Now into the fifth month of the trial. I was given a Hotbin as part of a residents trial organised by Adur District Council. So far so good, actually so far, so very good
 
I have put almost 170 kg of material into the Hotbin. That is a mixture of shredded paper, kitchen peelings, garden waste, wood chippings and coffee coffee grounds. And I have taken out 45kg of really good quality compost and siphoned off 16 litres of leachate. The compost is currently being used as a mulch in the Home Garden around the perennials that will over winter and roses planted this year

​Hotbin user? Let us compare notes 

Data is here  https://thoughtfulgardeningwithandy.weebly.com/hotbin-trial-data.html

Hotbin Trial with Andy. After 3 months the first compost is made, weighed and will be added to the Home Garden tomorrow

About 120kg of wood chippings, garden waste, shredded paper, kitchen waste and coffee grounds have produced a large pot full of beautiful compost weighing just over 10kg. I will be taking more over the next few days
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My Hotbin was given to my family as part of a trial organised by Adur District Council in combination with the manufacturer https://www.hotbincomposting.com/
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Hotbin Trial with Andy. 120kg up! As a part of my Hotbin trial with Adur District Council I have now reached within 3 months a total of over 120kg of materials put into the bin. The data is here https://thoughtfulgardeningwithandy.weebly.com/hotbin... and is a mixture of kitchen peelings, chippings, garden waste and coffee grounds. This is the equivalent to 500kg or there abouts in a year and brings into sharp focus the impact that using a compost bin has on waste management. Over the Bank Holiday weekend I will begin using some of the compost that had been created in the Home Garden. More about my gardening thoughts and ideas here https://thoughtfulgardeningwithandy.weebly.com/

Hotbin trial. I am undertaking a trial with Adur District Council in West Sussex to use a new method of composting. I have been given by Adur Hotbin to use at home

What goes into the Hotbin and how much?

Read any articles or books about composting and pretty soon it comes apparent that the best compost is the result of mixed ingredients. To have solely grass cuttings, garden waste of leaves does produce usable compost but a combination gives better results

To date, I have put getting on for 100kg int the Hotbin, not an inconsiderable amount that in certain circumstances would have been “thrown away” and not utilised.  To find out how much and what I have used Please Click on this Link
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Paper shreddings, coffee grounds, chippings, kitchen waste and garden waste have all been added and have produced temperatures within the bine of about 50 Celsius inside the Hotbin in the daytime falling slightly at night. It is this heat that is essential for the production of compost
I am about six weeks into the trial. In another six, I am likely to have compost to begin using on the Home Garden
 

​There is a blue button to the bottom right of the Hotbin, or more correctly perhaps a cap that one removed lets flow leachate. Leachate is an interesting and most beneficial bonus to the Hotbin design. It is the liquid that is produced by the process. And not just any liquid, it is in fact a liquid fertiliser that is diluted 1:10 in water ( I try to use harvested rainwater ) to give plants a definite boost. This morning I used the liquid to boost the beautiful roses, marrows and Mock Orange in the Home Garden

They say that you wait a long while for a bus then two or three come along at the same time. Seems it is a bit like that with Hotbins!

I learned that my North Lancing buddies Joyce and Peter bought theirs back in March this year. Of course with lockdown and restrictions we have not been able to meet up but we were able to do that recently. And there is the Hotbin Mini! I do think that these bins look good, more so here against the lovely flint wall. Three months into it they are looking to use the compost later this month

As well as producing compost the Hotbin makes Leachate, a liquid fertiliser that is diluted 1:10, another bonus

Joyce, Peter and I will be comparing notes on how we are getting on and including that in the Blog

I have now begun the trial by putting materials into the Hotbin! A really interesting mixture to begin with

• chippings
• shredded paper
• kitchen peelings/waste
• waste garden materials and trimmings
• coffee grounds (courtesy of Coffee Lounge in Lancing

All the above have been mixed together and in daytime the thermometer is at 50 Celsius and overnight at 25 Celsius 

We are now getting into the routine of filling up the Hotbin. I am tending not to just put one type of material at a time, rather a mix. So if there are lots of green materials then I also add  shredded paper of chippings. This fulfils one of the recommendations based on the experiences of others that I read about, to keep everything dryer rather than wetter 

​So, a beginning!

Gardening became a new pursuit during the pandemic. Being in the fresh air, growing food, seeing beautiful flowers and gaining a sense of achievement about those became a new and enjoyable phenomena to large numbers of people. They joined the existing roll call of those dedicated to the plants, the flowers and the fauna. Everyone had a boost to their wellbeing. 
That sense of achievement that I mentioned is a powerful thing. Being able to say "I grew that" never sounded better. Those potatoes, roses, herbs and cucumbers were much discussed. Against the dark background of the pandemic these flashes of light were powerful and created interest both for the achievements but also at a time heightened interest in the environment and Planet Earth. Contributions were made to that and learning too
There is still a fair bit of mystery about compost. Not the sacks of material that we buy for sowing seeds and growing plants but garden compost, the heart of good soil and plants
I make garden compost at the Home Garden and Plot 106. Using large plastic compost bins I am reasonably good at it
​It was a considerable pleasure to be asked to take part in the Adur trial and I will be regularly updating my progress on here ...