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 composting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label composting. Show all posts

Friday, 18 April 2014

Hungry Bin and Can O Worms sort out


@hungrybin @omlet @wiggled

I posted a couple of days ago about the HotBin sort out and I have now sorted out the various wormeries which live by the polytunnel as well. One of the reasons I got my hands so dirty yesterday :)


I first emptied out the Can o Worms wormery, bought from Wiggly Wigglers many years ago now and still going strong! I harvested three bucket fulls of lovely worm compost


.

I then emptied out the Hungry Bin tray and got another bucketful from that.


I don't need the compost just yet so I used  a spare CoW I got from Freecycle to store the compost in, five trays full of worm compost - that will allow it to dry out a little and I can use the worm juice in the polytunnel.  I added a top tray with the contents of the kitchen caddy so any remaining worms will move up into the top tray out of the finished compost.


Looking into the Hungry Bin this shows that worms do not eat compostable caddy bags - these obviously need to go into a compost bin for other compost creatures to munch at them. I have added a caddy at the foot of the Hungry bin so we all remember to put the bags in there.



Job done. You can see the orange rubbish bits bucket on the  far left hand side then moving to the right, the "compost storage" Can o Worms, next to it is the "working" Can o Worms wormery, next to that is the Hungry Bin wormery, then the caddy I have put down for the compost caddy bags collection, then the HotBin and the plant hardening off bench with some brassicas waiting to be planted out in the ( newly dug) veg patch. Finally the wooden bench with cold frame on top, containing various perennial plants waiting to be planted out into the new Bee attracting bed by the House.



I got a lot of work done in an afternoon. This area tends to be a bit of a dumping ground ( the outdoor equivalent of the Study of Doom!) and so it was good to sort it all out. Now this area is nice and tidy again.




Tuesday, 15 April 2014

15 th April, whatever year it is, it is a bad day..


Today, 25 years ago this morning at 6.30 was the anniversary of my Mother dying. I am an Owl not a Lark but on this day I always wake early, so today I was up at 6 am and by 6.30 am was out planting, composting and growing stuff, with Cassi Cat, the feathery gang and some tea-and-marmite-toast to keep me company.

My way of coping.

Everyone else was (quite sensibly!) still asleep - but not me. I cannot sleep in on this day.


I find this date very upsetting and sad, but I cannot escape this day even if I did want to (not that I do want to IYKWIM) as it is also is the day 96 people died at Hillsborough for a still not yet established set of situations. I will just say - my heart goes out to all of those involved    - and 25 years is FAR TOO LONG to find out what really happened to your loved ones..

But obviously I personally cannot get away from this date as the media reminds me every year. Even if my own internal clock did not.

Today, (insert number of years ago here) my Mother died. I was only 26 when it first happened - now I am 51 and in a week or so will be 52. It hurts, every day. Some days more than others. Today is a bad day as it is an anniversary of her death.

Despite the difficulties this day presents -  and other various family stuff  happening as well (which seems is not going to change, sadly!) I have had as good a day as I could - helped by getting my hands very soil-y with planting and growing and nurturing. I also was helped in my distressed state by being able to spend an hour sitting in the wood, meditating, listening to the birdsong and just being. I am so blessed that I can have the luxury to do this.



I went down to the log circle mid morning  as I really felt I needed some help with how I felt and hoped for some renewal and healing. After the last few days which have been rather fraught, I needed it. I lost track of time - thought I was sitting there for maybe 10 mins? - was actually more like an hour. I think this was healing time for me and certainly I felt much calmer afterwards.

I wish those who were robbed of their loved ones at the Hillsborough disaster could find such peace. Sadly, I fear not.


Friday, 6 December 2013

Leaf mould bins build


It's that time of year again, when the leaves are ( finally!) falling and are there to be gathered up and used to make leaf mould - that wonderful, rich, dark, crumbly soil enhancer :)

I have been sent a new ( to me ) sort of leaf mould bin by The Recycle Works - normally I use their wooden compost bins and excellent leaf mould they make too  - you can read how I do it in this post 

The new leaf mould bin I was sent to try out is a variation on their usual compost bin modules - this model fits on the end of an existing bin or you can get a stand alone version with a few more boards and parts.

This leaf mould bin is The Recycle Works usual easy to put together wooden posts and boards, but instead of each side being five boards high there are only two of the boards which are then held apart by vertically placed plastic strips


The bottom board ( the thicker one above)  is slotted into the post as usual then the plastic strip is slid down the post until it sits on top of the bottom board


then the top board is added - held in place at the top of the post by the plastic strip, as in the photo below. Chickens are not supplied with the kit!


A roll of plastic wire mesh (also supplied) is added inside, to hold the leaves in place. The leaves will compost down as the air and rain can get to them easily


 This is not fixed into place yet by the (provided) tiewraps, but you get the general idea.


I think this is a good product, it is a good idea and easy to assemble and as usual from The Recycle Works is of good quality.
 
I am, however going to disassemble it from where we put it today in the row of compost bins and re errect it as a stand alone leaf mould bin. I am doing this so I can compare this new bin with my usual method of making leaf mould - you all know how I love doing composting experiments :) I have enough spare parts to create a stand alone module.

You can buy these leaf mould bins from The Recycle Works as single, stand alone modules ( four posts, 8 boards, 8 plastic spacers and extra tiewraps) or to add on to an existing one of their compost bins.














Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Compost bins and leaf mould bins rebuild part 2



 Today we added more modules to the compost bins we put up last week - It was Compostgirl's birthday on Friday, Compostman and I then had a few days feeling very unwell and a family situation left both of us very distressed and stressed, so we didn't get back out to them until today.


I sorted out more of the planks and posts and started  putting them together whilst Compostman gathered up a couple of wheelbarrows full of leaves from the front garden.


Then he came round and helped me put more of the bins together


 The Recycle Works compost bins are easy to assemble, they just slot together!
 

We actually added a Leaf Mould module to the line of bins as well, but are rethinking where to put this so a "normal" compost bin will be going where it is at the moment.


 As always, we had chicken helpers !


it was lovely outside, cold but sunny and it felt good to be working outside after a very trying few days

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Building some new compost and leaf mould bins part 1


It's time to make more compost! So I took delivery of some more modular compost bins from The Recycle Works



This is my composting area, the yellow builders bags are full of finished compost and leaf mould, dug out from the compost bins

 

There were six wooden compost bins in this empty space before, but some of the wooden planks had rotted away ( well, they had been buried in decomposing material for more than eight years!) and the ground had become uneven due to tree roots and needed levelling.



So we dismantled the old bins and dug out the base. Quite a lot of the older posts and planks can be reused but the inner posts and planks will be replaced by new ones, as they are the ones which get the most contact with decompostition :) The bricks are there to put the compost bin posts on.



Because we have a bindweed problem everywhere we always put down geotextile under the bins - it does NOT affect the compost process at all


First couple of new The Recycle Works wooden compost bins in place, they simply add on to the old ones :)

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Crafting with Scotch. Thumbs (unstuck) up

No, not with alcohol! I was sent some Scotch Super Glues to try out recently.

I love these bug eyes - I take them out on my composting stall. I have viewing pots with compost samples inside, so people can see the insects which do the composting and live in a compost heap. Then the people can put on the bug eyes  and "see" in the same way as an insect does. When the bug eyes got broken a few months back I was really sad.



But..a bit of the new Super Glue gel from Scotch along the line of the break and they were fixed!



I am so pleased :)

The bottle uses clever droplet technology, which draws the liquid back in when you stop squeezing. Perfect for stopping your designs getting ruined by excess glue! It also eliminates the frustration of dried glue around the tip of the bottle.

And because 3M knows that you want to be able to use the glue time and time again, Scotch Super Glue Precision Applicator uses a ‘stay-fresh’ bottle that prevents the glue from drying out on the inside.

I am sure the Scotch Super Glue gel ( and the other bottle of Super Glue liquid I was sent) will be really useful for fixing lots of other stuff I have stored away, waiting for a rainy day to make me get fixing...

Watch this space...it has been raining today and I have a lot of stuff needing glueing and I am so impressed with the Scotch Super glue gel after using it to fix my bug eyes as it didn't make a mess, it went where I wanted it to, and unlike other experiences I have had of super glue  - it didn't stick anything apart from what I wanted it to stick.

Not sure I would let Compostgirl use it yet ( she is maybe still a bit young for  super glue) , but for adult use it was very good stuff indeed.

Thumbs (unstuck) up so far for 3M scotch Super Glue.

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Seed bombs, seedlings, scything and a nest box, hijacked

As you know I recently was sent some Seedballs to review. I thought they were so lovely, I got some more. Lots more! I was very kindly sent another BIG packet of Seedballs, by Project Maya  to scatter around Compost Mansions, so I went out seed bombing tonight


This mixture contains yet more bee attracting flowers, which is good as bees ( and other insects) need all the help they can get.


So I wandered around the garden,  seed bombing wherever there was a patch of bare soil which I wanted to become a patch of wild flowers. We already have LOTS of patches of wildflowers, but in my opinion you can never have too many :-)


As always, Cassi Cat ( my amber eyed familiar) came with me and watched in some bemusement as I scattered little round balls of clay. I think she hoped they would be something to eat! She did try to nibble on one but I think the chilli put her off :-)

 

 While seed bombing by the garage I noticed a lot of Bumblebees coming and going from a nest box,


which normally contains Blue Tits

.

not this year - it is full of Bumblebees nesting, instead!


Can you see her bottom? just going in through the hole?


I am in the process of filling up the compost bins again - its a bit like painting the Forth Bridge - never finished!


I have a load of "greens" waiting - the pile is getting very hot and was steaming.


An experiment - I have never tried transplanting carrot seedlings before, but as I was asked about it on a Composting stand I decided to try it - we shall see what happens to the carrots. I used a big pot and filled it up with my favourite peat free fertile Fibre growing medium and then carefully transplanted the seedlings without damaging the roots. I suspect they will grow forked, but who knows, it may work?


Compostman was outside scything while I was doing all this. He presented me with yet more green stuff to add to the compost pile ;-) He knows what makes me happy :-)

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Master Composters at Hellens - The Garden Festival

The Garden Festival at Hellens was totally terrific and absolutely excellent! As the website says: 
Our theme for the 2013 Festival is: Abundance - in nature, on the land, in our gardens, allotments, balconies, woods and hedgerows. Once again we will be gathering an interesting mix of speakersexhibitors and demonstrators - all in the beautiful setting of Hellens Manor. 

We welcome up to 3,000 visitors to the event so it is a great opportunity for the public to find great products and services - as well as having a lovely family day out.

Luckily for me I had an "abundance" of fellow Master Composter volunteers with me on our stall over the weekend, which was a good thing as the place was absolutely heaving with people having fun in the glorious sunshine. On Saturday I had the company of Paul all day and Christine E in the afternoon. It was lovely to see them both, as it is some time since we last met up and in the lulls I was able to catch up with all their news :-)




Here is the stall, set up and ready to go on Saturday morning. We were in a corner, between the Hereford Waldorf School children's activity tent (the white tent, above) and another big marquee full of interesting stalls selling lovely stuff and various "green" themed charities. I must thank the organising team of Gail, Michael and Maggie for putting us there and sorting out the splendid green tent for us :-)



Our main stall table has lots of leaflets on how to make compost; the discount compost bins available; information about Garden Organic; samples of coir based growing medium (peat free alternative); free seeds and pencils to hand out; and examples of what can be composted.



This tray contains grass, herbs, flowers and the (compostable) bags contain straw, crumpled newspaper, egg boxes, wool, cotton waste, paper sheets, toilet roll tubes, hay and shredded paper. This is to show people what can be composted...



and what it turns into! 

Here are some samples dug from my compost bins at 5 am on Sat morning (!) to show people what finished compost should look like. It will have bits in - if you want it to look fine you need to sieve or riddle it.




More display boards, compost bins, a "can o worms" wormery and our seed planting activity table completed our set up.

We spoke to more than 150 people on Sat which was a terrific result :-) At the end of the day we were invited to a Pimms reception on the beautiful terraces, but the reception had to move to another location due to a swarm of honey bees!  Still, it was good to chat to the organisers and the family who own Hellens, as well as other stallholders.

Sadly I didn't get to listen to Brigit Strawbridge talk about bees  :-( (check out her amazing blog  here)  but I did manage to catch up with her later and have a chat :-) If you are reading this it was lovely to see you again Brigit :-) and good luck with your new venture at Bumblebee Farm. 

I got home at 7 pm very hot and tired but a shower and some dinner and a sit in the garden with my cats and hens soon perked me up again. I sorted out new leaflet supplies and my laptop and projector and put them in the car, then went to bed early, ready for another early start on Sunday.

Sunday was another glorious day, a few less people at the Festival but still very busy! I was helped on Sunday by fellow Master Composters Christine J, Janice and Nina which meant there were enough of us so we all got to leave the stall and have a look around the Festival. I bought some lovely organically grown plants from The Cottage Herbery. They are based locally and grow their plants in Fertile Fibre coir based compost, indeed they originally founded Fertile Fibre before handing it on to Matthew at Withington Court. I always enjoy talking to Kim & Rob about plants and they are very knowledgeable :-)

Then after lunch (pork roll from The Squeaky Pig Company  and Noggin Farm  - yum) it was time to get ready for my talk. I got everything set up in the Cider Barn - cool and dark with a stone flagged floor which was a lovely contrast after the now scorching heat outside. I was a little surprised, but very pleased, to see that all the seats were filled plus there were a couple of people standing so that was 25 people in total waiting to listen to "Lets talk Compost!" 

My talk is illustrated with lots of slides with photos from my garden - you would probably recognise many of them from this blog - as well as samples of compost to look at and a "can it be composted" card on each of the seats - I ask people to decide what they think about the item on their card at the start of the talk and then ask them at the end if they have changed their mind - people often do after hearing the talk!

The audience seemed to enjoy what I had to say
about composting and growing, which is always a relief! I had a
45 minute slot to complete my talk and answer questions, but then I was asked to carry on and answer more questions. As there was no one else due to use the room, I did so and we carried on for another 15 minutes :-)

Then it was 4 pm and time to pack up the stall and somehow fit it all back into my car ( which I still have not yet unloaded!)

In total over the weekend we spoke
to 250 people (maybe more, I wasn't there all the time).  Lots of people who were all wanting to know more about composting - how to get started, how to do it better, what to do with the compost they make. Hopefully they feel more informed, now.


I have had a really excellent weekend of volunteering, with a group of friends, at a fabulous venue with excellent organisation, to promote a subject we are all passionate about.  

Can't really get much better than that, I think :-)

Sunday, 9 June 2013

Some photos from the Herefordshire Eco Schools event




Fellow Master Composter Martin, just before the event started. We were joined by Gerry later on and it was good to catch up with them both and have a chat over the lunc break.


My display board, with lots of information on composting and the composting creatures which make it all happen


Me! Waiting to show the children some of the creatures which live in the compost. I have bug viewing pots and samples on the table in front of me. We also did seed planting with the children and played a " what can we compost" game.

Sorry, no photos of school children in action, for obvious reasons!

We had an excellent day and spoke to 130 children and their teachers over the course of the event. All the people who had put on events were thanked and applauded at the end which was a nice touch, and we were supplied throughout the day with unlimited offers of cups of tea, coffee and cake :-)

I do love doing these events :-)





Monday, 6 May 2013

Compost Awareness Week 2013


Compost Awareness Week  (CAW) is a week of activities, events and publicity to improve awareness about using organic waste as a resource to produce compost.  Garden Organic’s Master Composters around the country will be out and about answering composting questions and encouraging those who don’t already compost at home to start.

I will be at Sainsbury's in Hereford on Thursday, helping the Council Waste Officers answer questions about composting -  various collegues will be doing the same in other parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire this week as well!

Herefordshire

       Tuesday 7th May – Morrisons, Leominster 11:00 – 2:00
-          Wednesday 8th May – Sainsburys, Hereford 12:00 – 4:00
-          Friday 10th May - Asda, Hereford 12:00 – 4:00

Worcestershire 


Mon 6th May
Discover Bewdley Spring Fair
10:00 – 4:00
Tue 7th May
Evesham library WR11 4PJ
10:00 – 4.00
Wed am 8th May
Malvern library WR14 2HU
10:00 – 1:00
Wed pm 8th May
Upton library WR8 OLE
1:30 – 4:00
Thurs 9th May
Kidderminster Town Hall  DY10 1DB
10:00 – 1:00
Fri 10th May
Avelchurch Library B48 7TA
10:00 – 1:00









For the 2013 Compost Awareness Week Garden Organic will be running a ‘Decorate Your Compost Bin Competition’; be creative and as imaginative as possible.  Entry to the competition is open to all ages and abilities.

 If you need reminding how to make compost, my "How to..." guides is a good place to start!

How I make compost

Top tips to maximise how much compost you make.

Making Leaf Mould



Happy Composting :-)

Sunday, 10 February 2013

A typical busy Sunday - chickens, compost and cats.


I started off doing two loads of washing on Sunday morning as well as a general tidy round  - I was going to give the sitting room a major tidy up but it got too difficult to manage with all of us in the house so I decided it could wait until tomorrow - also the weather was quite nice in the morning so I wanted to get on with some outside jobs.

I went out to clean out the hens and found the blasted rats had tunnelled inside the hen run AGAIN! We have traps and bait boxes down but the wet weather has meant a rise in the numbers actually trying to get into the hen house rather than just quietly living in the wood and around us ( but not bothering us) They upset the hens and will take an egg if they can.

So we moved the hen house and dug out the rats nest - no rats inside but a nest and lots of tunnels. As always hens came to investigate the digging.


 then Compostman dug a hole and we put weld mesh vertically so it went about 12 inches downwards .


We also laid weld mesh under the hen house before putting it back in place - lets see if the little so and so's can dig through that!

I then (finally) got on with cleaning out the hen houses and the run.

 


All the dirty straw and paper went into the new compostbins.
 

And a fresh load of bedding put into the houses and the Mega Hen Pen walk in run. As always - the chickens were investigating what I was up to!



I filled up one of the new bins completely and the other one is 3/4 full - I need to get on and build the rest of the new bins pronto I think :-)




While I was doing this Compostgirl cleaned out her guinea pigs and then we all went inside and because it turned dull and wet we had a relaxing rest of the day with crafts and reading and computer work .

After evening animal rounds  we had dinner and settled down to our Sunday night family viewing of  "Countryfile" and "Call the Midwife " in front of the woodburner with the cats sitting on top of us - one for each of us.


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