Compost Turning – Right to Left?

[kGardenParticipant]

Just an observation … but I’m just about to make brand new compost bins, so the best orientation for them has been in my mind of late.

Watching your timelapse video of turning your heap I noticed that you were turning the left bin into the right. Might be that you sometimes do it the other way, and that’s just “how it is”, but if not it looked to me as if (for a right-handed person) it would be better to fill the new material into the right-most bin, and then turn it to the bin on its left, that way you are working on your forehand, rather than backhand.

I was also wondering whether it would be worth having a divider that would split a bin in half (I mean left & right halves on either side, rather than front-half and back-half) – it would only need a piece of plywood as a divider. In Winter I struggle to fill the whole bin, but in Summer I need the full volume, so in Winter I could just have, say, the “left half” in use and then, come Spring, take the divider out, fill up the right half, and then carry on putting more fresh material on top.

But I may be over thinking it – I’m prone to that!

I remember watching a video of an award winning Allotmenteer (near Nottingham springs to mind, but not sure). His allotment was pristine, of course, but he had built his compost bins of different sizes, like Russian Dolls, so that he turned the largest into the next biggest in size, adjacent to it, and the final turning was into the smallest sized bin. No doubt experience, over the years, had enabled him to get the proportions just right for the volume-loss that occurs during the composting process.

[StringfellowParticipant]

Interesting observations these, I like them. I’m unconvinced that the Nottingham allotmenteer is gaining much by having progressively smaller bins, other than perhaps some space? I like the simile though and there could be other advantages I can’t think of. I make compost when time permits and I gather anything available; whenever this occurs it all ends up in the one bin by the following spring and is then used to earth up all my spuds, leaving the bed uber fertile post harvest. This method is then rolled across the plot, one bed at a time, each season.

Possibly overthinking things but not necessarily a bad thing – just don’t start deliberating over the purchase of a right or left handed shovel 😉

[HawfinchParticipant]

As far as the turning goes, I guess it depends on whether one is right- or lefthanded. I’m lefthanded and turning from right to left is easier for me, seems it might be different for you since you’re righthanded. Don’t think it makes any difference to the compost 😉

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with Hawfinch, he is right!

[charlesModerator]

A great discussion. Actually I agree that a smaller heap to turn into makes sense, as long as one is always using the bays in that order, could get complicated.
I like Stringfellow’s comment for showing how in gardening there is scope for all of us to develop a method that works best for our site, time available, plants grown and personal inclinations.
My shovel has a bias to the centre though I am a leftie politically, right handed, and Hawfinch is a she!
Sorry to go off topic, sometimes I need a diversion. To the left if possible.

[kGardenParticipant]

Thanks everyone, very useful feedback.

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