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Compost heaps inside

 
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Pilsbury



Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex
PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 05 11:54 pm    Post subject: Compost heaps inside Reply with quote
    

Is there any reason you cant put a compost bin in a greenhouse?
other than having to water it I wonder if there would be any other problems, For benifits surley it must be a good way of heating a greenhouse?

dougal



Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 05 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Smell, insects, humidity, methane? space? Just how big a greenhouse have you got?

Why not just hang up some black polythene (at the back of the greenhouse) to catch some extra solar heat!

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 05 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I think it would depend on what you put on it. Animal waste (like my chicken bedding) gives off amonia and that seems to harm some plants.

The other reason is do you have enough room? No matter what size you always tend to need more room. Even Kew and Wisley seem to be after more.

wellington womble



Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 05 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You could put a worm bin in it, though. They are not supposed to smell if you kep them well limed, (although they can attract fruit flies) they are fairly compact, and the worms would be much happier and more effcient if they were kept warm (You could kick them out in the summer too!) It wouldn't take care of your whole composting system, but it might be a good compromise.

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 05 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

One possible negative is that you would get the run-off oozing from the bottom and into your greenhouse soil. I imagine that this is pretty high in nitrogen, which is not really what you want for growing tomatoes and the like - too much nitrogen = lots of green growth = not many tomatoes.

Also, most of the heat comes at the start of the breakdown process, rather than steadily over the entire cycle. To get a steady heat output, you would have to do a lot of experimenting with the contents of your compost bin, and would probably be emptying and refilling it all the time.

judyofthewoods



Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 804
Location: Pembrokeshire
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 05 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The CAT used to have (have?) a compost heap in the poly tunnel, but don't know what they put on it, also, it was a very big tunnel, and had a pond in it, perhaps the frogs ate the fruit flies etc. There were warm beds above the heap. The Jean Pain method may be a better indirect way:

https://www.daenvis.org/technology/Jeanpan.htm
https://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/methane_pain.html

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