New Green Compost Bin

Compost Bin Arrives

Our council is, very sensibly, offering subsidised compost bins so I have joined the Posh Bins club with an eight hundred litre bin. Being yet another hot day, dropped round to the plot in the early evening, watered what needed and then commenced the construction job.

I like these plastic lidded bins for compost; they seem more effective than pallet constructed bins. Because they exclude light, weeds seem to not sprout and because of the insulation, the contents seem to rot more quickly as well.

I have a green cylinder compost bin that I inherited on the plot but the ‘door’ at the base has been cut wider and so it is not as effective as a new one, hence my investing ?20.00 in the much larger new bin.

Sited the new bin where the old one was and moved the old bin to the side. You can never have too many compost bins. This involved emptying the top of the old bin into the wheelbarrow before managing to lift the bin off the nearly ready compost it contained.

Assembly was not too difficult, especially when I stopped trying to translate from the French instructions and realised the English were printed on the other side. I got stuck on the hinges for the lid but “Glastonbury 10” who has one of these bins turned up and showed me how they clipped in.

Popped the nearly ready compost from the wheelbarrow in and stirred the contents around so the bin now has a good starter and then started collecting piles of material from around the plot. Since the growth of the potatoes and the pumpkin has almost stopped me accessing the existing bin, I’ve left piles around the plot of weeds and the broad bean stalks. The sun has dried these out so after putting them into the bin and adding some activator, I watered to wet them down. Next went a cut from the comfrey plants next to the potatoes and finally a sack of garden waste from home and the kitchen compost bin.

I was amazed to find I had filled the bin to the top! I expect they will squash down and it will be about half full in a few days.