Composty questions

[Flo]

Your number 1 bin was too dry. Woodlice arrive when the heap is dry. Number 2 bin on a patio has a problem with being on a patio - the base is wrong. No drainage for a start.

You need to ensure that the heaps are placed on soil, kept warm and moist but not soaking. And you need to take all the contents out and turn them at least once a year.

[PurpleMcGowan]

90% of my garden is potted as its mostly patio, but I might be able to put bin 2 on soil if I remove some flags in the front, the back patio is raised by 10ft due to the hill.
Thanks for the advice :)

[Weedo]

I have about 2 tonne of scorched, water and smoke dammaged wheat hay in a pile courtesy of spontanious combustion in the haystack. The livestock won't eat it so I guess it will become "re-purposed". Any ideas on the suitability of this stuff going into compost or should I just use it as mulch? It is a lot of material to get rid of and I really can't source enough other material to mix with it.

[ina]

Applying urine might help with the composting.

[Green Aura]

Maybe you could complete the burning of some of it for potash. I wonder if wheatstraw ashes would make lye? Hmm, haystack soap.

Otherwise compost it and/or use some as mulch, as you've already said.

[Weedo]

Urine probably would help but I can't get the cows to cooperate - perhaps just add some granular urea. No much straw involved GA - mostly leaf - so very little ash; the variety is semi prostrate and grown for grazing & hay rather than grain. I think I will try it in pit compost.

[Green Aura]

I think ina might have been referring to you, weedo.

[Weedo]

Yay- more beer! for a good cause only of course

[ina]

I think ina might have been referring to you, weedo.

Correct! Much easier than getting cows to pee in a particular spot.

[Weedo]

Any ideas about substitutes for the green when making compost? Green is becoming very very scarce around here and the tiny lawn area still being watered yields little.

[Green Aura]

Vegetable scraps?

[Weedo]

Mrs Weedo has been reading innumerable websites etc. looking for the answer to this - the best answer was a research report that looked at the actual composition (carbon / nitrogen) of a range of materials as to their levels of brown vs green. So the short answer is that the browns are not all brown and the greens are not all green (I guess you folks knew that) Straw is browner than hay, cardboard is greener than straw, grass clippings are roughly neutral - greener than vegie scraps but not as brown (N.P.I) as animal manure.

So, I don't have to look for green substitutes during this drought, just for greener brown - yay!

[ina]

There are the known greens, the unknown greens, and those greens that don't know they really are brown...

Or something like it.

[Weedo]

yes, I found out that bread is a green also

[ina]

yes, I found out that bread is a green also

It is, if you leave it around for long enough!