Soggy run

[Hen Huggers R Us]

Hi all, we are getting increasingly worried about our new compost bin. As it is situated near to our conservatory ( so we don't have to trail down the garden in winter) and have added all manner of rotting veg and plants, egg shells, (poo lots of) etc etc, we now have swarm of small flies in the bin and lots of larvae and maggots, the maggots aren't a problem as the girls pick them off the lid every morning, but we are worried about disease and the smell ( its starting to really niff!) We have heard that adding bokashi bran may speed up the rotting process, but not tried it yet. We are now contemplating getting rid of it but wanted to have a go at making use of our chook byproducts.

Has anyone got any suggestions about this? Have looked at the flitrap website and may buy one of these if we decide to keep hold of it.

[Rona]

I'm no expert but I believe its all about getting the mixture of green and twiggy stuff right. Sounds like you might have too much green in it.

 

This is a useful composting site:

http://www.compost-info-guide.com/index.htm

[Lapinou]

Composting shouldn't be unhealthy! Try googling for some in depth info about composting - maybe the bbc gardening website or the organic gardening website could help you. We don't have a lot of flies around our compost bins - only those little flies when we open the lid...do you have a lidded compost bin? Maybe that would help.

 

Personally, I'd prefer having to trek a little bit further to reach them than have them right close to a house door - ours doesn't stink but there is a bit of a whiff around them sometimes if the mixture isn't quite right.

 

Wigglywigglers sell those bokashi bin thingies that you can put loads of stuff in in the kitchen and then transfer it all to the compost in one go meaning fewer trips *and* less smell. We haven't got one - not enough space in the kitchen - but I'd like one one day!

[Egluntyne]

Why not put some shredded paper, and other "dry" matter in it.

 

A shovelful of earth helps too, by introducing helpful bacteria.

[Hen Huggers R Us]

Hi thanks for the suggestions.

 

We don't really have enough room in the garden to move it elsewhere.

Our bin is full of the small flies not bluebottles or anything like that, so are these tiny flies less of a health risk that the bigger ones? What are they Midges? Yes the composter has a lid and the moggots tend to crawl up to the top of the bin, so I just let the girls take care of them when I lift the lid off. Thanks for the shredded paper tip Egluntine, we have a cross shredder full it the moment and will put this in.

[Olly]

If they are those tiny ones I don't think they are a health risk like bluebottles. They are the sort you get round the fruit-bowl if I haven't been eating it up fast enough! I don't have maggots in my composter, as far as I know - you're not putting meat or cooked food in there, are you? I would stick to garden waste and uncooked kitchen waste (teabags, veg trimmings etc).

 

Does sound to me like it may be a bit too wet. The rough guide is 1:2 of 'brown':'green', so some shredded paper or a bit of cardboard may sort it out. The occasional shovelful of earth will help too, but not too much.

[Hen Huggers R Us]

No definately no meat or fish etc, only greens and flowers.

I have put the shredded paper in and a couple of spades full of soil so maybe that will help.

[LesleyH]

mine is full of flies and bright red worms...but as it is away from the house it is no trouble. Is there No way you could move it>? We have an indoor compost mini-bin, so in winter it's only a trip out once a day max...not too bad.