Compost update

With plenty of collections and drop offs throughout the last week the first bay of the compost was definitely full by Friday.

The HCC is now a 4-bay system, with plenty of material coming in to keep those 4 bays nice and full. There are the 3 bays of the wooden compost bin to start the process and get nice and hot and then I’m using another composting bin as a ‘holding bay’ for half finished compost.

Some of this partially composted material is going back around again, starting in bay no. 1 again and cycling through. This gives it a good chance of breaking down further. This half finished compost is great to dig into garden beds though, or as a nutrient rich base layer for plantings or new beds. If you’re interested in taking some of this material then send me an email at hackettcompost2602@gmail.com.

I’ll certainly have to sieve out some finished compost and also move on some of the half finished compost soon because as at the time of writing all 4 bays are pretty full.

All of this pitchforking is pretty hefty work, but it’s work that I enjoy 🙂 Call me weird but I love seeing things like once-substantial corn cobs crumble in my hands, and all of the little critters enjoying the muck. Actually even the little wrens and many other birds have been loving the compost heap, it’s a pretty thriving ecosystem!

And parts of the heap not intended for fast degradation are being recycled anyway by this local magpie:

With the HCC compost bins filling up and yet more households joining I’ve had to think about adding a new ‘node’ to the HCC. Options are being explored!

In the meantime, keep contributing your scraps and I will clear out some of the current compost (finished or nearly so) to make way for them.

-Brook