4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Willow]

Hi

I just collected a Green Cone from a local freecycler and am hoping for some advice. It doesn't have any paperwork although I know the site is very good.

 

So I know I need to bury the black mesh thing and I need to site it in a part of the garden that gets a reasonable amount of sun.

 

Anything else I should know/think about ?

Thanks Tricia

[Aga n Chickens]

Hello Tricia

 

We had our green cone from the local council a year ago with a survey form and a sachet of special bran to sprinkle on the contents. We were told that we would have further survey forms as part of the council's recycling scheme. As yet we have not heard from them again !

 

The site of the bin needs to be free draining. When we started digging our first hole we found a lot of clay so had to start again, othewise the liquid will have gathered in the bottom and the whole thing would start to smell awful.

 

Anything can be thrown in the bin, even meat and fat s"Ooops, word censored!"s as the contents are not going to be made into compost, just leached into the soil (it cuts down fly attracting stuff going to landfill).

 

In our experience, we had quite a few flies if we put meat waste in, so we keep to cooked veg and bits that we cannot put onto the compost heap.

 

Bokashi bran should do the job of helping to break down the waste if you didn't have a pack of bran with the bin.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Kind regards,

 

Christine

[Couperwife]

erm, whats a green cone

 

cathy

x

[Willow]

Hi Cathy,

I think it's referred to as a hot composter or food digester. More info here Green Cone

 

Now obviously with 2 boys I don't have a lot of food waste, 5 compost bins, 7 chickens and 2 cats later there is even less but there is still some stuff that can't go anywhere other than the bin that I'm hoping can go into the green cone.

[Couperwife]

ooooh, right

 

looks quite funky

 

cathy

x

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Make sure the cagey bit is rat proof.

 

I nearly had heart failure one day I toddled up the garden to put something in the cone, & ended up with a rat scooting out from where it had tunnelled into the cage & ran over my foot I then proceeded to put a brick version of the fox-proof skirt around the edge of the cone & haven't been bothered since, obviously there are easier sources of food than the green cone!

 

The hole you have to dig seems to be half way to Australia, just so you know!! Our cone is not very efficient in the winter, but much more so in the summer, and as with yourself, we have compost bins, chooks and three labs to deal with most gubbins other than bones. I do occasionally chuck compostable peelings etc in, just for a change, and any uneaten chook food goes in there too (not very often it has to be said, gannets that they are !)

 

Happy cone composting!!

 

Sha x