go for it, layer it up and the bigger mass will help it cook quicker, turn it at least once to put outside to the inside and all should be golden 👍
Hi Steve I’ve inherited about 5 darleks on my new plot, alongside the 2 on my original one. I’ve got a metal cage currently filled with manure covered in tarp. I’m lucky I can get more for free. Would you put it in the bins instead or mix with homemade compost? Not sure whether to line the cage & make a homemade hot bin 👍🏻
I've become that weirdo at work that has setup a food bin to collect banana peels and teabags 😂 I had a 100l hotbin but I now also have a 200l one, got 2 mouths to feed haha
Hi Steve thanks for the vid, I love everything compost :D This is really interesting as last week I pulled the front off my big 4' cube compost heap and there are still chonky bits in and i was wondering what to do and decided to top dress my hummocky rows of compost I have under a big plastic sheet I use to suppress the marestail. Theres still time for the worms etc to find it til I need to plant into it and its only as a top dressing along with a couple of rows that are top dressed with rabbit poopy bedding and a very experimental row with sileaged marestail root thats had 6 months at least in the drowning barrel then double bagged and left to bake in the sun over last summer. Let see if its dead eh... Just today Ive bought a big bucket of Vitax compost accelerator which im assuming is ammonium sulphamate (it says nothing on it) just to kick start my 4 heaps that really need to get a wiggle on as I want to use a lot of it this spring for mulching and create room for more to go in when we start cutting the grass again. Great to see what youre doing with your almost-compost!
Where can I get one of those hot box please
Do you have any experience of wormerys ? I'm thinking of getting one. 🤔
👍👍👍
✌️😎
👍
What’s the cost of the bought bin Steve ?
I won't use shredded news newspaper or bills because of the ink they use.
Do you not pee on your compost?
Invested in a the 100 litre hotbin composter this year. Only had it going for about a month but struggling to get temperature up high enough. Grass is too wet yet to cut but hopefully when I get grass cuttings it will be easier to get it up and keep it at temperature 🌡️
Hi, have you thought about trying coffee grounds? Many coffee shops are happy to give you their used ground coffee. Ask for the used filters too. Add cut up pieces of cardboard/shredded paper/leaves and some wood chips or pieces of twigs/pruned branches. The key is to mix it up in a tub before you put it in the bin. My hot bin has been between 50 and 60C all winter, and the temperatures are usually below freezing. A couple of weekends ago, it was -25C, but my hot bin was steaming. I feed it with coffee grounds from my company cafe most days. Green Pine needles are also a great booster. I cut up the branches of my Xmas tree and added them to the bin a little every week. The tree trunk will help fill my raised bed in a few months. Just one thing, though, it seems decaying used coffee smells like marijuana and skunks. I had no idea until my daughter started to complain that my car smelled like weed. So don't leave it sitting too long in your car or garage. I had left the used coffee in my garage until I could add it to my bin. I hope this helps
@@lynnemcewan1076 thanks so much for all the information. I'm adding coffee grounds and shredded paper etc. I think I'm just not getting the ratios right. But good info. Thanks. ❤️