Dalek compost

Biglad

As I've started to use the compost from the bottom of my bin more, all the errors are coming to light! When I first got the bin, I foolishly started by chucking absolutely all waste from the kitchen in there. I now know that I shouldn't put meat in there but a few bones have come through. There are also a few other things which have refused to rot down despite being in there for years. Potatoes, tomato skins, corn cobs and what looked like rhubarb sticks? Firstly, are these items that normally don't rot (I appreciate that potatoes are likely to try and grow)? Secondly, will they eventually rot down if I keep chucking them back in the top? Lastly, is this down to not mixing the greens and browns properly. Until this year I've been completely oblivious to this so, previously, the contents have been heavily green-biased!

StephenSouthwest

I put all those things in the dalek, and have done for years - if they don't rot down then they're ideal to chuck in to the bottom of the next batch to aerate the base.

I would expect potatoes, tomato skins and what look like rhubarb sticks to rot down, especially if the mix is on the green side - I'm wondering if it's too dry in there?

Biglad

I don't think so @stephentame - I got a lot of slop out of the bottom earlier this year, which was far too wet. I'm just going to chuck any bits that I don't like back in the top (other than bones!). Hopefully, my current regime of mixed greens and browns will make its way down the dalek so I get some top quality stuff out of the bottom at some point in the future.

PurpleRose

Hi

Did you chop the items into smaller pieces? Things do take a lot longer to break down if they are whole. That was a tip I picked up off here. When I started composting,  everything got chucked in with no method.

When I get compost out, anything still recognisable gets put back in the top to go through again.

When I started composting,  my error was putting lots of egg shells in. They were broken up but not small enough and there was probably too much added. They just dont break down.

With a lot of gardening, composting is an ongoing learning process. We learn from our mistakes and successes. It makes us much better at it.