Basket

0

Category: Composters

Hot composting in the kitchen

Posted on by Julie Halford

Whether you compost – and how you compost – depends on your needs and situation.

 Different issues influence all our choices – space, household size, council collections, soil conditions, climate and the time we have available.

For those lacking the time and space for traditional composting, a new product claims to bridge the gap. The Lomi Smart Waste Kitchen Composter (£500) is a countertop unit that turns food scraps into garden compost in 16 hours.

 Some customers have asked our views about the Lomi following an article in the Sunday Times  (16.04.23) when journalist Louise Eccles, who describes herself as ‘an impatient gardener’, tried one out.

 The Lomi, which is about the size of a bread machine, speeds up decomposition by heating the waste, circulating air and grinding it.

Louise’s verdict was: ‘It has produced a slightly moist pile of chunky compost that smells of fruit cake. It is a large and expensive piece of equipment to produce a rather modest pile of soil but, if you have the room, it is better than binning it or perhaps sending it off on a truck.’

We have never used a Lomi, but as we were curious we sifted through dozens of Amazon reviews from Canada, the US and Australia. These were the most common verdicts:

  • No smells
  • No flies (in some areas kitchen flies had previously been a major issue)
  • It means you don’t have to go out to the garden composter in bad weather (ie, in Canada, that means digging through snow)
  • Great for residents who live in apartments with no space to compost and are unhappy about putting food waste in general rubbish
  • Great for areas with poor soil as the compost boosts soil quality (plants love the compost, apparently)
  • Great for customers who felt too old to compost or had ‘no patience’ for it.  

Other points:

  • The Lomi uses electricity but the company (Pela) says the amount of power needed is minimal. A 16-hour cycle costs 34p.
  • The noise level is described in the Sunday Times article as a ‘quiet rumble’. For some customers this meant moving the unit to a garage or utility room.
  • Many customers felt the benefits outweighed the expense.

 Some customers said in reviews that they used the Lomi alongside their garden composter, adding the ‘dirt’ that is produced to their compost bin to act as an accelerator.

One reviewer felt the bucket wasn’t sufficient for larger families; in such cases using it alongside a standard kitchen caddy and adding the contents of both to a Green Johanna or Compost Tumbler sounds like a good working partnership.

One customer described using the unit on a short cycle to break down food waste, then adding this pre-compost mixture to a compost bin to continue breaking down into mature compost.  

A review on the Epic Gardening website describes the compost produced by the Lomi as more ‘pre-compost’ than the finished article, but concludes the unit is good for:

  • those living in regions where harsh winters make regular composting difficult
  • those living in apartments
  • introducing people to composting.

In the UK, if your local council is still a long way from introducing separate food waste collections, your food waste as general waste is currently going to landfill or incineration. So, if you lack the space or motivation for garden composting but are unhappy about food waste going in general waste, this could be something you want to research further.

  • The Sunday Times article also refers to councils which subsidise garden composters in order to reduce the amount of food waste they have to dispose of, such as the Surrey Council campaign which means residents can buy a Green Johanna for £80. Just this short mention led to a dramatic increase in orders of Green Johannas from Surrey and other local authority campaigns.

Bokashi bins boost hot compost

Posted on by Julie Halford

When it comes to boosting the composting process, we have found a Bokashi bin to be the perfect partner for the Green Johanna.

We recently carried out trials involving additions of fermented food waste from a Maze Bokashi bin to a Green Johanna and found that temperatures in the Johanna rapidly increased as a result.  

For our trials, we re-started a Johanna more or less from scratch, having previously removed large amounts of compost.  Using a permanently installed insulation jacket and large amounts of Bokashi bran and carbon-rich materials, compost temperatures were around 30 degrees Celsius. 

 We added the contents of a Bokashi bin that had been fermenting for 21 days, followed by a full 1kg bag of Bokashi bran.   We then added some mulch and stirred well with a garden fork, before completing the process with a thin layer of mulch. 

 The Johanna was then left for 48 hours.  Temperatures rose to 66 degrees Celsius whilst outdoor temperatures were in the 0-10 degree range.   After 48 hours we re-stirred to spread heat more widely through the Johanna.    Using two Bokashi bins in rotation we repeated this cycle roughly every three weeks and got the same results.

We used the Green Johanna in combination with a regular kitchen caddy (as the Johanna needs regular feeding to maintain the hot composting process), twin-bin Bokashi system, Insulating Jacket, Bokashi Bran as an accelerant and plenty of mulch.

Photos show starting temperature at 30 degrees Celsius/adding fermented waste from a Bokashi bin/ adding Bokashi bran/temperature at 66 degrees Celsius.

The Bokashi process was developed in Japan in the 1980s; the term means ‘fermented organic matter’ in Japanese.  It involves adding all your food waste, cooked and uncooked, to a specially designed airtight Bokashi bin, with the addition of Bokashi in the form of a fermented bran or spray. The food waste is compressed with a compactor to eliminate as much air as possible as this is an anaerobic process.  Once the bin is full, you close the airtight lid and leave for 2-3 weeks.  Many people use one or two bins to keep the process going.

The bacteria (lactobacilli) in the bran or spray will create lactic acid which will effectively pickle the food waste rather than letting it decompose as it would in a regular food waste caddy.  After a week or so, liquid should start to form in the Bokashi bin which should be drained using the tap.   This ‘Bokashi tea’ can be used as a drain cleaner or diluted for use as plant food.

 At the end of the fermentation period the waste food is a pre-compost mixture that can be added to a composter or buried in soil to become a soil enhancer. Its composition is such that virtually all its original nutrients, carbon and energy enter rapidly into the soil.   No greenhouse gases are released to the atmosphere as they are during regular food waste decomposition in landfill.

Bokashi composting has traditionally proven particularly popular in urban environments where traditional garden composting is difficult. 

Mark

A journey to becoming a green gardener

Posted on by Julie Halford

With compost again in the spotlight (Compost Week UK runs from March 13-19) it’s timely that Nancy Birtwhistle’s green gardening book has just been published.

Nancy first came to national attention when she won The Great British Bake-Off in 2014 and she is now a best-selling author on green issues.

She’s also an inspiration to anyone wanting to live a more sustainable life; the tips in her books and on her Instagram feed are simple but effective, with something for everyone.

We had pre-ordered a copy of her latest book, The Green Gardening Handbook, and we’ve been busy this week reading and learning.

Here’s how Nancy sums up her life’s green journey:

‘Several years ago I began my green journey and this way of thinking has permeated every part of my life, from the way I clean my house to the way I resist single-use items, recycle and upcycle where possible, am mindful about the use of valuable energy and utilities, and also how I have been able to apply this way of thinking to my garden. I became more informed through researching and reading while considering the plight of our natural world and am now converted to methods that, once the penny drops, actually make utter and complete sense, and are logical and sensible. Once we learn how to work with Mother Nature and understand how the seasons work, how plants behave and how we can harness the wonder of it all, the reliance on any destructive chemical, synthetic or harmful methods for home growing are utterly superfluous.’  

 She also talks about her respect for the tiny creatures that make this soil food: ‘I found that once I embraced a greener approach to living – in the garden and in relation to my food – I was ever more appreciative and amazed by the wonder of nature, especially the creepy crawlies, and because of this will continue to do my very best to cherish and preserve it wherever and whenever I can.’

Summing up how all compost enthusiasts feel, she says, ‘I take huge satisfaction each time I add something to my compost bin, knowing that it is one less item going to landfill.’

We’re still reading the book – and noting down our favourite tips – but here are a few quick points Nancy makes about her journey in composting.

  • Finding the traditional Browns and Greens compost terminology confusing, because not all green items are Greens (i.e. nitrogen-rich) and not all brown items are Browns (i.e. carbon-rich), Nancy prefers to think in terms of Wet and Dry contents. (Michael Kennard, of Compost Club, makes the same point in his booklet Hot Compost – The Basics. He encourages beginners to think in terms of nitrogen and carbon content to help get the ratios right.)
  • When gardening, use biodegradable jute twine and wooden plant labels so that any oddments that fail to be removed before composting will decompose along with everything else.
  • Invest a few pounds in a compost thermometer – it will keep you entertained for hours and is a great talking point with enthusiastic gardening friends.
  • Use your compost to fill planters, top dress rose bushes and fruit trees, lay a good thick layer over veggie plots in the autumn and early winter and the worms will do the job of taking it below the surface – no need for digging it in.
  • Make your own compost scoop out of a plastic milk container:  Cut the bottle in half – the top half to be used as a compost scoop or planting funnel and the bottom half to be used as a simple seed pot or planter. Make a starting hole in the centre of the bottle using a hot skewer and use this as an entry hole for the scissors, making it possible to make a neat cut. To use one half as a compost scoop – leave the cap in place and use the handle with the bottle neck in the upside-down position to scoop your compost to take to your pots or tubs. With a scoop there is less spillage than using your hands or a trowel.
  • If you buy compost make sure it is a peat-free variety – peatlands are hugely important for plants, wildlife and humanity. They also store vast amounts of carbon which must be kept in the ground to avoid contributing further to climate change.

(Sales of peat to amateur gardeners in England will be banned by 2024.)

Taking compost from the Green Johanna

Posted on by Julie Halford


At Great Green Systems we’re always keen to share our and our customers’ experiences of composting with the Green Johanna. This weekend we opened up a Green Johanna that we have been trialling with great results.

This Green Johanna was used from mid-September 2022 to mid-February 2023 with the insulating jacket permanently installed.
100% of the cooked and uncooked food waste from this household was recycled in the Johanna. There were between 2 and 4 people in the household during this time, with up to four more visiting through the Christmas and New Year period. The amount of waste diverted to the residual (grey/black) wheeled bin fell to less than 50% of the bin capacity (ie less than 120 litres) per fortnight compared to previous usage. Over the Christmas period, when bin collections were suspended for a week, the residual bin comfortably coped with three weeks’ worth of general waste.
The fermented contents of several 14-litre Bokashi bins that were accepted from relatives who don’t have their own compost bin were also decanted into the Green Johanna.
The food waste was liberally mixed with carbon-based materials, mainly autumn leaves and wood chips, and treated once per month with Bokashi bran to accelerate the composting process.
Using this method, we consistently achieved compost temperatures of 30-60 degrees Celsius even through the coldest winter temperatures. All the food waste generated from the household was comfortably accommodated by the composting system.

Saving the top section to go back into the compost bin

Compost can be accessed by unscrewing the hatches at the bottom or, since the Green Johanna is a modular unit made up of circular rings, the upper sections can be removed leaving an impressive tower of compost. As you can see from the photos, we chose the second route as we wanted to take a lot of compost out at once.
We removed the top sections of compost that are currently decomposing (taking care not to squash any worms) and placed these on an old wipe-clean tablecloth kept for this purpose until we were ready to put them back in the bin to continue the breakdown process.
More than half of the composter contents were removed for soil replenishment and other garden uses, with the remainder being returned to the Johanna for further composting.

Topping up planters with compost

To purchase a Green Johanna Complete Bundle, including Insulating Jacket, click here:
Green Johanna Complete Bundle – Great Green Systems
To upgrade your existing Green Johanna with an Insulating Jacket or Complete Accessory Set, click here:
Green Johanna Insulating Jacket – Great Green Systems
Green Johanna Accessory Set – Green Johanna Accessory Set – Great Green Systems
To combine your Green Johanna with indoor Bokashi Bins, click here: Bokashi Bin By Maze – Great Green Systems
To improve and accelerate your Green Johanna composting with Bokashi Bran, click here: Bokashi Bran 1kg – Great Green Systems

Compost – let’s all spread the love

Posted on by Julie Halford

As unashamed compost-heads feeling the love for the earth this Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d fill a space on the Great Green Systems office wall with this DIY picture.   

And perhaps we should compose (decompose?) a little ode to compost while we’re at it:

 Compost, how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways…

(with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Perhaps it would be better in prose.

Why we love compost

Let’s just start by saying that you don’t need to be a gardener to compost. That is a wrong-headed assumption some people make and if that’s you, we hope we’ll manage to change your mind.

Many of our customers know nothing about composting at the outset but they start because they want to take control of their own food and garden waste. 

Composting used to be thought of as a side-line to gardening, but now more and more people are taking it up because they want to live a more sustainable life and do something to fight the climate crisis.

Compost is an ally in combatting the climate crisis because it boosts soil quality as well as helping soil to pull carbon out of the atmosphere and sink it back into the ground. The more carbon that is taken from the atmosphere, the better chance we have of reducing the rate of global warming. Along with oceans and forests, soil is an important carbon storage medium.

An American study showed that spreading half an inch of compost over half of California’s grasslands could remove carbon from the air at such a significant rate that it would balance the greenhouse gas emissions for the entire state of California for a year.

The International Compost Alliance, formed in 2021 to raise awareness about the benefits of composting, says: ‘Compost is a win-win solution to climate change – not only does recycling organic wastes reduce emissions, compost also brings many benefits when used on soils too.’

Compost boosts soil quality by:

  • holding on to important nutrients
  • improving plant productivity and quality
  • protecting plants from pests and diseases
  • preventing erosion
  • improving drainage
  • absorbing water, slowly releasing it to grass and plants so they need watering less frequently.

As compost breaks down, it delivers important nutrients into the soil. Compost contains the three primary nutrients that plants need: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. As well as feeding the plants that grow in this soil, compost also increases the number and variety of beneficial bacteria and fungi in the soil, which helps plants to grow.

The quality of produce grown in soil treated with compost tends to be higher. International studies have shown:

  • In India – quinoa plants in soil mixed with compost showed a significant increase in ability to take nutrients from the soil.
  • In China – wheat fields treated with compost had significantly increased yields versus a control field of uncomposted soil.
  • In Italy – compost increased lettuce and kohlrabi growth by 24% and 32% respectively.

Studies on compost’s water-retaining abilities have shown that for every 1% of organic matter content, soil can hold 16,500 gallons of plant-available water per acre of soil down to one foot deep.

Compost also helps water to get to plant roots more effectively by:

  • reducing crust forming on soil, so water can get into the soil more easily.
  • helping to disperse water laterally from where it hits the ground, which means it will evaporate less quickly.

What a waste

Once you start composting you begin to realise the amount of food that is wasted and its cost. This awareness tends to help households to reduce food waste in general.

Food and garden waste account for more than 30% of the contents of a typical domestic wheeled bin, which is crazy when you think that this waste could be turned into free soil nutrition that can replace or reduce costly chemical fertilisers.

Around 50 per cent of local authorities in England have yet to begin separate food waste collection schemes, so there are still mountains of food waste being sent to landfill or incineration for the foreseeable future.

Engaging in the composting process also introduces children to environmental science. This is a topic that can grow in complexity as a child grows and is able to understand more about what is involved.

According to the charity Garden Organic, the health of the earth’s soils is fundamental to life as we know it, yet half the planet’s topsoil has been lost in the last 150 years.

Save our soil

There are around 15 million gardens in the UK – that’s millions of people with access to a patch of the planet. The charity urges people to take simple steps to redress soil degradation in their own gardens by regularly topping up beds with compost and ensuring soils are not left bare.

Bare soil is vulnerable to erosion, weeds and carbon loss. So even if you don’t need compost for the sake of plants, covering bare soil is still beneficial for the environment.

You can also spread compost thinly across a lawn or grassed area, where worms will pull it down into the soil and it will boost soil quality and by extension the grass.

Or give it away – to allotments, community gardens, school gardening clubs, voluntary groups. It will always be gratefully received.

Compost – spread the love.

Tips to deal with fruit fly nuisance

Posted on by Julie Halford

Good composting management usually keeps flies away.   

A few flies can be beneficial since in the compost food web they are considered physical decomposers, helping to break down compost material. Their eggs are also a source of food for other compost creatures. But flies breed fast and if there are a lot of them it’s both a nuisance and a sign that something has gone wrong. 

Their presence is likely due to the following issues in the bin:

  • Lack of oxygen – when there is not enough air, composting is slow and the temperature drops – conditions which attract flies. So add oxygen by aerating with an aerator stick. You can also poke holes in the compost with an iron bar. Deep aeration also disturbs the fly reproductive cycle; some types breed every five days. Raise the temperature by fitting the Insulating Jacket on the Green Johanna and adding bokashi bran, which will introduce more beneficial microbes and speed up decomposition.
  • Too much moisture – the water content should be about 50 per cent. If there is more water than this, it can force air out, which leads to anaerobic conditions (without air) causing slow decomposition and bad smells, which attract flies. You can monitor compost moisture levels by testing with a moisture meter or by squeezing it in your hands. If it feels like a wrung-out sponge, it has the right consistency. There should only be one or two drops of liquid visible. If it’s wetter than this, add some absorbent material such as shredded paper or sawdust and aerate.
  • Imbalance of materials – a mixture of materials high in carbon (Browns) and nitrogen (Greens) is essential for active composting. Aim for roughly half and half of both.  
  • Poorly-covered nitrogen-rich materials (Greens) – bury smelly foods in the compost, wrapped in newspaper if possible. Create a covering layer over the top to capture smells. This can include straw, sawdust, wood chips or mature compost.  A fly-proof mesh over the top of the contents will keep flies out while allowing air in.  

As the compost becomes active, with raised temperature and faster decomposition, the fly infestation should end.

Fruit flies in particular are one of the most common nuisances in the UK, affecting more than 60% of households.  

 Fruit flies, also known as vinegar flies, are not your common or garden (or house) fly; they do not usually enter the home through the door or window, they come in with the fruit that you buy or get from the garden.

Adult fruit flies lay eggs on the fruit’s skin and these hatch later when the temperature is right. Fruit flies have a strong sense of smell and are attracted by the smell of overripe or rotting organic matter.

The eggs are microscopic, so they’re invisible, until suddenly – they’re not. Obviously, if the eggs are already in fruit skins when added to a composter there’s a chance they might hatch inside it.

There are several steps you can take to minimise the risk.

In the home

  • Because fruit flies lay eggs on exposed food, take care to keep food stored in a fridge or lidded containers, not out in the open in fruit bowls.
  • Use up ripe fruit and vegetables as soon as possible.
  • Compost organic matter quickly as fruit flies are attracted by the smell of decomposing food.
  • Keep stored waste in a lidded kitchen caddy. Always keep the lid on your caddy, even between new additions of waste as you are preparing food.

In the compost bin

Follow the steps mentioned above regarding composting management and also:

  • Add more carbon-rich materials (woody garden waste/shredded paper/cardboard/wood chips), and mix in well so that any food waste is covered.
  • Top the contents with a layer of fresh soil.
  • Try putting the composter in sunlight – flies like a warm but not hot environment.
  • Make sure that you always lock the lid securely.
  • Take care not to spill any food around the composter.
  • Monitor acidity – if you have added a lot of fermented content from a bokashi bin to your composter, add a handful of crushed baked eggshells to neutralise excessive acidic conditions as flies prefer a low (acidic) pH.
  • Flies don’t like the smell of certain plants – peppermint in particular – so you could add sprigs of peppermint to your waste and wipe round the compost bin with lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils.
  • Leave the lid off the bin for a while to allow predators such as ground beetles, rove beetles and earwigs easy access to the flies.
  • Use nematodes – microscopic worms that feed on fly larvae in soil.  

In the Green Cone

 In the case of the Green Cone Food Waste Digester, no garden waste can be added as the Cone only accepts food waste, so covering with garden and paper waste is not an option.

Because the Cone’s basket is underground, smells are filtered out by the surrounding soil, meaning there is no obvious attraction for ordinary flies. But if fruit fly eggs are already in fruit skins when added to the Cone, they might hatch inside it. Avoid this by following the advice above on preventing infestations in the home.

Also:

  •  Freeze your fruit and veg scraps in a plastic bag or container overnight to kill any eggs or larvae before adding them to the Cone.
  • Flies don’t like the smell of certain plants – peppermint in particular – so you could add sprigs of peppermint to your waste and wipe round the Cone with lavender, lemongrass, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils.
  • Add accelerator powder to add more beneficial bacteria to speed up decomposition.
  • Remember food waste should never come higher than the top of the Cone’s underground basket; waste should never be above ground level.

 Get trap happy

You could also try a home-made trap that will act as a magnet.

Add an inch of apple cider vinegar to a glass jar with two drops of washing up liquid. Put a plastic wrap cover over the top of the jar and poke small holes through with a toothpick. Flies are attracted by the smell and can get in but can’t get out. Remember to change the liquid regularly to keep the fly trap working.

If all else fails, consider disposable fly traps which come pre-filled with bait or attractant and can be placed in the bin. Be aware that these may also kill other beneficial decomposers in the compost.                                                            

Keep food covered to discourage fruit flies.

Top tips to boost hot composting temperatures

Posted on by Mark Halford

Using the Green Johanna in its classic specification is a great way to turn your food and garden waste into soil-enriching, high quality compost. 

  Independent studies (Which?/Gardeners’ World magazine) praise the Johanna for its ability to take a wider range of inputs than most regular composters and for the temperatures it is able to reach.    This is largely due to its ventilation system, with a patented base that allows air inflow past the mass of compost already in the composter and a twist lid that allows the upper vents to be opened or closed depending on conditions.    Heat is retained in the composter due to its enclosed design (most garden composters feature an open or loose-fitting base) and wall thickness (at 10kg, the Johanna weighs in at 2-3 times the weight of many other composters).

According to the Which? trial, the Green Johanna outperformed all but one composter on the market in terms of compost temperature, with temperatures into the 40 degree Celsius range.   This form of composting is largely traditional, relying on worms and insects to finish the job that the heat-generating microbal activity has got underway.

Using this method, the use of an Insulating Jacket has usually been advised when temperatures drop below 5 degrees Celsius in the winter months.   This is because microbal activity ceases at these temperatures, meaning compost temperatures decrease and the compost pile may stall until it is heated up again.

Trials

Throughout last year, however, the team at GGS wondered what would happen if we took a different approach and left the Insulating Jacket on all year.  We had received positive feedback from a number of customers who had done just that, and so we undertook a number of individual trials.   The results were dramatic.    Our main finding was that leaving the jacket on raised compost temperatures into the 30 to 60 degree Celsius range on a permanent basis, even in the coldest winter periods.   The insulated Johanna has proven to be the perfect vessel for domestic thermophilic composting, which is microbial in nature, accepts a wider range of waste and makes for much faster composting.

Here are our quick tips for getting started:

  1. Insulating Jacket.   Add it to the Green Johanna and leave it on.   If you are retro-fitting to an existing Johanna you should see a significant increase in compost temperature within days.
  2. Carbon.  By which we mean autumn leaves, shredded paper, cardboard, twigs, branches and mulch.   The latter can be bought from your local DIY store.   Add these carbon-rich materials generously, no less than in equal amounts to the amount of nitrogen-rich materials (green garden waste, food waste) you have added.  Mix well after adding new inputs.
  3. Aeration.   This form of composting requires more effort than classic composting.   Use your Green Johanna aerator stick regularly as normal, but also aerate deeper into the pile on a weekly basis with a garden fork.
  4. Bokashi.   Adding half a bag or a full 1kg bag of Bokashi bran monthly raises composting temperatures in the short term and accelerates the composting process.   For those who want to try using a Bokashi bin; adding food waste to the Johanna that has been allowed to ferment for two to three weeks in a Bokashi bin will dramatically increase compost temperature and accelerate the process.   Be sure to add plenty of carbon and a bag of Bokashi Bran at the same time as the pre-compost mixture that has fermented in the Bokashi bin.
  5. Chop your waste into small pieces to increase surface area and optimise the process.   This will also make turning the compost much easier.   Use a chipper-shredder for your garden waste if you have one; these can also be hired on a daily basis.
  6. Take the compost temperature.   Compost thermometers are widely available at garden centres and Amazon.   Place the thermometer inside the composter and check temperatures regularly.   The microbal processes die off when compost temperatures reach 72 degrees Celsius – this is the opposite problem to the traditional low temperature issue in winter, with the same outcome of a stalled compost heap.    If temperatures near this threshold – and we have seen this several times during the trials – remove the jacket to allow the contents to cool down before adding the jacket again.

This approach is for the more committed or interested composter, but for those looking to compost all of their organic waste quickly and efficiently it is a project well worth embarking on.

You can get your hot composting project started at discounted prices for a limited period by using this link Limited Time Offers – Great Green Systems

Warm up this winter – get your jacket on

Posted on by Julie Halford

It takes all sorts to make a world, as the saying goes.

At Great Green Systems we know that it takes all sorts to make compost.

We never cease to be amazed at the different results that people get from their Green Johanna. For some people fast compost is the priority, while others want finer, well-matured compost and are prepared to wait longer. Some users are less interested in compost and more concerned with being able to recycle as much of their food and garden waste as possible, diverting it from landfill.

Some customers say they rarely aerate their bin’s contents but still get results they are happy with.  Some use cooler temperatures and get a bin full of worms working away on their compost, while others tells us they never remove the insulating jacket and have no problems.

 Whatever your composting style, one thing we’re all on the same page about right now is maintaining temperatures warm enough to keep the composting process going in the bleak midwinter.

Here at Great Green Systems HQ in Yorkshire, snow is covering the ground but the Johanna in my garden is clearly feeling toasty in her jacket. After a night of sub-zero temperatures, the ground temperature this morning was zero but the first compost temperature we took today was 40 degrees Celsius.

From zero….

 

…to hero

At the coldest time of the year, with temperatures plummeting by the day, the insulation provided by the insulating jacket is invaluable to facilitate regular temperatures high enough to keep the Johanna’s contents breaking down at pace. (In warmer weather, the jacket should be removed if compost temperatures exceed 70 degrees C as this will be too hot for beneficial micro-organisms to survive.)

Additional ways to boost the winter composting process are by:

  • adding beneficial bacteria in the form of bokashi bran
  • adding a bucketful of mature compost or the fermented pre-compost from a bokashi bin, which also help to give your bin’s contents a shot in the arm
  • ensuring that waste materials are chopped into small pieces as these will break down faster than larger items. When adding stored garden waste, make sure pieces are no bigger than 5cms as the more surface area there is for microbes to work on, the faster waste will break down, generating more heat.

Differences in climate and soil biology according to location are factors that can affect composting outcomes, as well as differences in contents due to the household’s diets. People who cook from scratch using a lot of fruit and vegetables will produce more food waste (rich in nitrogen) than people who regularly use ready meals. So two neighbours with the same bin might have different results depending on the number of people in the household and their diet, plus the type and amount of waste their garden produces.  

We have heard of Johanna users who only add garden waste and are happy with the compost produced  –  their garden waste must comprise a good balance of nitrogen-rich Greens (fresh grass clippings and green leaves) and carbon-rich woody Browns. We are surprised that some customers say they don’t aerate the contents as regularly as we recommend – we can only imagine they must be good at providing air pockets in their carbon-rich contents, thanks to inputs such as wood chips and corrugated egg cartons etc.

Full Monty composting (not what you think…)

Some compost fans, like the team here at Great Green Systems, become fascinated by the process and go Full Monty, with a thermometer, pH and moisture measure and water wand among their kit.  We also cherish our stored bags full of raked, shredded autumn leaves and wood chips ready and waiting to go into action as part of an easily accessed carbon army to get through a long winter.

It’s a fascinating subject, but it can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be.

One member of our GGS team is out early every morning to check the temperature of his Johanna and this forms a larger proportion of his daily conversation than might be considered strictly normal but, as we said, it takes all sorts…   He also has a woodchipper to shred the twigs and branches in his garden waste.  In autumn our colleague sets off with his rake to gather the rich bounty of fallen leaves from quiet streets in his neighbourhood (not busy roads where the leaves could be contaminated by lead pollution). In doing this, he says he is also providing a free health and safety service by reducing the risk of slippery leaves on pavements.

We advise people to follow the golden composting rules regarding materials/oxygen/moisture as we want them to be as successful as possible. Some people tell us they break the rules but still get away with it. We all know the type – those Rebels Without a Rulebook whose first job when opening any piece of new equipment is to throw away the instruction manual and proceed by trial and error.  

Perhaps they’re onto something. We know that what puts some people off trying composting is the fear that they might get it wrong. So perhaps we should say there is only really one golden rule: it’s better to start – and proceed by observing and adapting –  than never to start at all.

 To borrow a well-known slogan – just do it.

Julie

The rake’s progress – compost those autumn leaves!

Getting leaf mould out of a composter
Posted on by Julie Halford

One of life’s small joys is the big reveal when you open your leaf composter after the long wait of a year or two.

Some might say I should get out more, but it never fails to fascinate me when we finally get to extract the crumbly, dark goodness that is leaf mould.  

When I think of our pre-composting years when we used to pay the council £9 per three bags to take away our many, many bags of raked leaves, I could cry. What a waste – all that free mulch and soil improver that I paid someone to take away!

The housing estate where we live was built on old hospital grounds where trees were planted over a hundred years ago around the nurses’ accommodation.  Our garden is home to a majestic horse chestnut and is overlooked by other trees in neighbours’ gardens. That means A LOT of leaves. I think they’re wonderful, but others seem to disagree.

‘I bet you hate those flipping trees,’ said the window cleaner once, pointing out that sap must fall on clothes on the washing line. If it has, I’ve never noticed. Perhaps I’ve been walking round in sap-stained clothes for years. I’d still rather have the trees. One neighbour, a sunworshipper, couldn’t stand the fact that the trees blocked a lot of sun in summer but because they’re protected by preservation orders, she couldn’t do anything about it. She moved instead.

Happily, we no longer send our annual autumn bounty off on a council truck but reap the benefits ourselves. Having seen the light, we now stockpile some of them as Browns for our Green Johanna and Maze Tumbler composters, and there’s still more than enough left to keep topping up our two Graf Thermo King 900L composters that we keep exclusively for leaves. We recently had to ‘unpack’ them both so we could get to broken fencing behind to do some pre-winter repairs, so we now have tons of leaf mould in various stages of breakdown.

Lovely leaf mould – and the odd woodlouse

Should I leave the leaves?

Anyone dreading getting the rake out will be cheered by this advice from the Royal Horticultural Society this week- leave autumn leaves on borders as they encourage worm activity and increase humus content in soil. Other commentators have pointed out that leaves have an annoying tendency to not stay where they’re put, with the wind teasing them out and repositioning them on the lawn or, dangerously, the garden path. And in our case the hallway too.

So, for us the old rake will be getting dusted off again soon. Experience has taught us to wait until the whole lot has fallen from all the surrounding trees.

What to do with autumn leaves

If you compost, you could stockpile fallen leaves so you have readily available Browns to balance the Greens. You’ll be glad you did. While food waste and grass cuttings (nitrogen-rich Greens) are usually plentiful, finding more carbon-rich Browns content can be problematic.  Storing autumn leaves in old compost bags or thick black bags next to the compost bin is a good idea so they’re ready when needed.  Then when you cut the grass and have grass cuttings to add to the bin, you can add both leaves and grass cuttings at the same time, providing a good balance of nitrogen and carbon necessary for efficient composting.

Should I shred garden waste?

Chopping or shredding Browns increases the surface area in contact with microbes in the pile. The finer the compost materials are shredded, the faster the pile heats up.

If you have a large garden, a chipper/shredder could save time and effort. It also lets you shred tree leaves, so they’re less likely to mat down in the pile. Some leaves break down more quickly than others. Large leathery leaves such as chestnut benefit from being shredded first.

Evergreen leaves take far longer to rot and should be chopped first and only added in small quantities.

For smaller gardens, you could use a pair of hedge clippers and a board to chop compost materials.

What is leaf mould?

Leaf mould is produced from decomposed autumn leaves that are left to rot down in a container that allows air to access the leaves. It’s dark brown in colour with an earthy smell and crumbly texture, like compost. You don’t need to add anything else – just the leaves.

Leaf mould has similar properties to peat but has the benefit of being a renewable resource. Like compost, it will improve the physical structure of your soil, increasing water retention by around 50 per cent, but leaf mould is actually low in nutrition. All the nutrition is absorbed back into the tree before the leaves fall. It also provides a fantastic habitat for earthworms and beneficial bacteria.

How do I make leaf mould?

Making leaf mould is a very simple, relatively slow process, relying on the action of fungi rather than the fast-acting, heat-generating bacteria of the composting process.

To collect the leaves, you can rake them up into a pile, or set your mower on a high cut setting and mow them up, using the grass collector added to the back of the mower. This mulches them up for you.

The most basic way of storing leaves is to keep them in a black bin bag, pierced at the bottom and sides to allow the contents to breathe.  If the leaves are very dry, moisten them before putting them in the bag.

If you prefer a container, the Thermo King compost bins that we use make life simple because:

  • Two large flaps make it easy to remove compost.
  • The lid allows humid air to escape and is adjustable to summer and winter weather conditions to regulate air circulation.
  • The base allows micro-organisms to enter whilst deterring rodents.

How can I use my leaf mould?

If leaves have been left to rot for two years or more, they can be used as seed-sowing compost or mixed equally with sharp sand, garden compost and soil for use as potting compost..

Leaf mould also makes a great mulch and soil improver, and if less than two years old can be used as autumn top-dressing for lawns or winter-covering for bare soil.

Julie

The long, long life of Green Cones

Posted on by Julie Halford

When people get attached to their food waste digester it quickly becomes a part of family life – wherever they live.

One of our customers, Angela, knew the Green Cone would be essential for the ‘safe, useful, hygienic disposal of kitchen waste’ when they bought an old farmhouse in Spain in 2004. They took the Cone over in their car in 2006.

For several years the family made annual trips to their Spanish house, spending working holidays getting the house and garden ready for their eventual move.

Food waste vanishing act

On one visit a big family birthday was celebrated with 10 guests staying for a full week. The Cone’s underground basket (which is where food waste lands and is digested by micro-organisms) was full after the week, but when the family returned months later they were delighted to find that the basket’s contents had almost completely vanished.

‘We love our Cone and it is really, really useful,’ says Angela.

After all their hard work paid off, they finally relocated to Spain four years ago.

Over the years Angela has seen big changes in attitudes to recycling food waste in Spain.  Kitchen waste in particular needs careful disposal due to the heat and the number of foxes and rodents in the region where they live.

She says: ‘Things have become easier over the past few years as Spain has started to install special organic recycling bins, which have a swing top and drop waste into an underground receptacle that is then cleared very regularly by the council.  

A good ecological cycle

‘So, from nothing less than 20 years ago, we have multiple ways of safe and hygienic organic waste disposal, the most convenient of which is our Cone.

‘To be honest, it is as much of a pleasure to take the bin out to the Cone as it is to go out and pick veggies for supper because it is useful to process things ourselves and know that we are using a good ecological cycle for production and waste.’ 

The couple grow a lot of their own produce and have had to contend with many challenges posed by the climate and mountainous geography. Their Cone has been moved four times, with placement being determined by where there is sufficient depth to bury the basket, which needs to be dug into a hole 54cms deep.

‘When there is torrential rain and it floods over the terrace behind our land it can remove soil down to the bedrock, it was quite a shock the first time we saw this and realised just how little soil covering there is in some places,’ Angela says.

‘As a consequence, we have built raised beds for some of our produce and will be looking to make deeper beds for some others as time goes by.’

The couple have worked the soil by adding wood ash, compost and goat manure from a farm up the road, but Angela believes more fibre is needed and she wants to supplement it with horse manure. A 5000-litre tank for rainwater has been an essential investment.

Things are changing

Angela says the Spanish are becoming much more interested in tending gardens.

 ‘People have been quite interested in our approach (raised beds, adding marigolds for insect control and so on). Possibly they will become more interested in composting as well since many areas have banned burning of waste, partly as a fire hazard and partly air pollution, so things are changing gradually.’

Her family have seen climate change happen before their eyes. When they bought the house in 2004, almonds started to blossom in the third week of January and the family would come over in February for a week to enjoy the beauty.

‘Now they are blooming in December and it is too cold for the bees much of the time. That has happened in less than 20 years.’

Last summer temperatures reached the low 40s. 

Although the Cone is solar powered and requires a sunny spot, the fierce Spanish sun has proved a challenge and as a result the lid needed replacing recently.

Great Green Systems provided a lid free of charge and sent it to Angela’s daughter in the UK for Angela to pick up on a recent visit.

 ‘I must say that we have been surprised and delighted that the actual Cone has lasted brilliantly all these years. We wouldn’t want to be without it.’

Cones go the distance

Although a Cone is expected to last for at least 10 years, here at Great Green Systems we often find that customers report their Cone has lasted a lot longer.

Another couple delighted at the longevity of their Green Cone are Jack and Joan Milner, of Leicestershire.

They tell us that their Cone, which they bought in 2009, is still going strong and it is only now after 13 years that it might need emptying.  They bought the food waste digester as part of a subsidised scheme run by Leicestershire County Council to divert food waste from landfill.

The Milners, now in their eighties, have been delighted to see the Cone digest all their food waste and also benefit their garden thanks to the soil conditioner it produces that has nourished a once-arid patch of garden.   

The oldest Cone that we’ve heard of belongs to a lady in Scotland, who got it through her local authority, Argyll and Bute District Council, 25 years ago.

The customer’s daughter contacted us when the Cone’s lid blew off in the storms of early 2022, and Great Green Systems replaced it free of charge.

 She said: ‘The Cone is still going strong, a real asset in a rural area where there is no specific collection of green and food waste. ‘

If your Cone is even older than this, do let us know!

A long reign in Spain – Angela’s Green Cone outside her Spanish farmhouse.

Spare Parts