Compost advice sought

Gardening
1

Our expensive dustbin became redundant when the local council changed rubbish collection to central bins rather than home collections. I have been using it to compost all the vegetable waste from the kitchen.

Everything has now turned to a black gooey mess which quickly transforms anything I put in. The thing that alarms me is that the surface is heaving with maggots. They make excellent fishing bait but my concern is whether the resulting mess, after they have all died off in winter, will still be good for the garden.

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Hmm
sounds like you are not putting enough brown (woody stuff) in with you green stuff?

This might help:

I think having invertebrates in there is good news because they are helping to break down the organic matter but all in all
perhaps an imbalance?

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Is there air getting into the bin? Sorry if this is too basic.

4

@Wozza is the man to talk compost

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Basic recipe is two parts green to one part brown. Turn it as much as you can and don’t let it get too dry. An aerator is useful in bins.

Yours is too anaerobic and too much soft green stuff.

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No there is little air entering. I have a normal compost bin that works normally. This was an experiment to see if I could make something more concentrated. Any green stuff I chuck in disintegrates in a day. Not being a biologist, I just wondered if I was creating any problems.

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Is too anaerobic bad? Reading stuff posted on Internet, it should be slow to break down and smell awful. Mine breaks down quickly and has virtually no smell! I have a pile of wood chippings set aside for mulch. Would a layer of two of that help?

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paper waste comes under the category of ‘brown’ too don’t forget. Bits of cardboard and brown Amazon paper sacks are best but envelopes and pub all end up torn into bits and added to my green waste. It all helps to keep it away from the slimy/smelly mess stage.

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I trust that you have some drainage holes in the bottom of the bin ?

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Is the liquid produced by the breakdown a super liquid feed, often too strong to put on plants and veg indiluted?

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Fortunately, I have an endless supply.

No, it is an unaltered wheelie bin with hinged lid

That is what I was hoping to obtain. At the moment, it an inoffensive digestion machine. My concern is – will the result be beneficial for compost (albeit needing dilution) or will it contain anything harmful? I was hoping someone who understood the science could shed some light on the subject.

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I used a large wheely type bin in the UK for composting. I drilled lots of holes in the side with a 16mm drill bit and a few in the bottom. I too got dark brown/black liquid from the bottom. It was saved and used as liquid fertiliser, diluted of course.
In France I have three m3 composters and the goo just seeps into the ground behind my three strawberry trees. They are doing very well.

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Am I missing out on something? Please tell me more.

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Insufficient dark brown/black liquid leaking from the bottom
?

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Well I never,

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Less back breaking for the strawberry pickers :+1:

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It’s an evergreen and flowers here in December, and gets covered in bees at that time of year which is quite weird.

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And makes nice tarts.

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Even better.

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