This topic contains 7 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Dutchy 5 years, 7 months ago.
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Hi, I’ve done beds with municipal compost, I wouldn’t think bacteria is an issue as they make sure it gets really hot, so if anything it is slightly less full of microbial life than is ideal. The worst thing with it was the small bits of plastic or glass but it was easy and cheap to get large quantities of and had no viable weed seeds because of the high temperatures during composting.
Yes Dino the plastic bits are the worst issue, otherwise the compost is even and healthy.
Graham, they take those heaps to temperatures as high as 80C, from frequent turning, so few bacteria survive.
Lack of good bacteria is more an issue than presence of bad ones.
Best of luck with finding enough.I started to make my own compost last year in big old compost bags. Looked good until…. I added a lot of peelings and apples, some partially rotted, from my green apple tree which this year had quite a good crop. I added them to my home compost along with other greens and some browns. There are now looots of fruit flies looting in my compost bag (and out when I open it!). Would this be OK or should I bin it? Thanks!
You do get the garden waste from people like my mums partner. He loves to spray and spray the garden with every known weed, moss, mould, fungus, insect and bug killer, then mow and rake it all up and then take it to the council green waste pile.
That is why it isn’t getting added to my compost.
All those tubs, boxes and bottles of chemicals sold at garden centres and diy stores must end up somewhere.
The manufacturers say they break down and disperse but I am not convinced.Cherry,
Those little fruit flies seem to like wet along with their fruit and veg so maybe things are a bit wet and maybe acidic with apples turning to cider turning to apple vinegar.
I don’t know the bags you mean. I would sprinkle the bags out onto my big heaps and disperse it with quite a bit of straw to get it drier and air into it.
If the fruit flies are living in it then it has nutrients and bacteria food worth saving.
My 2p worthThanks Wellies. I was asking as I don’t know if the flies can harbour harmful bacteria or smth… 🙂 (newbie here).
Bags, are those garden centres are selling compost or manure in. I just saved them after using their content in my garden. Nothing special. I like recycling.I too would not worry. They are there as long as the fruit has not fully decomposed but after that they leave.
The only fruit I do not put on the heap is fruit with those fungus rings on as that is I think a soil based fungal infection and I do not want that on my beds. Everything else is fine.
And recycling is perfect.
I use the old bags as garbage bags and to transport things in so the car does not get too mucky.
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