The last bin of the compost made during 2019 is now being harvested. Plot holders are invited to help themselves from the 5^th in the row of pallet bins.

To celebrate the event this weeks Aerated Compost Tea will be made from sieved compost from this bin with the usual seaweed boost. The compost tea will be available Wednesday morning from 10:30- 12.00.

The tea is also available to members of Leicester and Leicestershire  allotments if ordered a week in advance.More details of Compost Teas are avaialable by clicking this link Compost Teas or going to http://www.carryoncomposting.com/441149730

The compost in the bin has not been sieved that shown in the photo has been to produce  a fine compost e.g. for use in pots etc.  The unsieved compost is suitable for use as a mulch or to top up raised beds.

Councils are moving towards providing weekly kerbside food waste collections, but many people are unhappy at the prospect of keeping food for up to a week prior to collection. Composting can offer an alterative .

It is often said that cooked food waste cannot be composted. That statement needs qualification. Cooked food waste can be composted if the right type of bin is used such as a Green Johanna, Hotbin or Jora but these tend to be relatively expensive and as such are probably not appropriate for the first time composter they do however work well and are easy to use.

 A cheaper alternative is to buy two Blackwall  Bokashi bins, ( available in the UK from  for about £25 for the pair, and to use these to ferment the cooked food waste to produce pre-compost which can then be added to the conventional compost bin. The bokashi bins can be kept indoors so that food waste from the plates can be scraped directly into the Bokashi bin. A bran is added and the bin sealed. I have detail on the use of Bokashi at    Bokashi Composting  ( http://www.carryoncomposting.com/416920212 )   In this post we are looking at the food that can be fermented in a Bokashi bin abfore being composted.

Food suitable for the Bokashi treatment

Bones Smaller bones, such as chicken bones can be added as can bigger bones which will be will be ”cleaned” by the process Bokashi and composting processes  and can be removed when the compost is finally harvested.

Coffee grounds and filters. The filters may be recognisable at the end to the fermentation process but breakdown will continue during the composting stage. 

Cooked foods including plate scrapings. All solid foodse.g   fish, meat, pasta, rice, vegetables. Liquids e.g sauces, soups, etc should be soaked into a solid material such as , unless you soak them up in something bread or kitchen towel.

Dairy products. Solid products such asbutter cheese, etc can be added to the Bokashi bin but. liquids such as milk or yogurt shoed be absorb into bread or paper .

Eggshells. Eggshell should beCrush the shells and add them to the binthe fermentation decomposition is slow and this will be clearly recognised when they are eventually added to the compost bin as part of the fermented pre-compost.

Flowers, pot plants, herbs etc that have had their day. Just avoid soil from pot plants, save it to use later in a ”soil factory” or in the garden.

Fruit and vegetable peelings. F to avoid taking up space in the Bokasshi binruit and veg peelings can be added but if you are producing a lot of food waste they might be best added to the compost caddy for normal composting.

Tea bags please check   Composting Tea Bags      to see which tea bags contain plastic as these should be emptied into the bin  and tea leaves otherwise the whole bag can be put into the bin

Paper. Small quantities of kitchen roll and paper towels contaminated with food waste  can be added. Other  paper is best recycled or shredded and composted .

There is still time to take part in  UCLs nationwide citizen science research experiment in compostable and biodegradable plastic and to help shape the future of the planet

UCL  would like you to help investigate the role and effectiveness of biodegradable and compostable packaging.  The survey is well underway but there is still time to take part. The first part of the experiment is a short  5 minute survey: UCL would like to know what you think of biodegradable plastics, what you do with them, and if you ever compost them yourself.

 The second part is optional for those who compost. It’s a home composting experiment. In which you are  asked to place a few biodegradable plastic items in your compost under controlled conditions, and then report back about whether they compost or not.

By taking part in the experiment, you will be helping to determine the viability of biodegradable and compostable plastics. The data collected from you will feed into a Live Composting Map, a live map of home composting activities across the UK, and, with your consent, you  will kept up-to-date with the project as it develops. However, you also have the option to remain anonymous.
This is one of a series of research initiatives currently being undertaken as part of UCL’s Plastic Waste Innovation Hub, jointly funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

For more details go to https://www.bigcompostexperiment.org.uk/

This spring it has been very dry in the UK  which presents an interesting situation when community composting on the allotment, a shortage of “Greens”.

Composting requires  a balanced  mix nitrogen rich “Greens” and carbon rich “Browns” and at home with materials available from the garden, kitchen  and packaging this does not present a problem. However, on the allotment the situation may be more challenging.

Greens  are usually green in colour, hence the name,  or are from plants that were green at some point and include fresh weeds,  leaves, and vegetables tops, plants  that have bolted and  fresh grass clippings, if available (many allotments no longer have grass paths).

Browns are usually brown in colour, or naturally turn brow. They are carbon-rich materials that help to add bulk to the material  assisting   air to filter through the bin. Brown materials include woody  plant material and dried leaves, dried grass clippings, hay , straw  and cardboard. Some Browns may have started life as greens but as they have aged  or dried out, they lose nitrogen and turn brown at the same time. Green leaves will have had a  high level of nitrogen when fresh, but as they dry and go  brown(ish) the nitrogen levels drop.

As can be seen from the photos much of the material left in the Reception bin this week consists of dried grass, dried weeds, and plants. If the  compost bin gets too dry the decomposing process will slow as the microbes will not be able to function effectively. As mention in the last blog there is a need to maintain the moisture level by watering the heap as fresh material is added.

But there is still a need to find and add Greens. Luckily, the answer can be found in the manure heap or chicken house.

In recent years, the use of manures in making compost has be criticized because of the perceived risks to health and concern that pathogens in the manure might infect the composter and contaminate  the  vegetables grown where the compost has been used. In fact, the risks are easily kept at an acceptable level and  benefits of using matured cow manure far outweigh  the risks particularly when there is a shortage of greens. Most allotments will have an arrangement with a local farmer to deliver cow manure and it is a good idea to keep a separate pile on the plot so that it matures.  Chicken manure is good if birds are kept on the plot.

When using manure in a pallet bin where the organic material has dried out,  I use  woody browns as the  base layer followed by the dried organic material, without trying to separate it into greens and browns. This is followed by a thin layer of manure. Each layer is patted down and ensure that it is level. The alternate garden waste and manure layers  are continued until the bin is full. It is then topped off with a 1 – 2-inch layer of completed compost  or garden soil.

This note supplements  the page on Moisture levels at http://www.carryoncomposting.com/416920216)       link Compost Moisture

When the moisture level of the composting materials fall below 40% decomposition will start to slow down and will virtually stop below 15%. During hot dry spells it is worth checking the moisture level and adding more water if required.

  The use of a “corkscrew” type aerator Compost Aeration during composting will enable a sample of material to be removed from the centre and lower levels of the bin or heap to provide a sample for moisture checks.  A handful of the compost is removed from the aerator  and  squeezed.  The  compost should have the consistency and moisture content of a wrung-out sponge.

Alternatively,  the sample can be tested using a moisture meter or a probe moisture meter can be inserted into the core of the bin from above or the through the side of the bin

 In the UK water can be added to the heap. I tend to “open” it up using a garden fork so that the water penetrates the material rather than run off.

 In hot climates where the sun or high environmental temperature is causing the compost to dry out there are a number of options, in addition to adding greens and waste, these include composting in a pit, rather than a bin in full sunlight, and keeping the compost covered, so as to reduce water loss by evaporation.