Hello and welcome to The Compost Bin. I'm Compostwoman and I live with my family in rural Herefordshire. We have nearly four acres of garden and woodland, all managed organically and to Permaculture principles, which we share with Chickens, Cats and assorted wildlife. We also grow a lot of our own food, run courses in all sorts of things and make a lot of compost!

I am a Master Composter and have spent more than a decade as a volunteer Community Compost adviser with Garden Organic and my local Council.
I'm a self employed Environmental Educator so I run workshops and events where I talk about compost, veg growing, chicken keeping, cooking, preserving and sustainable living. I also run crafts workshops and Forest School/outdoor play sessions in our wood.

We try to live a more self sufficient lifestyle here, as best we can, while still having a comfortable life and lots of fun.


To learn more about us click on the About Compostwoman tab and remember to click on the photos to make them full size!


Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 April 2020

Rats ( again!)


I keep getting asked questions about Rats , on Facebook,on  the various fora I frequent, when I was on Compost stands and when I am out and about ( before the start of the social isolating against Covid -19)  so I thought I would  repeat my advice in one place on here.

So here are some tricks you can try if your compost bin is infested with rats.

1. Get some metal mesh..chicken wire would do or weldmesh sold by builders yards...and put it on the ground under your bin so that the whole of the base area is covered then resite the bin on top.

2. Make sure you go to your bin at least every day and hit it with a stick or give it a kick...just to disturb it! Rats are neophobic..they don't like anything new..and they don't like being disturbed...ideally resite your bin so it is close to the house and where it gets walked past a lot...

3. Keep the lid on the bin...

4. Rinse out any eggshells before adding them to the bin as Rats LOVE the smell of egg....

5. It is said male urine acts as a deterrent...and wee is also a good compost activator...

6. Dog wee around the outside of the bin would work, too!!

7. If you have a dog then that might help scare them off

Very important, whatever you do...wear gloves when handling the compost bin or the composting stuff...rats urine can carry Weils disease ( and other nasties!!) and if you get wet wee on a cut you can catch all sorts of unpleasant illnesses.....so obviously plasters on any cuts is a must, too.

They are a huge problem at the moment everywhere I am afraid.





Thursday, 12 February 2009

Request spot

A question for you.

Would any of you lovely people who visit my blog like a post about sowing seeds ?

I ask because of some of the comments and emails I have had about my last post. I will happily do a seedy post, if it will help people?

OR, is there anything else anyone really wants me to post about?

I am currently writing "how to" posts about Starting up and running an Eco club at school, Gardening at school with children and a Simple-Green-Frugal post about making Compost.

but is there anything else anyone would really like to know about?

Requests in the comments box, or email me!

Thursday, 9 October 2008

In which I share a secret with you all.........

As I have had so many comments on my 2 chutney related postings, I thought I would share my chutney recipe!

My chutney recipes are basically 600 ml vinegar, 20 g salt, 500 g sugar, assorted spices usually around 2 teaspoons of them(I use ground spices quite happily!),500 g onions and then 3 Kg of assorted fruit and veg. This makes around 10 "chutney/relish" sized jars, the 350 g ones.

I find SOME fruit is needed, even if its only 500 g apples and 500g dried fruit, as apples especially help to thicken the chutney, the 500g dried fruit is part of the 3 Kg of assorted stuff though! I also always use Cider vinegar or wine vinegar occasionally, I use Aspalls Organic and finds it makes for a smooth result without a harsh vinegary tang...it IS possible to eat my chutney immediately but I would reccomend keeping it for at least 2 months, longer if you can!

I made an Autumn Polytunnel Harvest chutney a couple of years ago which was basically what was left in there…tomatos, peppers, aubergines, courgettes, to a total of 2.5 Kg, 500g apples and then the onions, sugar, vinegar salt, spices. It was YUM and we have just finished the last jar…I will have to make some more!

I don’t know if it would be ok to leave out onions and use more of some other fruit and veg, but I guess it would be fine!

As I only make chutney out of what we grow here ( except the raisins!) I make small quantities of experimental chutneys and play around with the ingredients!

Someone has asked me what books I use...well I sort of make things up as I go along because I find , as long as you stick to the basic proportions it works!

The River Cottage Preserves book is good, as is The Complete Book of Home Made preserves by Jill Nice I got from a charity shop, the Piers Warren How to store your garden produce is very good as well..I use that a lot! Also I like Margurite Pattern Jams Preserves and Chutneys. I think these are still available!

Hope this is helpful to those of you who have asked, but don’t blame me if you don’t like what you make, chutneys are definately for experimenters and I suggest you make a very small batch by scaling down the ingredients list, BEFORE you make a larger batch!

Saturday, 5 July 2008

A walk around the pool in the rain

I went for a wander around our pool in the rain tonight, I don't do this nearly as much as I should, we live in THE MOST amazing place, with suroundings to die for, and so much of the time I am too bloomin' busy to appreciate it?

So I MADE myself take 10 mins and my camera, to go AND SEE.....








Its beautiful :-)

We had visitors today and as usual their reaction to the lovelyness we are surrounded by, reminded me I should really feel much more grateful to live where I do.








We ALL should make time, as the saying goes, to go and smell, not roses in this case but, the scent of damp meadow grass and Meadowsweet and Loosestrife and Scabious and Sweetpeas and a wildflower meadow.....

wonderful.....

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Question about blight on the INEBG forum

A friend on the INEBG forum has posted up a question about possible signs of blight on her early spuds....

and I ( and others) have replied, suggesting possible reasons for what she is seeing...

I have said I don't think it IS blight and that I think it is Magnesium deficiency...

I have posted a reply with some hopefully helpful information on how to help with suspected mineral deficiencies! Suprise, suprise, the best way is to apply COMPOST!


Manganese and iron deficiencies are quite common! Yellow leaves (known as chlorosis) and browning are a good indicator that hese two are lacking. Hard water can cause this! ( thats my problem here.....) or planting acid loving plants in less acidic soil....

You can acidify soil or you can get sprays of manganese sulphate....but thats more for commercial growers I think!

I think this might be Magnesium deficiency as you get this kind of discolouration from that...and THAT can be caused by acid soils, sandy-textured soils or using lots of chemical fertilisers

BUT also lots of rain can wash out magnesium AND soil compaction can cause it to be less well taken up than normal...which we have certainly had the first one here...and I have a similar thing with the bottom leaves on some of my earlies....

A treatment could be to apply magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts), to the soil or as a foliar spray to remedy a lack of magnesium.

Not enough calcium causes blossom end rot in tomato and pepper fruit or bitter pit in apples. This is not a lack of the element more not enough in the right place so to get it moving increase ventilation ( inside) and regular watering helps here.

BUT ( surprise surprise.. .)Most element "lacks" can be solved by improving the quality of the soil structure with added compost.. ..and stuff like bonemeal/wood ash/Hoofmeal etc can help, also...( but not for you the bonemeal I guess!)

Seaweed adds back all the trace elements needed...so how about that??

You can get liquid seaweed in the OGC...use as a feed to water it on...also comfrey tea...

manure tea is good also?

I have picked off and burned the offending leaves on my earlies...and am watching them closely......

Tuesday, 3 June 2008

RECYCLE WEEK ‘08

2-8 June is Recycle Week, which aims to highlight the benefits of recycling and what happens to the things we recycle.

It is the perfect opportunity for us to take that extra step and do 'just one more thing' to improve our own recycling habits

There is a list of "top tips" on www.recyclenow.com or call the Recycle Now Helpline on 0845 331 3131

BUT...

Why not start a home compost bin if you haven’t already done so? It is a great way to recycle your vegetable and fruit peelings and ensure a blooming good display in your garden. You can also include tea bags, egg boxes and scrunched up paper as well as your garden waste, such as grass cuttings, prunings and clippings. Find out what else you can include in your home composting by visiting www.recyclenow.com.

Go on...you KNOW you want to!

Sunday, 23 September 2007

Cider Making!

This weekend we have been making...CIDER!!

Two friends of ours who live nearby are keen cider makers and have started up their own mobile pressing business..The Little Cider Press Co.
They come and wash, mill and press your apples and you pay per 25 L of Juice produced. Add an airlock to the fermentation vessel and leave for a week or so and hey presto...fermentation begins!!

Washing the apples ( with help from children)

Milling the apples ( chopping them up so as to get maximum juice from them)

Putting the pulp on to the cloths which sit on top of a (traditionally acacia) wood slatted frame.

Stacking the cloths and frames up into a "cheese" The apple pulp is put in cloths and layers are built up.

Pressing the apples and getting the juice!!.

Putting the juice into a fermentation vessel.

having fun and a well earned cup of tea!! (next year it will be this years cider....)

Tidy up time!!

And then the pommace goes on my compost heaps!!!

Monday, 4 June 2007

hens free range

Well we have now got the chicken run sorted out tempararily....the girls are shut in the Eglu run at night, but we are leaving the door of the Eglu open at the moment so they can go out into the run in the morning. Opening the run and letting out the hens is the job of compost miss!




Then around the Eglu run is a 25 m length of moveable netting ( it can be electrified but isn't at the moment....)which we move every week to a new bit of the garden. We also move the Eglu and run every couple of days sideways so the hens get fresh grass ( and to TRY to save the grass!).



The intention is to build a permenant fenced run in the orchard area, with a hen house as well, as I an intending to get some ex battery hens to add to our little flock.















But the current resident fowl in there may not be so keen to move out!! (he IS a cock pheasant, so he might decide to stick around and get to know the hens!)

Monday, 26 February 2007

Nest boxes for Birds

Today we put up some nest boxes on various outbuildings. My husband built some boxes which were suitable for various birds, he built a robin box, a blue tit box and also a bat box. These will hopefully be inhabited very soon and I can regale you all with pictures and stories about the birds and their young.If anyone reading this is interested in building and erecting nest boxes, the RSPB have really good and very clear instructions at the following site:-

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/nestboxes/nestboxes/making.asp

a similar RSPB site, more suitable for children is:-

http://www.rspb.org.uk/youth/makeanddo/activities/nestbox/index.asp

This is from the RSPB Wildlife Explorers club set of pages and I can strongly recommend any children joining this club - we are family members of the RSPB and my daughter loves the stuff she gets sent!
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