This page contains 5 questions from our customers and answers given by us.
1) Comment/question: Your web site is excellent being crammed with various types of bins which unfortunately has left me somewhat baffled as to which type to order. I have a reasonably large lawn garden and hence want to compost the grass cuttings. I also have a pile of logs that I want to maintain in a dry state as much as possible. I am not sure what the merits are of single close boarded vs double close boarded etc and would appreciate your comments.
ˇ Response: A double composter provides a spare compartment into which the contents of the first can be turned. Once the first compartment has been filled it then needs to be left to compost down fully. Whilst this happens the second compartment can be filled. When the second is full the first should have finished composting and can be used in the garden. When the first is empty the second compartment can be turned into the first and so the process carries on. If you are thinking of composting mainly grass we supply a compost maker solely for grass called 'Biotal for Grass'.
2) Comment/question: I have a query regarding the compost bins and the accessories required. Unfortunately I do not have the space to put it on a soil base - so it would have to be placed on a slabbed area of the garden. Assuming this is ok - if I was to purchase a closed boarded bin would I require just a wooden base underneath it? I assume air ducts would not be required. Can you advise me if the system can be placed on a concrete base and the accessories required?
ˇ Response: The main advantage of a soil base is that excess moisture can easily drain away. Worms and micro-organisms in the soil can easily work their way up into the mix. With a concrete or impermeable floor excess moisture potentially will seep along the direction of the slope which might be in the direction of a patio. The main problem would occur if compostable material with an excessively high moisture content were composted, for example the contents of a pond. Under normal conditions, i.e the topping up of the bin with kitchen waste then it is unlikely that there will be a problem. To minimise any risk an aerating-base can be used. This creates an air gap which gives excess moisture a chance to evaporate away. I would recommend the use of a lid as in wet weather this will help prevent rain from entering the bin in quantity. Air ducts are not required.
3) Comment/question: I would like to start composting my garden waste, but before buying I would certainly appreciate some advice on the items that I should select.
Brief: My main objective is to produce reasonable quality compost for the garden whilst keeping the currently messy heaps tidy.My garden has four different types of source material:
a) Woodland - with 4 Horse Chestnut and 3 Mature Oak trees 2 Maple and a variety of shrubs - this area is largely left as natural. Currently I leave the leaves as they fall in the wooded area (I do not have much intention to change this). But, there are a large number of leaves that fall on to the lawn and beds - currently they are shredded and distributed in the wooded area. I guess, given the woodland area (150ft x 70 ft) this is the best option, but there does seem to be an opportunity to use "some" to make an amount of clean leaf mould for the garden beds ??
ˇ Response: Once the leaves have been collected they can be composted by themselves in a "Leaf Mould Compost Bin". Over time they will breakdown into a rich brown leaf mould mulch which can be applied to the beds directly as a mulch or dug into the ground to provide humus. If the material is sieved a finer grade of leaf mould can be obtained. The main advantage is that the leaf mould is 100% weed free and only contains weeds seeds that have inadvertently been raked up at the time of collection. Alternatively they could be left on the beds to break down and incorporated into the soil by garden worms over winter. (Although you may feel this is not the tidiest option).
b) A large lawn of around (200ft x 80ft) - which generates a lot of clippings. Currently these are in large heaps in the woods. At the moment I have inherited many such heaps that are overgrown with nettles and weeds and I'm considering removing the heaps to a garden waste centre rather than use in my garden as I do not know how much weed there could be in there. Is this what you would recommend ? and start again from scratch.
ˇ Response: There would be a larger level of live weed seed in these open heaps. You could compost it again mixing it in with fresh material which would build up some additional heat. The end product would be best used under shrubs as a mulch where the nutrients can be used up and the weed seeds are unlikely to germinate due to lack of light.
c) Going forward, to deal with the large amount of clippings and keep the area tidy and contained - what would you recommend (bins etc)? The whole of last years cuttings were managed in heap of around 4 to 5ft square and fluctuating in height from 18 inches to 3ft, currently rotted to down to less than 18 inches.
ˇ Response: With a lawn the size you describe a compost bin 12ft. x 4ft. x 3ft. wouldn't seem too large. Alternatively a compost bin 8ft. x 4ft. x 3ft could be a starting point and as the season progresses it could be extended with an add-on module or if full halfway through the season another 8ft x 4ft. x 3ft could be obtained and used. Unfortunately there is not any accurate way of predicting the actual size of bin needed in comparison to the lawn size. However, there are couple of pointers to bear in mind. Firstly, organic material in a compost bin composts down a lot faster than if it was left in an open heap. It is an advantage to have a little spare capacity with a compost bin because whilst one container is left to finalise its composting process the spare one can start to be filled up.
d) The rest of the garden is mainly bedding areas and shrubs. There is also privacy / windbreak hedging of around 150ft that provides a fair amount of woody stems. The existing heap from this garden waste is some 8ft square and rises and falls from 3ft to 7ft at differing times through the year (unshredded).
ˇ Response: The volume of this material can be greatly reduced by shredding and then composting. An 8ft. x 4ft. x 3ft. compost bin would seem to be a good starting point. If the hedge is made up of conifers this can make a very acidic compost and the compost produced can be then used around acid loving plants to help maintain the PH level in the soil
4) Comment/question: We recently moved to our house which has a 2 acre garden, lots of lawn, large chestnut trees and the usual plants etc. Currently our garden waste is thrown into a heap in one corner but it looks unsightly, plus we have been burning the leaves from the chestnuts. What size of bins should we have for our large garden.
ˇ Response: I would have thought that a 12ft. x 4ft. x 3ft. Triple Close Boarded compost with a leaf mould add-on bin would be a good starting point. All our bins can be added onto or separated units bought. How many compost bins you will need in addition to this in the future will depend largely on the composting technique that you use. We turned 1 cu.m of grass clipping into compost within 21 days by spending 1 min per day aerating the contents with a compost aerator and ensuring the top was insulated against heat loss. The bin was emptied and we refilled immediately and hence cut down on the number of compost bins we needed and produced compost which we could use on the garden.
5) Comment/question: I read somewhere that biodegradable Moltex Eco nappies are compostable. Can you advise me how to compost them?
ˇ Response: We contacted Moltex direct and this is their reply: "Only the packaging of the MOLTEX Öko baby diapers is 100% compostable. We have no own experiences regarding composting our MOLTEX Öko baby diapers. But we know from this special project in Ireland of composting our MOLTEX Öko through using worms. Further information you can find on www.ecobaby.ie. If you have any further questions in this matter please do not hesitate to contact the people from ECOBABY".
