We’ve Got White Smoke!

No, not another new Pope story. Not even white smoke really.

The composter is really kicking into life right now. Yesterday I got about five bags of grass cuttings from my brother-in-law. There was so much grass I could only fit in three, so there’s a bit left over for later!

Regular readers will know that I’ve been playing with this composter since January, but it never seemed to be filling up past about a third full. Yesterday filled the bin almost to the top, and so I gave it a bit of a mix up to bring some of the older material to the top.

So I got home today with gardening on my mind (oooh - title for a blues song?), and after a bit of pottering about lifted the lid off the composter to dump some broken twigs and leaves inside. Immediately, a waft of smoke and gentle heat hit me in the face! This is the effect I’ve been waiting for - the moment when the chemical reaction inside the bin starts producing heat. This is one of the signs that the composter is working properly!

I’ll let you know how long it takes to break down the first lot of grass cuttings and we move on to the other two bags. In the meantime, I’m going to try to step up the kitchen waste (peels, cores, etc).