Compost

[Dave2002]

The Howard and Mays article is interesting - though we don't have a green cone at present. When we had one before it was really useful and effective. I didn't know that it is actually desirable to see the blue gray fuzzyiness on material if peering inside.

We are still wondering about compost makers which rotate - tumblers. Are they any good, or just an extra faff?

What exactly is meant by "Daleks" in the posts upstream? Are they the green cones, or some other form of compost bin?

Re maggots and flies - aren't maggots the precursors of flies? I suppose it's all eggs and chickens stuff really!

[oddoneout]

The Howard and Mays article is interesting - though we don't have a green cone at present. When we had one before it was really useful and effective. I didn't know that it is actually desirable to see the blue gray fuzzyiness on material if peering inside.

We are still wondering about compost makers which rotate - tumblers. Are they any good, or just an extra faff?

What exactly is meant by "Daleks" in the posts upstream? Are they the green cones, or some other form of compost bin?

Re maggots and flies - aren't maggots the precursors of flies? I suppose it's all eggs and chickens stuff really!

Decomposition produces all sorts of weird and wonderful life forms and which ones are desirable, neutral or undesirable isn't necessarily related to looks.
Tumbler composters - don't tend to come out that well in reviews of methods of composting. Unless you have one of the expensive geared models the effort needed to actually rotate them can be a major hurdle. As they are closed containers, trying to achieve aerobic decomposition can be difficult, and they're not ideal conditions for worms (which can't get in by themselves anyway), so breakdown relies on other organisms. They prevent rats going after the waste as they are closed and off the ground, which can be important for some situations. Would suggest plenty of review reading and try before you buy if possible.
Daleks are the plastic cone type composters, usually black, beloved of councils who offer them at some form of discount for home composting https://evengreener.com/composting/b...iABEgLUBPD_BwE
As you say maggots and flies are chicken and egg. In a traditional heap away from the house they won't be noticed (and are less likely to occur anyway) but those with small gardens using the dalek type won't be so keen on the clouds of assorted fruit fly types that can erupt during warm weather each time the lid is opened to add more material. My daughter in law hates using the container closest to the kitchen for that reason but in fact it does a good job of breaking down quickly and producing usable material without much effort. A classic reaction is to use flyspray but that's not a good idea. Keeping a good balance of wet and dry material can help - a bin that gets a lot of fruit and veg kitchen waste will be more likely to have them than one which also has a good element of more twiggy garden material which keeps the compost open and less prone to "fermenting", but better just to accept that it happens; time and colder weather will generally sort it out and once the compost is on the garden the flies will go.

[gurnemanz]

Clue in Times cryptic today:
"One producing pieces from organic bin missing tons.(8)"
Not perhaps the greatest clue ever and and fairly easy to solve but relevant to this thread.

[AuntDaisy]

Clue in Times cryptic today:
"One producing pieces from organic bin missing tons.(8)"
Not perhaps the greatest clue ever and and fairly easy to solve but relevant to this thread.

Esp. with "de-" prefixed?

[Dave2002]

I'm sorry I haven't a clue!

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm sorry I haven't a clue!

Maggots aforethought!

[Dave2002]

Maggots aforethought!

Maybe there are no flies on you?!

In the meantime - https://crosswordgenius.com/clue/one...n-missing-tons

Finally, the question I really wanted to ask - "is it OK to put the dead/dying tomato plants into the compost bin as they are now pretty much at the end of their productive life?"
I have read that some plants have diseases - which can be passed on to others, so it might be better to dispose of those in other ways.

[oddoneout]

Maybe there are no flies on you?!

In the meantime - https://crosswordgenius.com/clue/one...n-missing-tons

Finally, the question I really wanted to ask - "is it OK to put the dead/dying tomato plants into the compost bin as they are now pretty much at the end of their productive life?"
I have read that some plants have diseases - which can be passed on to others, so it might be better to dispose of those in other ways.

Opinions seem divided on this subject. General consensus is that if they have blight then best to dispose of another way, but otherwise no problem. The view that the blight will stay in the compost to infect subsequent plantings of spuds and tomatoes is I believe not borne out by fact as the spores don't overwinter. If my tomatoes get blight during the growing season any diseased foliage or fruit I take off I do remove to try and reduce the windborne spores causing further infection but once the season has ended I put it all on the heap. I think a certain amount of confusion has arisen because of the importance of prompt removal of blighted potato foliage to prevent it travelling down and infecting the tubers which then can't be used or stored. Monty Don tends to make rather a drama out of it. When I had my allotment and grew spuds, if blight arrived I would cut off all the foliage and put it in black sacks in a corner by the compost heap to decompose and then in late autumn the smelly sludge would be tipped out and buried in the heap. Some of the healthiest plants and cleanest tubers I had would be from volunteer plants growing in the "infected" heap the following year...
For other plant diseases some do ideally have to be kept out of the heap as the infection isn't killed by the normal decomposition processes (usually because the heap doesn't get hot enough), but I'm afraid I don't keep track of what that applies to so things have to take their chance. Persistent disease problems will either kill the plant and remove the source or I'll remove it as too much bother so the issue tends to resolve itself. I think it's more of a consideration when it comes to diseases of woody plants, which is why care may be needed using shreddings/uncomposted woodchip as mulch for shrubs and tree plantings.

[gradus]

Opinions seem divided on this subject. General consensus is that if they have blight then best to dispose of another way, but otherwise no problem. The view that the blight will stay in the compost to infect subsequent plantings of spuds and tomatoes is I believe not borne out by fact as the spores don't overwinter. If my tomatoes get blight during the growing season any diseased foliage or fruit I take off I do remove to try and reduce the windborne spores causing further infection but once the season has ended I put it all on the heap. I think a certain amount of confusion has arisen because of the importance of prompt removal of blighted potato foliage to prevent it travelling down and infecting the tubers which then can't be used or stored. Monty Don tends to make rather a drama out of it. When I had my allotment and grew spuds, if blight arrived I would cut off all the foliage and put it in black sacks in a corner by the compost heap to decompose and then in late autumn the smelly sludge would be tipped out and buried in the heap. Some of the healthiest plants and cleanest tubers I had would be from volunteer plants growing in the "infected" heap the following year...
For other plant diseases some do ideally have to be kept out of the heap as the infection isn't killed by the normal decomposition processes (usually because the heap doesn't get hot enough), but I'm afraid I don't keep track of what that applies to so things have to take their chance. Persistent disease problems will either kill the plant and remove the source or I'll remove it as too much bother so the issue tends to resolve itself. I think it's more of a consideration when it comes to diseases of woody plants, which is why care may be needed using shreddings/uncomposted woodchip as mulch for shrubs and tree plantings.

I do the same with blighted toms and spuds but have occasionally just put them on the compost, incidentally its been a bad year for blight on outdoor toms around here but oddly the potatoes have been unaffected.
My main problem though is onion and garlic white rot which is a real nuisance and nothing I've tried really makes much difference. It is the most persistent disease even after 10 years it has remained in my beds. Once upon a time there was a claimed answer - Armillatox - but that has long since been banned for garden use and Jeyes Fluid apart (also now I think banned) there is nothing available to the amateur grower these days. Its a real problem as I lost nearly half my garlic and onion crop to white rot this year.

[oddoneout]

I do the same with blighted toms and spuds but have occasionally just put them on the compost, incidentally its been a bad year for blight on outdoor toms around here but oddly the potatoes have been unaffected.
My main problem though is onion and garlic white rot which is a real nuisance and nothing I've tried really makes much difference. It is the most persistent disease even after 10 years it has remained in my beds. Once upon a time there was a claimed answer - Armillatox - but that has long since been banned for garden use and Jeyes Fluid apart (also now I think banned) there is nothing available to the amateur grower these days. Its a real problem as I lost nearly half my garlic and onion crop to white rot this year.

White rot is a real bummer - surviving up to 15 years in the soil makes mockery of rotation! One of those "don't put on the compost heap" situations Dave referred to. https://gardening.which.co.uk/hc/en-...nion-white-rot
Since giving up the allotment and only having myself to feed I grow very few onion family crops and so far haven't been affected.
Jeyes fluid is one of those oddities now; it is legal to buy and use it but only for certain jobs - but of course those who have always used it in the garden will carry on as usual... I never favoured it having been brought up to have a healthy distrust of phenols, re-inforced by an unfortunate incident in a chemistry lesson.

[Dave2002]

Is it OK to put tea bags onto a compost heap? I always assumed it was, but now I hear suggestions that tea bags contain plastic which pollutes the environment.

If so - is that common to all such tea bags, or only certain brands?

[oddoneout]

Is it OK to put tea bags onto a compost heap? I always assumed it was, but now I hear suggestions that tea bags contain plastic which pollutes the environment.

If so - is that common to all such tea bags, or only certain brands?

Some tea bags were made with plastic type material which doesn't rot in the compost bin, but fewer companies are using them now I think. At work in the past it did seem to be the expensive fashionable fruit/herbal teas that left their mark on the compost heap, but I think that now most make a big thing of having suitably green bags. I've had a few go through in the past but I just remove the remains (what someone, possibly a forumite, referred to as "ghosts") when I'm using the finished compost. As everything seems to contain microplastics now, we are told, I don't think that the occasional teabag in the compost heap is much to worry about? When I found out about the problem I was rather more concerned about what ingesting boiled plastic with my drink was doing to me than what the persistent bag might do to the compost heap...

[gradus]

Last year and this I'm using on the allotment compost processed commercially from garden, tree and and horticultural waste. I gather that it is free of nasties and certainly seems an excellent product for no dig purposes ie spreading as a thick mulch on your soil. Around here it costs £77 for a 1000 litre builders bag delivered to site, a little less if delivered in bulk.

[Dave2002]

We have some plants which I think are irises - with reddish flowers. They were here when we came. They have long spiky leaves, which go brown. I have wondered about cutting them off (which I do anyway) and putting them in the compost bin, but I have a suspicion that they'd take a long while to rot, so it might be better to keep them out of the bins, and simply burn them instead. Is this a known issue with this kind of plant?

[LHC]

Some tea bags were made with plastic type material which doesn't rot in the compost bin, but fewer companies are using them now I think. At work in the past it did seem to be the expensive fashionable fruit/herbal teas that left their mark on the compost heap, but I think that now most make a big thing of having suitably green bags. I've had a few go through in the past but I just remove the remains (what someone, possibly a forumite, referred to as "ghosts") when I'm using the finished compost. As everything seems to contain microplastics now, we are told, I don't think that the occasional teabag in the compost heap is much to worry about? When I found out about the problem I was rather more concerned about what ingesting boiled plastic with my drink was doing to me than what the persistent bag might do to the compost heap...

This article lists the teabags that are freed from plastic, and those that aren’t; a surprisingly large number still contain plastic.

https://moralfibres.co.uk/the-teabags-without-plastic/