I need a new compost bin. We put our food scraps in there, so it needs to be rat-proof.
Should be durable and accessible.
I guess metal ones are the most durable. I wonder if the grid or solid ones are better. Solid is warmer (faster composting) but is perfect breeding habitat for slugs.
Glad for any recommendations. I’m in Germany if that matters.
We have a worm farm/bin for food scraps.
It means our compost bin doesn’t need to be much more than something to contain the pile of stuff.
So you put it in there first and then on the compost when processed?
Not quite.
The fluid from the worm bin is a potent fertilizer, water it down and use as liquid fertilizer.
Our bin lets us harvest the semi solid slab of worm castings from the bottom, which can be used directly as compost in the garden.
I should note that not all our food waste goes in the worms. E.g. meat waste (that doesn’t go in the dog) and onion skins go in our city’s food waste bin (or regular bin).
We did have a bokashi fermenting bin for those slightly more pestelent food waste items, but we couldn’t quite get the hang of it.
Are you able to get a hotbin in Germany? I think some garden centres in Ireland will ship them to mainland Europe if they aren’t sold directly. They do cost about €200-300, but they work very well. I’ve had one for a few weeks now and once the base layer was established it’s been cooking at 50-60°C consistently and should produce either a mulch within the next few weeks or compost within 90 days of it being started. There’s a carbon filter on it to reduce smells and the whole thing is made of thick polypropylene so it should be fairly rat proof. I keep it in my greenhouse to have an additional barrier from rats and because the steam from the vent is helping a little with keeping frost off my seedlings since there has still been some snow and hail here even in March. The only real downside so far has been the price.
Interesting, I’ll have a look. They are available in Germany, but even pricier than you mentioned. Do you put rougher garden stuff in there as well? Like poison ivy? I could image the higher temperatures can handle it and also kill the seeds. Do slugs get in?
I put nearly everything into it, since they claim the hot temperatures are enough to kill perennial weeds and to process cooked food quickly enough to not attract rodents. The rougher stuff is good since it helps keep some airflow between the base and the vent. I saw one slug in the early days and it was on the lid trying to get out, haven’t seen any since then. The 60°C temperatures are probably too hot for any pests to want to climb inside and if they did they would turn into compost quite quickly. But it is stupidly expensive, I had it in my basket for about two weeks before deciding to buy it.