Following on from last week’s post, I’ve also been getting fed up with the rats burrowing into my compost bins. Looks like a mini version of the London Underground at times as the pesks search out tasty morsels of banana skins or cherry tomatoes. So decided to put all those raised bed planks to good use, tidy up the look of the compost area and make things more difficult for the rats at the same time by making some beehive style compost bins to replace the pallet and carpet affairs I’ve had up to now.
This plan for a beehive compost bin doesn’t have the quaint angled sides, but uses the same principle of stacking sections and is much easier to make. I used sides measuring 122cm (4ft) by 15cm (5.9ins). My beehive bins are pretty big, with more than a cubic metre per bin. I’m ensuring there’s plenty of capacity for the large amounts of grass cuttings I get when the cemetery grounds have been mowed. Guess in most cases something nearer 75cm (2ft 6ins) to 90cm (3ft) per side would be adequate.
The width of your plank dictates the height of the support you attach the sides to… make the support slightly taller than the plank so some air gets into the compost, but don’t leave too high a gap. Mine’s set at 5mm (0.2ins).
You then fix the supports offset against the planks so each section fixes into the previous section, as shown in the final positions and side section view diagrams. Click the image to enlarge, and there are photos at the foot of this post showing my efforts. 
Ambled up to the allotment last Saturday morning to be confronted by one of the big shed windows smashed. Looks like vandals thought they could improve the appearance of my shed and chucked the spade I’d left at the back through the window. Nothing else done… didn’t touch the greenhouse, just sheer wanton vandalism. Another allotment holder reported a couple of young lads, one holding a hockey stick, wandering uninvited onto their plot, the intruders not realising anyone was there since they were sheltering from the rain in a polytunnel. So I’ll keep an eye out for them. Fortunately I had two double glazed window frames ready for just such an eventuality, and they’re now in situ.
Really heavy rain at the beginning of the week. Never seen the allotments so flooded before. Photos below. But as the first day of March arrived so did the sunshine, at last!
Another visit to the magnificent Wembley Stadium on Wednesday to watch England’s friendly football match against Egypt, their last match at home before the World Cup in South Africa. Unfortunately England didn’t play particularly well, conceding a goal in the first half before going on to win 3-1. Travelled down to London with sons David and John for an early afternoon visit to some interesting historical pubs. Sons didn’t appreciate the history… they were expecting noise and a pub games machine, so we ended up at The Knights Templar in Chancery Lane, a Wetherspoons pub… though I must admit it was good value for food and drink. Some video clips below of sons and Wembley Stadium. Much fun when John, as we flitted between pubs, thought he saw a good one named Clerks Inn… actually one of the Inns of Court facilities in the legal area of London we were strolling through.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment