By Victoria Plum 
By Victoria Plum
I have mentioned before that I have had to expel my compost heaps from the garden to help with the expulsion of rats from our and our neighbours’ gardens, and how my gardening life became governed by the fortnightly collection of my brown garden waste bin.
But now I have made a radical change and I have bought a “hot” compost bin – the make is Aerobin and it is basically an insulated (ecologically sound) bin.
It will take garden and kitchen waste and paper – in fact all the stuff you would put on your compost heap, plus the cellulose and starch-based wrappers that are now finding their way into our homes.
Some Christmas card wrappers and coffee bags I have bought lately fall into this category, and there are more all the time; you just have to keep checking the recycle logo as materials are constantly changing and improving in terms of less plastic use.
Because the bin is insulated it holds the heat naturally generated by the composting process.
Big compost heaps work better than small ones for this reason, so I am optimistic that this new idea will revolutionise my garden because the heat contained by the insulated bin encourages aerobic decomposition and therefore speeds up the composting process.
There are claims of two to six months turnaround to make high-quality compost. I am sure this will be an asset because the compost generated will improve my soil and therefore all my plants will be happier and healthier.
I also like the neat economy of the fact that my garden waste will not need to be transported elsewhere, nor my potting compost bought in from elsewhere.
The bin is 400-litre capacity and I based my choice of size on the fact that every two weeks I manage to almost fill my brown (green waste) bin.
I will report later on how well it all works. I show a photo (above), near my waste bins so you can see the size. Note that we have put it on a low wooden platform, for convenience, so it appears bigger.
The next Reepham & District Gardening Club meeting is in the comfort of your own home on Zoom. Join us on Tuesday 19 January at 7.30 pm to hear Nancy Stevens talking about Japanese gardens.
Please check the website for next year’s programme, which includes the wonderful Hawk Honey (yes, really) talking about wasps.
Photo: Tina Sutton
Geoff Fisher