Compost Strategy | Homemade Hot Composter | Notes on Peat Free Compost | Green Side Up
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- Compost Strategy | Homemade Hot Composter | Notes on Peat Free Compost | Green Side Up
So it is time to let you all know how I plan to move forwards, tackling the Peat Free Compost issues and also give you some information you might not know about Peat Free Compost.
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Contact me - steve.greensideup@gmail.com
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Compost Strategy | Homemade Hot Composter | Notes on Peat Free Compost | Green Side Up
#AllotmentUK #GrowYourOwn #GreenSideUp
I've been a home composter for a few years now.
When I got an allotment this year, I was surprised by how few plot holders actually make compost.
Its been one of my priorities to get a good heap going as quick as possible.
Ive not really had an issue with peat free. I also use peat free but mix in some coir and fresh organic matter.
Even over the heat way this year, being the new plot holder, I could go a couple days without any real signs of wilt or lack of water. Add some seaweed feed and fish blood and bone and I'm good to go
I do envy those who make peat free work, for me as yet, not a chance...Steve...🙂
Me too, I had a 1200mm cube built within two weeks of getting mine before I even had a shed etc. I’ve just built my 4th heap this week plus have a leaf mould cage. Loads of people on our site all throw their detritus on one massive heap right at the bottom of the site just like a trash heap and I go and pick loads of bits off it and go and put it in my heap. it just seems madness that they don’t make their own compost heaps and not a lot of people store water either! I’ve got two IBC tanks, two butts and three barrels and my plots only 180 square metres. I think some peoples ideas are quite backwards, I find it hard to get my head round but we all have different methods…I guess
@@clareellam1615
Laziness and getting the vapours over the idea, never mind actually _having_ a real compost heap on _their_ patch seems to be the underlying cause with many modern allotment holders.
😂
Nice work, good video. Over the last couple of years I decided to , well #1 keep my 75 gallon compost barrel running but #2 to cut 24 inch tall chicken wire around 7 inch diameter paint cans ( as a form then remove) and place them directly in my above ground planters and add my compost green and browns and cover with grocery store paper bags and produce the compost where it is needed. seems to work great. After a year just pull up the chicken wire and let all the compost stay were it is and relocate to a different area for another year. Simple, works a treat.
Telling the truth fair play good man
Thank you Steve for all that information. Very interesting, lots to think about.
I totally agree Steve, far too much shipping going on, like the wood pellets, just the same, many come from America and over the world so how can anyone be sure how sustainable any of it is. Really looking forward to your results on this project
Great to see the change of direction and will watch with interest your DIY Hotbin. I hot compost and happy to put the green growth of Nettles, Bindweed in and I don't get a regrowth problem. The roots and seed ends go in an old bin filled with water.
i love all your videos steve just like dowding and oneill
Greetings, Steve, from Windermere Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸
I love it 🌿💩💚💩🌿your ingenuity is brilliant. Everyone could do this on a small basis up to your size. My worms are helping me to wean myself off any Potting soil.
You really added so much more facts to my brain to think about. Garden What You've Got is all about using what's in my yard first!
Take care of yourself, Steve 💚
Regards 💓Peggy 💓
I love it!! Thank you Steve.
It will be an ideal thing for heating that compost Steve. If you are not going to cap the top, it would help heat the greenhouse or germinate seeds by sitting them on top. But if you cap it I guess the heat wouldn't escape from it. I think everyone MUST get to grips with creating their own compost and take control of their garden Great video
😂😂😂😂😂 that shirt
It's a FINE shirt......Steve...🙂
Thanks Steve. I have been wondering about making a similar hot bin system myself so I an awaiting your results. Steve
Very interesting looking fwd to seeing if it works as i love compostingxx
Love the shirt!
Awesome t shirt.
Thank Ewan, ifeel cheated it should have something written on the back too!...Steve...🙂
I made my own hotbin out of these polystyrene boards too. Works well. Design wise I've found it's taken quite a bit of tinkering to match the aeration of the actual Hotbin. The hotbin has very clean, defined holes in the floor and the drip chamber to help with that airflow. I found drilling holes in the bottom would leave very untidy and uneven holes that easily get blocked; eventually keeping the temp up would be difficult as those air currents were impeded. In the end I've had to make some 3d printed tubes to create that consisted tunnel for air flow. Other difficult thing I find generally with hot composting is finding enough browns in summer and greens in winter. I don't usually create enough food waste in winter to feed the bin and keep the temp up. And with the rate the bin can swallow materials it's hard to keep up with paper / cardboard. In the end I've managed to get a few bags of straw on the cheap for brown but I'd prefer not to have to buy stuff in for the process. Like you, got a bit of a journey to go on the next couple of years!
Yes David, there is a lot to learn and many changes to make/alter but I find that enjoyable and a bit of a challenge. For your browns retail outlets store card for recycling and for greens in winter mowing a few neighbours lawns normally suffices or as a last resort roadside verges if safe to do so...Steve...🙂
Great idea Steve. Look forward to seeing how this works out for you.
Me too Carol, thanks for watching...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve, this is really interesting, I have a mini Hotbin, I don’t know if the mega one does, but the mini has cavity at the bottom with air holes drilled in the base. This allows air flow up into the Hotbin negating the need to turn the contents, it all so produces a lot of liquid that can be drained off and used as a feed..doesn’t smell! .. the Hotbin company calls it ‘leachate’. To aid airflow I also added a piece of drainpipe with holes drilled into it and placed it up the centre. The bin is currently cooking away at 70c. Good luck with your experiment 👍
I like to research before i make drastic decisions only just a armchair gardener at the moment but i have just got an allotment so i research alot and clever enough to tell you just in case
Very thought provoking re the compost, thanks Steve👍
Really really interesting and informative video 👏👏 I never knew about white peat !!! As a gardener with a large plot this series on composting is so welcome 👍👍👍😊😊 Thank you
Brilliant video. Can't wait to see how that works.
Me too, I hope it works well...Steve...🙂
Another banging video Steve,
I like watching your videos with new systems and experiments as we can learn so much and maybe add some ideas as we learn as a community.
This is why I do them, plus I have always been so very inquisitive...Steve...🙂
Cheers Steve , I'm a home composter too after advice from Eli & Jessie so am always keen to learn , keep up the good work
Good to hear Jim, keep at it!...Steve...🙂
Interesting stuff Steve 👍
ATB Woody 👍
As always such a helpful and informative video thanks Steve 👍
Many thanks Janet !...Steve...🙂
Really good vid Steve. I'm a bit of a compost obsessive myself. I do cold composting at my plot and garden with a mix of leaf litter and general green matter. I've bought a few peat free compost bags this year for seeds and they were awful. Low germination, plastic and glass in the mix and the Westland farmyard manure was a huge disappointment too. I will be watching your hotbox experiment with keen interest. Thanks.
Really interesting video.Cant wait to see the outcome!
Thank you Raine, lets hope it gives good results!...Steve...🙂
Thanks for sharing this video Steve..alot to learn for us new Gardner's.keep up good work on these tests
Many thanks Michael, the tests are part of me and my curious mind!...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve I'm going to just dig a hole on the allotments and add feeds and other things to that free 😀 😉
A good method of many out there Michael, I'm just trying something a little different...Steve...🙂
Spoke to the coalman today - apparently most of our logs for firewood come from Eastern Europe. Pallets loaded into containers. Expensive stuff.. don't grow on trees you know
That is madness coming all the way from there...Steve...🙂
Lots of info, very interesting.
Thank you so much Anita...Steve...🙂
Anther great video with lots of useful info.,👍
Many thanks Moto...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve, very good, lots of new and good ideas. Have you thought of a Johnson-Su composter, I made one a while ago out of an IBC cage. It only basically uses browns so leaves, woodchips, cardboard, cow manure and gives rise to fungally dominated compost. I was amazed how well it worked. In total i made 3500 litres of finished compost last year.
Hi Steve I made a DIY hot bin composter last year same as yours. It was outside, unfortunately it was too dry the only part that composted was the top where it was rained on, so you may have to water it a lot .Please let us know how you get on over the next few months.
This year I have made a compost bin 1.2 m x 1.2m x 3.3m filled with horse manure,. sawdust, wood shavings, straw ,green waste, wood ash, volcanic rock dust and a small amount of wood chip and watered it a lot. It got so hot I could not put my hand in it ,so I put 6 holes in the centre to hopefuly cool it down a bit. I will see how this works All the best Roger
Wow, nice compost stash, Steve. We got crappy compost/potting mix stock since 2020. No kidding. I try and make it work by mixing it up with whatever is available. I need to get my cold compost heap going again. Its easier for me and my mood LOL
Hi Steve, very interesting project, putting weeds in it is brilliant! Lots of interestimg facts too about peat too. Brilliant video 👍 Thanks for sharing and take care 🙂
Thanks Christine, I certainly think this industry is in crisis. Peat free needs to happen, its just it needs to happen world wide, not just here in the UK...Steve...🙂
@@GreenSideUp very true, i have shared your video on our allotment site facebook page too. To share your amazing knowledge & reccomended you channel too 🙂
Nice vlog Steve, I’ve made two hot bins from 50mm insulation boards. I got rid of the council bin and fill it with everything (except weeds) including my chickens waste. I then bag it up after 3 months and use it when I need.
Hi Lee, what sort of insulation did you use?...Steve...🙂
They already priced me out in compost market. So I’m having to make my own.
I can see a lot more of that happening in years to come unfortunately...Steve...🙂
Great video be interesting to see the results 😃
I am sure results will be good...Steve...🙂
I agree the cost will go through the roof next year, just bought my peat free for next year now. Gradually upgrading the home and allotment composting, we will need to get better at this.
I agree we all have to really and we will, I have no doubt about that. One of my primary aims/thoughts is being able to clear your plot at this season change time of year and being able to turn it into compost ready for spring use...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve I like your T-shirt you go man. Anthony from South Africa Western Cape
Many thanks Anthony!...Steve...🙂
Excellent vlog Steve, I only have a small garden veggie plot but am working to mainly supply my own compost with a 3 bin roofed system made of pallets and I turn it regularly. I find the whole subject fascinating. I also enjoy Tony O'neill's videos (Simplify Gardening) on the subject.
Tony's videos are brilliant but also checkout Charles Dowding and No Till Growers.
@@ibrstellar1080 Thank you Ibr, I am already a fan of Charles Dowding and I will look at your other suggestion.
Tony is a great knowledgable gardener, fascinating bok he has just written also!...Steve...🙂
@@GreenSideUp
Had had the runaround from Amazon, having the publishing and sales dates knocked back.
Ended up burnt out, poor guy.
Thanks for the video about the compost and the homemade bin , like you said peat free will be a massive trial for years till they get it correct, And don't forget the green bins from houses are now going to be sold off to the compost makers ,more weeds and plastic will be in the new stuff I bet
🍻
Awesome setup in the tunnel Steve. Personally I’d protect those outer corners where you place the straps around as they will sink in trying to hold in the amount of compost you’ll build up. Good luck though, look forward to seeing how it progresses 🤞👍
Thanks Martyn, yes I intend to use some folded card in those areas...Steve...🙂
Crikey Steve, that hotbin was a gift horse from that company. I saw the steam coming out of the bin. Very impressed. Elaine
Forgive the pun .......
but that is certainly food for thought and it gets people thinking
Stay safe 😊
Pun forgiven! Getting gardeners thinking and chatting helps everyone...Steve...🙂
Great video Steve. Love your passion with making your own..its definitely vital with the future of us growers. Its a shame its manufactured now and given to us in such a poor quality Steve. I hope it gets better. Danny 🌱
i have been waiting for this but will have to watch later as family supper beth 😊
Family first every time...Steve...🙂
I have two aerobin composters. They are insulated bins and are amazing. composting is so much quicker than my conventional piles.
They look nice and tidy they do, similar to the hotbin composters...Steve...🙂
Think I’ll take the idea and fashion it to my plot. I have boxes that are 1.2 x 800 I’ll line them with polystyrene and see if it gets hotter than my normal composting method
I’m lucky enough to have a neighbour with horses and I get a lot of free horse manure from them. The compost heats up very quickly especially as I turn it every couple of months. I use it on my no dig beds. I don’t get too many weeds, especially if I hoe or pick them out quickly. I’m using coconut coir and seed beds for seed sowing (and sometimes the plastic bag method) then potting on or transplanting. Also using bokashi for enriching my beds as well as fermented liquids for feeding plants, comfrey leaves and liquid and chicken manure pellets. Mulching with whatever available is good as is growing mulches to chop and drop.
I’m starting to make my own and I bring some in from a local chicken farm that uses no antibiotics and raise free running chickens. It’s fantastic and I’ve bought it by the pickup truck load. 🇨🇦❤️👍❤️🇨🇦
That is a good resource to have Frances, do you mix it with anything else, as I expect it would be very high nitrogen?...Steve...🙂
@@GreenSideUp - I have no means of measuring but my garden was certainly better than ever before. 🇨🇦👍❤️
@@francesbatycki404
Measure by eye.
Larger foliage and smaller fruits, tubers, etc indicate high nitrogen levels, as Steve pointed out
Very very interested in how this works out steve
Thanks Chris, lets hope it works well...Steve...🙂
Interested to see how this turns out. I thought the reason a pile cools down until you turn it is not so much lack of insulation but because the oxygen is exhausted. I haven't tried it yet but some people occasionally blow air through drainage pipes in the base of the pile to replenish the oxygen and keep it hot and stop it going sour.
Niall Gardens made his own hot compost bin, I thought it was very interesting! Looking forward to seeing your results
Yes there are quite a few homemade version out there Anita, this is brilliant as it means gardeners are thinking...Steve...🙂
Love a good compost show. Nice to see an achievable project easily scaled up or down. Please tell me you plan on lining the poly box !Best of luck with it. Stay safe and thanks for sharing
I'm just in it to try and to test, see what info I can gather...Steve...🙂
Hey Steve, This is a great gigantic discussion. The problem is that there are so many forces behind the scenes that blur the lines. The Concept sustainability can mean many different things. One thing may look green at first glance but closer examination will reveal that there may be very dirty process, byproducts or left over residual substances. Some of the recycling facilities are the most hazardous waste producers.
Greed causes companies to deceive us with slogans, trickery, mislabeling and so much more. The best practice is to develop, sell and use these things locally to maintain purity and keep the greed of the big corporation out of the equation. We vote with our money and when we support better choices and not the others the changes should eventually come.
This is a long discussion. Thank you for the video today. bye for now
It is a giant of a discussion, far too big a sunject probably for here. But it is myself I am asking the questions of first, what do I want, how do I want it, this is normally the best way to start this sort of thing...Steve...🙂
Don't most areas give away (for a small fee) locally sourced compost, mulch, etc, created by the local authorities?
Many arborist businesses are glad to get rid of material.
👍👍👍, I hope it works for you, Take care.
Many thanks Ronald...Steve...🙂
Thank you for a really interesting take on the compost industry. 👏 Wondering if I should invest now and where! Maybe the councils could start piling some empty lots with their grass and weed clippings and shredded boxes. No extra miles on the materials, and the proceeds stay in the community.
You might be interested in a channel called Gardening in Canada. She's a soil scientist by profession, and she's done some videos on how peat, coir, and other ingredients behave in mixes and how to best use them. She even made a spreadsheet of optimal potting blends based on plant, container, and your individual watering habits. Tip: When I'm feeling relaxed and just want the info, I pause her videos and read the transcripts instead. I usually prefer the calmer vibe of most UK gardening videos.
Oh, I just remembered that she also did a video where she discussed the amount of compost you should use. Apparently even organic sources of fertilizer when over-applied can be a source of pollution. Something I hadn't thought about before.
That would be useful but I know from experience that as soon as you have a publically accesible pile of anything, then fly tipping happens...Steve...🙂
@@blacksheepaffect I have bookmarked her channel so I can take a look at a less busy time for me, thanks for the heads up...Steve...🙂
I failed science at school. All I want to do is grow a few flowers and a bit of veg. Why why why is it becoming so difficult! The black box in the garden will become like the 'monster' that needs to be fed. We go into our gardens to get away from the stress of life, not add to it. Thanks for the heads up Steve, I followed everything because you explained it in lay mans terms.
Yes it can become this way but I am sure it will all settle down soon enough, you just keep doing whatever makes you happy KIm...Steve...🙂
I built the normal pallet bins but got freecycled polystyrene from packages and filled the gaps in the palletts to insulate them.. easily 4" deep. Then I put tarp all in the inside. It was v effective and compost would only take a few months.. less than 5 if I turned from one to the other. During winter I'm going to refresh a bit and line also with cardboard sheeting and newspapers than staple tarps on top. Have a domestic hotbin at home.. took a while to get mix started but works well now. Thousands of worms and the compost is quite good. But don't do as they say you can and put cooked stuff in tgere.. foxes destroyed the lids with their claws... badgers if you had tgem would destroy it in mins
Hi Claire, your setup is quite interesting, I dont think I have ever put food into a compost heap before, not a direction I want to travel...Steve...🙂
@@GreenSideUp yes Sreve.. they sell hotbin as you can put anything in it....
Luckily, I live near a beach so I'll be dragging seaweed (115 steps to allotment). It'll keep me fit if nothing else either that or you will find my withered corpse expired in the attempt, if so, you can bung me on the pile. Bet I will make great compost!
Fascinating video, as ever, Steve - looking forward to seeing your results from your homemade hotbox. Intrigued to know why you decided to put a base on it, rather than leave the contents in contact with soil microbes and bacteria (not a criticism, BTW - just interested in learning more!)
I think heat loss through the ground would be significant - I'm basing that on how thick the insulation is on the base of an Passive Haus
Yes as kgarden says its to minimise heat loss and keep as much of it as possible, internal...Steve...🙂
a hot composter in the middle of your polytunnel will give a couple of degrees of free heating over the winter, steve................brian
I hope not Brian, I want to keep that heat internal, later maybe when I want to use it to germinate seeds in the Spring, then yes it might raise temps a little...Steve...🙂
yuo could put an ibc inside the composter and protect it and put a solar pump in there to heat up your greenhouse or part of your polytunnel, even if its surrounded by wood it will be protected from forks and turning it
You got shares in compost ther lad 🤣👊
A little...Steve...🙂
Evening Steve very interested to see how this works out for you,a couple of questions if I may ?
Have you perhaps thought about a drain and a tap in the base of the unit to allow for removal of the juice that will be generated by the process,and will you be sealing the hot box up or using a liner of some sort to extend the life of the insulation material?.
Yes I have thought all about these things and many more besides, I like to keep my testing simple to reveal all the pros and cons if I can, then make changes to suit and further improve, this is as such, a prototype. Your questions though are very valid and welcomed and I love the fact that you are asking them!...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve great idea! I have 4 compost bins at the allotment and 2 are full and the other 2 will be soon. I collect my customers grass and leaves everyday to add them, also apple's! I got a compost thermometer not long ago and I know when to turn the compost. I've been taking tiger worms out each time I turn to add them to my Wormery. You should get some worms!👍😁
Thanks Nick, I have worms in the slower heaps...Steve...🙂
@@GreenSideUp nice! There should be some nice castings in there! That should make a great compost.👍
Really interesting video Steve. Like everyone I am also very concerned where we will get decent compost from in the years ahead. I really hope your idea will work. Are you not concerned about the moisture in the plant material soaking in to the polystyrene and making it go soft?
Not really concerned, more interested to see Trevor, hence the trial. Just a standard trial treating it as a prototype to gather the good and bad information, then go from there with it. I could make this whole thing a lot better in a couple of hours, but then I would lose the oppurtunity to gather all the info...Steve...🙂
They say that bananas because they come across on ship are massively more environmentally friendly than perishables flown from far away places. It’s likely our timbers being sold for other use more valuably than what may be waste from Canada. A few years ago we had a big price increase on melamine faced chipboard as the biofuel industry had boomed and the wood Grown in Scotland to make the MFC was also being used as a biofuel and they had to put the price of the MFC up because otherwise I could’ve just literally sold it all for biofuel so it’s the only way to make it viable
It’s a crazy world, eh? I live in central BC, the heart of logging country. There are at least two yards close to where I live. However, at my local (and only) building supply store, I paid through the nose for spruce for my raised beds. I couldn’t get any other kind of wood, even if I wanted it. Nada, none, zilch. No pine which is cheaper. No cedar although I live among cedars. I made my compost bins out of rather flimsy bits of wood the previous owners left behind because otherwise I couldn’t afford to build them.
@@francesbatycki404 wow! Do you know is that because it’s shipped off elsewhere and sold more expensive? The worlds crazy and only getting crazier!
@@clareellam1615 - for sure it’s sent off to Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, etc and to the states. Canada negotiated a softwood lumber deal with the US years ago. During Harper’s reign and later during Trumpian times things got a bit messed up, but lumber companies say they need the huge market to the south. Our cities are growing and housing booms are not uncommon. I honestly would not be the least bit surprised to find out that we re-buy our own milled lumber back from the Yanks. Our area is feeling the overflow from the densely populated Okanagan valley and people are building. Covid led people out here where it’s quiet and they can still work from home etc. I’ve met many a frustrated home builder who can’t buy lumber. They go to construction companies who bring it in at great expense. I’m not a nationalist. I am certainly a globalist. However, whoever figured out how to sell our oil and lumber etc to our southern neighbours, forgot to leave stuff in the pot for us. Sorry to rant. It’s been that kind of day. Lol!
@@francesbatycki404 no that’s interesting and sounds legit and like you’re taking the flack for your own countries company’s greediness (or financial necessity depending how tight it is). Seems unfair to me. It would be more understandable if all those companies turned out to be American owned. It doesn’t make sense to me, to my mind you take care of your own first and not get caught up wholly in whoever’s waving the biggest wad of cash as they can then backstab you when a cheaper alternative comes from some other country
@@francesbatycki404 BC? Is that Bristol city by chance
Another great video, that compost bin is massive it will take a lot of filling, could you use re-bars as pegs to help hold it together as well as the straps, I think you are going the right way and we all should do something along these lines, I'm one of the throw it and wait, but I can see the benefits of doing your own compost, will you be collecting the juice some how to use as liquid feed
Hi Stephen, I have many ideas on strengthening, drainage holes and leechate collecting, also a few other things. I just want to keep it very simple over winter for a couple of trials. This standard approach shows all the pros and cons for assessment later on. I could make a much better version today, but I want the info first...Steve...🙂
Steve,, could you have used the polystyrene that the builders use to insulate between the brick/block walls? I believe they are about a metre tall (not sure if they are a metre wide or only 18 inches) that would save you having to cut them,,, you could possibly cover them with the builders plastic to make them waterproof if you use the setup outside
Do you mean the foil back sheeting or the plain sheets?
@@ibrstellar1080 I think either would do the same without having to cut them
I dont see why not, I just bought what was cheapest to test, knowing I could reuse if it does not suit for any reason...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve
Great video yet again 👏
I love to watch what you do, I’ve bought a hot bin in august, I’m on a mission to make my own,
My husband has a question for you, do you think the weight of the materials added will make the straps cut into the polystyrene. If this is the case it may be better to put a pallet wood construction around it. And this can be strapped or latches on corners. Just a thought!!
Hubby is right Susan, I was just showing the principle here, I will use folded card when I start filling it to spread the load of the straps, later on I have no doubt I will do some extra strengthening, design changes, I want the raw data first, good and bad points. Then I can move forward with that. Eventually I suspect I will end up with an insulated bay system somewhere on the plot...Steve...🙂
🤔🤔 You'll probably have too stabilize the lower half of your white/orange self-construction very rigid - otherwise it will be pushed apart from the higher weight of the lower layers.... I'm afraid of......🤔🤔
Besides thar - very nice video (like always) - thank you very much for uploading! 😊
Got the price wrong - 480, will have to start saving or hopefully win on the horses!
I'm wondering how you are getting air into the compost pile?
✌️😎
Peat free along with silly garden centre prices will kill off home growers. Local diy sheds are stuck with unsold plants and mountains of crappy compost right now and the seasons over.
Yup, it is pretty much back to the beggining now, where I started, no compost, no racks of plants or garden centres, greengrocers in out village would get a few trays of bedding plants in, that was just about it...Steve...🙂
What a great idea. I guess it will also act as heating too when it gets going. Do you think it might cause condensation/mould in the winter if it steams and hits the walls? Also what do you think about Dalesford wool & bracken compost? I know it is pricey but it seems more natural and 'local'...
I only top up my compost every two or three years and only green compost at that, as I usually just replenish it with blood, fish and bone, seaweed, fermented nettles and perlite.
Seeing folk throw away 'spent' compost from flowerpots, buckets and containers boggles my mind.
At the very least they could use it to bulk out their garden soil with organic matter, instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, forking out and wasting good money to replace it.
you know that the gases given off will kill all your plants inside a polytunnel, I saw on youtube that it was tried before with detrimental effects so it makes sense that you should move it. I can see the reasoning but there are better options
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I am definitely going to invest in a hot composter but I love your attempt at making your own.. do you think the silver foiled insulation boards would do the same as just polystyrene?
I think that would probably work and will probably try that at some stage. My aim is to expose if I can any bad points to the whole process, so for example I suspect it is going to need some sort of a lining, but more of that later on...Steve...🙂
@@GreenSideUp I look forward to seeing the results and conclusions 🙂
Being on a plot adjacent rat infested farmland, I'd need to wrap the entire exterior in steel weldmesh to keep the rodents out. They already constantly try getting into my polytunnels, so I have wire mesh covered doors and concrete slabbed perimeters.
Sounds like hell David...Steve...🙂
Get some Mink or Ferrets as there droppings will make them run a mile but let the ferrets lose and watch the genocide unfold!
I bought 20 50 liter bags of compost that was going cheap. Should I keep it bagged up until next year when I need to use it, or empty them all onto my on going compost heap so it doesn't dry out and loose its nutrients?
please give a link cannot find the hot composter anywhere
I think it needs to be painted black to absorb the heat from inside your tunnel
Hi Stephen, you can buy black sheet polystyrene, or at least a charcol grey, but it is a little more expensive, so did not use it for this simple trial. I have considered glueing a 1 inch thick sheet of the charcoal gray foam to the outside but not for this simple test, we will see where we are next year for that...Steve...🙂
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Cheers Carl...Steve...🙂
Hi Steve, hot composters seems to be the way to go. BTW how long did your grape vine take to grow that big 😲👍
6 years, with lots of patience and training. I will be harvesting the grapes later this week and going over the whole growing, pruning and training to get where I am today with it...Steve...🙂
Can you let me know which site you got the Gro see weed compost from
I’m only seeing 60 litres bags
On websites come up? For sale
The truth is that good quality ingredients for peat free cannot be sourced in the UK cheaply enough and in sufficient quantity to replace all the peat we use - the industry know it and the gov know it. Banning peat was the only way to force the producers to invest properly in the alternatives which they had failed to do voluntarily for many years. Also the general public were also never going to voluntarily choose a more expensive and typically inferior product. Good peat free composts are available at the specialist end of the market but they are expensive and sometimes hard to get hold of locally. I use Melcourt SylvaGrow with good results but only ever buy enough to cover my seed sowing and potting on needs. All the bulkier jobs like filling containers can be done by recycling last years spent compost and mixing it with my own home made stuff - I just add blood, fish and bone and slow release feed granules.
i think if more people capable of making compost should go for it then the big compost produres will keep there prices down
Isnt the best compost the stuff you make for yourself
Which compost are you using
Is the compost any good from local council recycle centers?
Just found out we can get free compost from our local tip
I've always been concerned about the presence of Clopyralid herbicide, used by gardeners treating weeds in their lawn. The instructions specifically say not to put initial lawn mowings into green bin (actually says to put them in the landfill bin - I'm sure that would raise some eyebrows!) - but I seriously doubt that 100% of everyone does do that .... That chemical survives composting and will then kill follow-on crops. Its the same as the agricultural chemical Aminopyralid which causes such a scandal when manure form animals, fed on hay from treated grass, was sold to domestic gardeners and contaminated their Veg patches for years.
@@kgarden8960 And this still happens today unfortunately, Aminopyralid poisoning is something we all should be aware of...Steve...🙂
kgarden has the best info here , I could not have written it better...Steve...🙂
I've found council compost to be OK as a mulch or soil improver but it's not suitable as a general purpose growing medium. Test for herbicides by sowing some broad bean or pea seeds in a some first before you spread it all over your beds.
I have some polycarbonate like what u have, not of the size u have, I'm planning on filling it up and seeing what I get over winter, my only concern is volume of green waste, I can get brown waste easy. But I'm going to give it a go and see what I can do. I'm also going to try and get lots of leaves to make leaf mould, but I'm not sure if it worth doing leaf mould or adding the leaves to my compost? Any ideas would be great
I would keep the leaves seperate myself...Steve...🙂
I liked Steve's idea of lawn mowing in Winter to get a bit of green material - grass clippings heat up like magic!
@@GreenSideUpI'll keep them separate then
@@kgarden8960 yea me to
Polystyrene??? Off gasing??? Chemical Leaching??? Far from mother nature....lots of concerns.
I've started removing all plastic from my veg patch and veg plant raising. Who knows what the potential damage is of micro plastics getting into my veg patch ...
I think that a barrier, such as 3-ply, between insulation layer and compost heap would help with preventing damage to insulation when unloading with a fork and separating the too.
800 quid, too rich for my budget.