tricky

[charles]

 Hi Jan

Thanks for your message which I am posting on the forum.

 

I do not recommend the composter, it costs over £300 and although good at turning, I think that too little air enters to feed bacteria, so decomposition is not fast at all. Also heat is lost through all sides being exposed to air.

I continue to make compost in my old wooden heaps, turn them once and wait patiently for another 3-6 months before spreading the compost, and 6-9 months for heaps assembled in winter. Leaving even longer can give finer compost, good for potting.

Weed seeds is another issue and I recommend you not to have them! I burn the few I find here and am mostly composting weeds before seeding stage. Except for commercial composting where heaps are turned enough for all materials to be hot at some stage, I think most of us struggle to attain enough heat to kill weed seeds. 

I am happy for somebody to correct this statement, with a process they have used and works and is viable!