What are compost accelerators (or activators) and do you need to add them in composting? You do not need to add commercial compost accelerators when HOTBIN composting. Save your money – there are plenty of FREE, natural compost accelerators. Most commercial accelerators (or activators) do not list what they contain ...
Read More »Smallholder Composting: Can I Compost Alpaca Manure?
HOTBIN owner Clare has a smallholding with 50 chickens, 6 alpacas and is now about to open a cattery (www.clarescattery.co.uk). Following her success with her first two HOTBIN compost bins, she has asked us a number of “smelly based” questions over the past couple of months, the latest of which is ...
Read More »Composting Human Hair and Orange Peelings in Sunny Spain!
We had an interesting enquiry today from a new user about to set up the HOTBIN in Spain on how to compost human hair and orange peelings. “I have just ordered one [HotBin] for southern Spain. My hairdresser is happy to provide bags of hair. Is hair in large quantities ok? Also ...
Read More »Compost bin review Permaculture review HOTBIN composter
John Adams and Maddy Harland at the Permaculture Magazine review the HOTBIN compost bin. They loved it so much, they decided to add it to their green shopping supplement. Over the years I have tried most ways of making compost but I have never found one that really suited my requirements until Maddy showed ...
Read More »Can I compost egg shells and eggs?
CAN I COMPOST EGG SHELLS AND EVEN ‘OUT OF DATE’ EGGS? You have missed the box of eggs in the back of the fridge – they are 3 weeks past the USE BY date – you are not going to eat them… what do you do with them? Here is the HOTBIN ...
Read More »CAN I USE HEAT FROM COMPOSTING IN A HOTBIN?
CAN I USE THE HEAT FROM THE HOTBIN COMPOSTING TO HEAT MY HOUSE, WATER OR GREENHOUSE? Several customers have asked questions about heat recovery and using the heat from HOTBIN composting to heat water or heat the greenhouse. Here is a quick summary of the answers: Can I recover the ...
Read More »Composting Leylandii, Conifer and Pine Needles HOTBIN
YOU CAN COMPOST ALL FORMS OF CONFER Some composting advice state: ‘do not compost leylandii, pine needles or other conifers as they create acidic compost and soils’. Below we set outline whether this is a myth or fact. Will leylandii compost in the HOTBIN? Yes. Leylandii and pine needles can be ...
Read More »How to hot compost wet food waste successfully
Waste “Too Wet” to Hot Compost Occasionally it can be a struggle to get the HOTBIN up to 60C. One of the most common issues is the waste is “too wet” for hot composting. In this post we explain what this means and how to fix it. What does ‘too ...
Read More »Autumn is coming – It is the time of year for the major garden clear up.
Autumn is Coming – Here are a few tips for managing your HOTBIN after your garden clear up! Time for the big autumn tidy up which means lots of waste. Unlike a traditional heap the HOTBIN will not freeze and continues to work over the winter providing you with a ...
Read More »Worms and compost
The HOTBIN team were recently asked if the partially composted material in the base of the HOTBIN could be moved out and placed in a wormery. Worms will eat both old or new organic plant & food waste. We are not sure what benefit you get by taking waste from ...
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