Tonnes of old waste waiting for composting is not a problem if you play by he rules. Follow this simple steps and your hotbin is going to steam making you some nice compost.
Good to see you again Beanie and some useful advice about mixing up old and new waste. I cannot seem to maintain my hotbin into the optimum green zone - only in the warmer summer months. I do try and balance out the input but I don’t get too concerned anymore. I’ll empty the bin at some point to fill the bottom of a trench or beds at my allotment and let it continue to rot down on site. I do occasionally get too many brandling worms though which can block the drainage holes of the bin (I know you’ve covered that problem in the past) so I’ve become resolved to do a bin clean ever year. 🥴 Never mind - still no regrets in buying my hotbin 😊
Hi Del,yes the dreaded HB going cold. We had a slight frost a week ago and both mine dropped out of the green. It is a case that unless you are able to commit and keep consistently on top of things then I do believe it will go cold over the colder months. We are away at the moment so I am wondering what we will return too. It keeps you on your toes but I think you have the best idea. Don’t stress with it let it do it’s thing over the colder months and give it a good clean ready for the warmer weather. Even if it is not in the green then you will still be composting quicker than a cold compost bin so as you said no regrets and still a win win situation. Glad that you are still watching and it’s not just me with the worm issue.
Thanks Beanie, a useful reminder about making sure there is enough fresh green stuff in each mix. We were away for 4 days when the temperature dropped and now bin is below the green area for first time in months - hoping to get it back up without resorting to hot water bottle. Noted your comment about centenarians and places where people live longer healthier lives. Gardening seems to be good for our health, evidence that in children exposure to outdoor green environments reduces risk of autoimmune diseases and that gardeners have a more varied range of healthy bacteria on their skins and in their guts and that this is shared by the family. Lots of evidence coming out that varied gut microbiome has lots of health benefits. So not only are we quids in through not buying compost and paying Council to take stuff away we are also improving our gut health and everyone who lives with us - you've got double benefit with you and Mrs B working in garden. Enjoy the Autumn and all those lovely apples.
Hi Margaret, that is great too know. I maybe need to do a bit more gardening as I we have all had colds. Also we had two days mild frost here and both HB’s went cold. Have spent today trying to get things back in the Green. Looked tonight and large one in the green and creeping up. Will check on mini tomorrow as it is not at home. Always something to keep you on your toes. Thanks for the information and as yo say it’s a win win situation until it goes cold.
The bin is just in the green zone this morning - took a couple of days to get there and Ive just fed it again, so fingers crossed. Hope you have all thrown off the colds@@BeanieComposter
Beanie.... many thanks for all the hints and brilliant advice... i have a hotbin mark 2 for about a year and was just about to give up on it as it i couldn't get things working right... after looking at a lot of your videos i now have the enthusiasm back to try again.. many many thanks and dont stop making your videos....
We are glad the videos have helped you. The HB is quite simple but can always give you some issues that you can never quite work completely out. I hope you have managed to get things hot but if not keep going because this time of the year is not the easiest but I have a feeling you will be smashing it come spring. Keep us posted on how things are going. Well done for not giving up.
Hi Beanie, good to hear from you again, I’m still filling my hotbins up, one is nearly full, it will be interesting to see the results, where’s the missus? Behind the camera again? It’s good to see her happy smiling face, you must be doing something right😂 take care
Hi Barry will be getting the misses involved a bit more now we are doing different things in the garden. Still doing a big experiment with the mini which I think will be a good hit. Have you managed to dream up any more adaptations for your own experiments. Good to hear from you and getting colder now so time to think about bringing the HB inside. I’m not sure what I am doing right what was that joke I’ve been unlucky with my two wife’s. The first one left me the second one didn’t. Hope that will give you a smile.
Thanks for the useful video. I've been using up old garden waste for ages now and never seems to go down 😅 but I only use small amounts to add in with my food waste because as you say, to keep the temperature up and it's working. I also add in a couple handfuls of old spent compost! Let's hope I can keep the temperature up during the winter months as I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark and miss my opportunity to fill it up as often!
Hi,good to hear all is going well. We had the first frost here last night so that is always a sign that things are going to get a little tricker to keep the temperature up. Every year it has always been a challenge to keep it hot and if you are unable to add waste as often then I feel that has an impact during the winter months. We can do our best each year I learn more so I am hoping this year I can keep at least one of them hot all year round. Just give it an extra big feed when you can get to it and hopefully that will help with getting rid of the old waste and help the temperature.
I have kept my two slow compost heaps going, along with the hotbin because I was accumulating so much green waste and didn't want to store. I have even started to chop and drop this autumn as another way of composting my green waste. I really want to keep as much of my green waste as possible and not pass it on to the council for their benefit. Having three systems going seems to work well for me. Btw, impressive apple tree loaded with super apples, very jealous!
Thank you for watching. I agree sending your waste to the council seems to only benefit them. You have paid for,nurtured and invested a lot of time in your garden so why not invest all of that back into your garden. I would love the space to have multiple compost heaps,bins but even with the large HB we seem to manage thing pretty well. Just a shame the shed gets clogged up with so much waste. Also as nice as the apple tree is this year it has attracted foxes that seem to come each night eat the apples leave them on the lawn and then dig up the lawn. Doesn’t make you smile. Apples are fantastic though. Good to hear from you.
Great to see a new video. New stuff for me to learn here. I've had my Hotbin for seven months so far and apart from two occasions when it cooled down when we were on holiday for a couple of weeks it's been chugging away at fifty to, on occasion, over sixty degrees. I've been feeding it every other day with a full 5 litre caddy from the kitchen, grass cuttings, shredded cardboard [I'd really recommend a Fellowes paper shredder] and bits of garden waste. I've only had one dodgy moment when it went slightly anaerobic which was my fault due to a lack of bulking agent but a good stir and plenty of shredded cardboard and bulking agent sorted that out overnight. What I can't work out is that I've not got the bin full yet or taken any compost out of it despite everything I've put in it. I've had litres of leachate. The amount of waste I've put in this thing is incredible, seriously. I have a feeling that when I finally remove my first compost it's going to be fantastic stuff but it's still only three quarters full!
Hi. First of all a big well done. The HB really can munch through some gear. I always end up emptying mine after about 3 months but if it is still working at good temperatures then as that saying goes if it’s not broken then don’t try and fix it. I do think it does depend on what you are putting in it. For example I putt a lot of hedge trimming’s and rose trimmings that will take a long time to break down. If you are putting waste that will break down quickly almost into nothing then your bin will take longer to fill. I do think you are going to have some incredible compost when you empty it and I am looking forward to hearing how you find not only the compost but also emptying the HB. WELL DONE
Thanks for that. I'll definitely keep you posted on developments. I have to say that the reason I think things are going so well are as a result of you, your wife, and your channel! It should be compulsory viewing for anyone buying a hotbin. all the best Chris @@BeanieComposter
Glad to see another Beanie video. My bin is quite wet, and thinking I need to add more paper and get some bulking agent (ran out.) When you harvest your compost, do you need to put it through a sieve to keep out bulking agent that hasn't composted (still intact form)?
Hi , it is much better if you can sieve it but it is not always so easy if it is wet. Sieving it means you can reuse the bulking agent that has not broken down. Alternatively you can store it in bag’s until better weather and dry it before sieving. I don’t sieve it unless I am using it in pots. If I am using it as a mulch then I just use it as it comes out. Hope you can get some more bulking agent and sort the wetness out before it goes anaerobic.
Hi I have noticed with the hedge trimmings that I showed in the bag that i keep in the old dustbin. During the summer you would open it and lots of small moths would suddenly fly out. Look at it this way we are doing our thing for the eco system. As the colder weather approaches it seems to decrease hopefully along with the waste. Thanks for watching.
Just emptied & restarted the HB 3 months is the most I’ve been able keep it hot. It then gets wet & turns cold. I’ve tried everything after 3 months that’s it. What’s the longest you’ve been able keep yours running hot. ?
Hello again I can keep it hot for most of the year. There is always a few times when it will go cold for maybe a week or two at the most. Once that happens I am normally quick to sort it out. I just emptied the large HB a week ago went away for a week and when we got back it was below the green. A big feed and stir up just feed it this morning and it is now 60 degrees again. Getting colder now so you need to keep on top of things. Not everyone has the time this time of the year so as I say just do what you can. I do think if you want to have the time and put effort in you can keep it hot most of the year. Are you putting enough paper cardboard in? I would normally empty it before 3 months but I am keeping things hot and feeding it every other day. Keep us posted and let us know how you get on. Maybe we can try and keep things hot together let me know what you are doing.
@@behornet100 I am struggling a bit too since Mrs B brought the shredded paper contaminated with plastic. Been tearing up any cardboard we received or I can get from work. Been fine over summer but thinking I will need more now we are getting heavy rain and colder evenings. Oh for life to be a breeze.
Same here, after about 3 months I struggle to keep it up to temp, but it's usually full by then anyway so I will empty it at this point and put any uncomposted material in the cold composter.
