Getting the hot composters HOT again | using coffee chaff

[@ausfoodgarden]

Nice one! Here in Melbourne, there's an organization called "Reground" that will deliver a van load of used coffee grounds and bags of chaff for FREE. A fantastic bulk addition for your compost. Anyone using the chaff, make sure you mix it with other materials as it tends to mat up if you don't. Lovely video Eli and Kate. Cheers!

[@eliandkate]

Oh that’s brilliant. Much better than it going in landfill

[@ausfoodgarden]

@@eliandkate Yeah, that's why I try to mention it when I can. Most folks don't know it's there.

[@cpoco]

@@ausfoodgarden oooh that's brilliant... they may not deliver in my area (Ballarat)... but I've emailed them to see. Great resource!

[@eliandkate]

@cpoco 🤞🤞🤞

[@helenkeough4187]

What a super informative video!!! I can only get hold of grounds from the coffee shop, you are really lucky. The lady in the roastery... she was super passionate about it!!

[@eliandkate]

Yeah she is actually the founder, she’s an amazing woman

[@LTeppler]

We are slipping behind here on the coast of Oregon. Cold rain and a few overly hot days are making life miserable for plants. I can only pray for the cucumbers. I can't get beds constructed fast enough and babies are sitting so long in the greenhouse I am having to make the hard choice to compost some of them. The one thing that IS going right, is the worm bin. I can't get food in there fast enough! Every week I go out to see the pile reduced by half and when I dig my hand through, it's not mucky, it's teeming with baby wigglers at the top and fat earthworms near the gravel. It's wonderful. Off to get some outdoor soil to start filling up fabric pots so I can get some more babies out! :D

[@eliandkate]

We’ve got our fingers crossed for you

[@frankporterfield8121]

Thanks. Didn't know I would learn so much about coffee roasting.

[@eliandkate]

Every day is a school day 😁

[@katiekat6768]

Great video Eli…. Really enjoyed this… thank you 🤷‍♀️ Kate is a dab hand with the tools, those beds are great 👍🏻 I imagine whenever you have plans or are up to something Kate will be thinking ‘here we go, better get my tool box’ 😆 your a great duo. Found the coffee bean part really interesting. Happy gardening ❤️🌻🪴

[@katiekat6768]

Sorry should have been hug emoji not not I don’t know hands up … stupid fingers 😞😆

[@eliandkate]

Yup… her reply is usually… what now? 😂😂😂

[@GardenerScott]

Great video! So nice to see a garden that's growing well and gardeners who use local products.

[@eliandkate]

We’re so lucky, East Lothian is an amazing region for craft and artisan businesses that are only too happy to support residents.

[@CMDRSloma]

My neighbour works in a coffee shop, every now and then I aske her to bring me spent coffee grounds, around 10l at at a time in a bag. I collect cardboard (Amazon or from work) to add as brown's. Everything lands in my dalek compost bin. It's not hot composting but the benefit is that I have thousands of compost worms doing hard work because my compost never gets higher than 35C. Side note, never buy compost worms. My bin sits on paving stones but I had to buy a base plate for my composter. Despite the fact it's more or less an inch above the hard surface and despite I don't have lawn in my back garden and there is tarmac behind my fence they still found a way in. Literally every time I remove bottom opening when it's full I see hundreds of worms trying to hide surprised by sudden bright light. And it's the best type of compost, nothing beats worm casts. This spring I collected at least 40L of worm casts from the bottom of my bin. Perfect amendment. Don't buy worms, let the nature come to your scraps for a free dinner! Oh and "dalek" is waterproof.

[@eliandkate]

Yeah it’s easy to forget that when we add garden waste, there’s often worm eggs in it so the bin will naturally fill with worms. We’re the same, when the bin isn’t hot it fills with them.

[@sarabelden7092]

OMG you have a Dalek compost bin! That is amazing, did you buy it or build it yourself?

[@eliandkate]

Ha ha ha actually no don’t 😂😂😂 There are actually specific bins known as dalek bins because they are that pepper pot shape. Mine are hotbin composters, available from hotbin compost the company 😂😂😂

[@CMDRSloma]

@@sarabelden7092 LOL, it's because their shape everyone calls them "Dalek"

[@rosepetal45]

Great video Eli and Kate 😊. I find the subject of worms and compost fascinating (😅) as I never have any in my beehive composters. I'm quite nerdy about keeping the right mix of greens and browns, and get great compost from them.....but no worms ! Just googled and found a coffee roaster just up the road from me , so off to scrounge 😅

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

Love the opening shots tracking you. Nice. Fascinating about the coffee grinds in the coffee shop. How lovely of them to give you that access to see the process.. and therefore allow us to see it too. Thank you. I really fancy a hotbin composter but I fear I can’t possibly look after one of those and a sourdough starter. Not enough head space for that 😂 Love the bed covers. Great system

[@eliandkate]

For your needs I would say don’t get one. You’d be much better having a traditional bay system

[@TheFarmyardGarden]

@@eliandkate definitely. It’s what we have as we have organic material on tap. Still fascinate me though

[@dustyflats3832]

All interesting! I still have no idea how you drive with steering wheel on opposite side. 😅I could never do it. After changing out frost, plastic to bug netting in a 25’ long bed I began to wonder if I could do this as I age. Thought 💭 keep up the yoga moves or I won’t. We are able to have an open compost and I wondered if the tumbler kind would work faster. I see your first container is in the shade and wondered if it would benefit from more sun. I have no idea 🤷‍♀️ just a thought.

[@JohnWood-tk1ge]

Love coming in from playing in the dirt to see one of your videos! Planted lettuce starts, cabbage starts and broccoli starts today and onion starts yesterday. Coffee place Starbucks has a program grounds for gardeners and boy do I take advantage of it, compost and just spreading on the boxes. I take every bit they will let me have 😊.

[@eliandkate]

It’s the way to go ain’t it? Freebies

[@JohnWood-tk1ge]

@@eliandkate if it’s free it’s for me!

[@TheBeginnerGardener]

Great video. "See ya folks!".

[@Oktopia]

This is an extremely timely video. I'm about to do exactly what you're doing. I can fortunately source horse manure, straw, leaf, chicken manure, and cardboard paper quite easily around where I live. It's too early for nettles and comfrey but those will eventually be added. On top of that, I have a little wood ash, bokashi, and lucerne pellets. I'm excited about starting the process.

[@eliandkate]

Oh that’s loads! Woohooo

[@TheBeginnerGardener]

14:04 I now soooo want an Oat Milk Latte! ... (and a bag of chaff).

[@eliandkate]

Oat milk 😖 😂😂😂

[@juliemcgugan1244]

And a bag of chaff! 😆

[@eliandkate]

@juliemcgugan1244 I know 🤣🤣🤣

[@christinebrooks6364]

Hi Eli & Kate, great video, very interesting info about the process coffee beans. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊

[@eliandkate]

No worries Christine 😁

[@jamesx2703]

For the rain problem, i stick a bucket on top of mine and it keeps the rain out. Theyve recently redesigned the lid so i assume thjs fixes it. For quantity of material. I put a food waste bin at work for teabags etc to get a bit more stuff.

[@brianeasson889]

Great video guys, loved the coffee lesson, I too have a "cold" hot composter, awaiting grass from my daughter as I have no real grass.😊

[@eliandkate]

Grass is the one thing we have

[@amykent6934]

Could you do a garden tour at some point? Show what spaces you have to grow and what’s in them? I love watching videos like that and getting ideas for my own garden

[@eliandkate]

Well if you go catch up on the garden tour I did last time that will set you up nice for the one I’m in the process of making

[@amykent6934]

@@eliandkate I’m looking forward to seeing the new one and I’ll go back and watch the one from last year

[@eliandkate]

Last months Our BIGGEST episode EVER | Early March garden kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2eslmqtfNGLfpY

[@stephent1521]

Great video as usual. Interesting and informative. Thank you. 😊

[@eliandkate]

Glad you enjoyed it @stephent1521🤣

[@samanthahoos9827]

😂 First time I noticed the black poles with clothes lines 😂 and had to go back a few videos to see if they were new. 😂 Yep, easily distracted lately.

[@eliandkate]

😂😂😂😂 nope been there the entire time

[@Shanny1]

Not sure if you have tried it or heard of this. If you put food grade Diatomaceous Earth in your raised beds it will take care of your slug problem. Around the inside boarder so they have to move through it. Love your videos. Bless you both.

[@eliandkate]

Ah no it isn’t something that works here because it rains so frequently. You need to reapply it multiple times a day 😭

[@chicosgarden]

The cups in the coffee shop look like Ben Durack cups! A Scottish designer ❤

[@eliandkate]

Don’t know who designed them but they are partially made from recycling the coffee waste 😁

[@jimmyconnolly3461]

It was great to have the team back. Lovely interview with the lady in the coffee shop. 👍❤️🥂

[@eliandkate]

Was very uncomfortable filming in there, not something we’ve done before

[@radiotowers1159]

Interesting video especially the insight to your local coffee roaster, emptied my first load from my hotbin a couple of weeks ago, almost got all the good stuff out when.....all the fresh stuff went all over the patio, cant complain it works great.

[@eliandkate]

ha ha ha yup, has happened to us all at least once

[@lorainemcguire5795]

Interesting hearing about coffee beans and brilliant if your able to get hold of the used grinds ect ❤☕️☕️

[@eliandkate]

Great to be able to stop stuff going to landfill

[@paulinemorris5186]

i use chopped straw this used for horse bedding, cheaper than strulch

[@GemFacets]

I'd been swithering about hot bins for ages, and bought one about 6 wqeeks ago off the back of your videos (amongst others). Took awhile to get going, but jeezo - it's been running at around 65 - 70 degrees for about a week now! Remarkable things. Hoping to replace our open heaps with hotbins over the next year or so - we're very similar to you, suburban, glasgow. Thanks for your lovely vids!

[@eliandkate]

Yeah the attached gardens is the reason we have the hotbins. Just practicality. I’d much rather have open heaps, I think they work better, but gotta work with the space you have 😁

[@cpoco]

I thought you had some new fancy camera tech following you at the start.... but I assume it was actually the tech savy Kate? Lovely local business and circular economy work there :D

[@eliandkate]

Aha you were right first time, testing a new drone thingy 😂😂😂

[@Tamsins_Potager]

You're lucky you've found a source ... it's the quick or the dead around here for spent grounds and husks...and we have a huge number of coffee roasters and shops in my city. Now I need coffee ☕

[@eliandkate]

😂😂😂 that was the downside. It smelled great and made us want a coffee

[@docgrannrsgardencooking8719]

Thank you. Did not any of this!!❤

[@ninemoonplanet]

Coffee, daily drinking, and both my outdoor compost and the worm compost get the grounds. Worms love it, a long wit any tea leaves. I found out that the tea bags are now made with plastics, so they are disposed. Saved parsnip seeds from last year, planted and they came up. Soggy, little warmth, but my coll weather crops are still not going anywhere. Come on over Sun! Turned my cold compost, not quite up to expectations. 🤷

[@eliandkate]

The benefit of drinking loose tea 😁 No bags 👏👏👏

[@GardenofEmma]

I remember that video on the nets on the raised beds. I have tried strulch but never found it effective against slugs. I must remember to put some straw on the strawberries.. thanks for the reminder. I really need to get better at composting but love your bins. Good shout on the secret compost recipe

[@eliandkate]

Wow Emma so you’ve been with us a long time then 😁😁😁

[@GardenofEmma]

@@eliandkate funny enough when I was watching the video and you showed the repair needed I actually said oh they didnt last long then and then you said 2018!!!! Doesn’t seem that long ago

[@eliandkate]

@GardenofEmma 😂😂😂😂

[@BumblebeeAdventure]

🐝Thanks for the great video🌻

[@eliandkate]

😁

[@ginavalcke8162]

Good video Interesting you guys find more difficult to get browns than green at this time of the year - I have loads of brown but coffee grounds are my main source of green. Also interesting what you say about the Hotbin I thought they were miracle workers for home gardeners like ourselves.

[@eliandkate]

We don’t have enough things that need pruned etc at this time, so it’s mostly grass clippings

[@bethanskitchengarden]

I find hot bin composting more fiddly than it first appears, I have had it all fall on the floor before now too 😂 Loved your road trip and great info on the coffee beans. Was your coffee as nice as Steampunks? I loved her logo, the antisocial social club 😁

[@eliandkate]

oh that's definitely one of the things I've said too... I think it's harder than composting in a standard pile or bay. There are lots of benefits but its not the miracle people think. Well of course my coffee at home is better than anything we get anywhere else... of course :D

[@kathrynpaterson9335]

You might find a cheaper alternative to strulch if you go to a horse feed store and buy chaff which is made of chopped straw and alfafa, and the alfafa will provide nitrogen

[@eliandkate]

Alfalfa is super expensive here. Horse bedding is something that gets mentioned a lot

[@franceswatts4001]

Excellent timing! I got my bin in January and have only once got it running hot for a couple of days. I opened it for the first time yesterday and it was revolting, wet, soggy and not composted down. I was wondering what to do - now I know! Basically start again. Thank you.

[@eliandkate]

That’s generally the mix. You have too much green, hence it being wet and stinky. It needs more brown and some oxygen.

[@Bob-bo8ik]

Strulch is amazing.

[@eliandkate]

I like it 😁

[@Bob-bo8ik]

@@eliandkate I use it on almost everything.

[@Bob-bo8ik]

Gardenwise. I dont use it on my diiner.

[@CSaville]

I emptied my Hotbin for the first time about three weeks ago and was thrilled with the results. I managed to keep it going through most of the Winter but it went cold halfway through February just befrore we were away for a few weeks. You are absolutely right though using one correctly is like having another hobby. My bin is laying dormant at the moment but I'm planning to get the garden shredder out tomorrow to produce a load of bulking agent which I find is the trickiest part to get hold of. There is something strangely satisfying about getting the Hotbin really steaming away 😁 I found your mini tour of Steampunk really interesting by the way!

[@eliandkate]

A garden shredder would make a huge difference. Hope you appreciate it! 😁

[@chrissiehart22]

Wow very interesting x

[@eliandkate]

It really is Christie 😁

[@timflatus]

Seems a bit fussy to my way of thinking, but I have big open compost piles. Mine starts heating up as soon as I get enough grass clippings on it, I find adding more carbon to nitrogen slows it down. I can see the value of coffee chaff - it's become policy with me that everything goes through composting before it goes on the beds as I'm not digging.

[@eliandkate]

these types of bins are actually way more faff than a straight pile you're not meant to turn them but once they get wet, it's a right pain (sealed units), so it's just easier to go for a good old fashion addition and turn. Sometimes the old ways are just the best

[@skygazer1024]

Thanks for the video. Now I can show my husband why we need to empty our enclosed compost bin, add new brown and green to get it going again.

[@eliandkate]

Sometimes they just like a good turn

[@deborahjane68]

​@@eliandkateHusband's Or Compost 😂, Love Your Beautiful Garden

[@potagermalo]

Au top bravo 😊

[@christiecarter7651]

Great video and super information. We used rice hulls as mulch in our veg garden last year. I’d love to have info on your composters, Beno and Nasher. What your opinion on coffee grounds in the garden?

[@eliandkate]

Oh rice hulls are brilliant I’d love to get my hands on some. I love adding them to the soil mix. I add heaps of coffee grounds into my compost too. As I mentioned in the video, I don’t go for these spread it on top hacks as no matter what it is, it needs to compost down in order for the nutrients to be available to the plants but I add it to my compost bins. Our garden is fuled by coffee.

[@violaqueen2234]

Eli are you still using shredded paper in your composter? I invested in a paper shredder to handle all the paper which comes into our home, love it. It has really cut down on what goes out for recycling.

[@eliandkate]

Yeah It’s just too difficult without it

[@Bob-bo8ik]

Mine has been above ambient for the last few days,

[@eliandkate]

Mine are churning away awesomely now All the poor worms have had to evacuate

[@Bob-bo8ik]

@@eliandkate I just drained it for the first time. I got about 500ml of whatever it is.

[@eliandkate]

@Bob-bo8ik yeah so “apparently” you should only get an espresso shot 😂😂😂😂

[@Bob-bo8ik]

@@eliandkate it looked dry, so I poured it back in.

[@eliandkate]

😂😂😂😂

[@DavidGibb-vo3df]

I use horse bedding instead of strulch it's chopped up in 2 inches you get twice as much in a bail for about a tenner 1 bail will cover at least 3 8 ×4 beds.

[@eliandkate]

I did look at that after someone else recommended it. I’ve heard horror stories about it still having seeds. How have you got on with that?

[@DavidGibb-vo3df]

Never had any weeds it has been really good I bought it at a local pet shop that does all sorts for horses it's got no impurities it is treated so no weed killer are in it the only thing I

[@DavidGibb-vo3df]

Sorry only thing I found pansies seem to self seed in it randomly I think you need to get a quality one they are in sealed plastic.

[@eliandkate]

@DavidGibb-vo3df it has weed killer or not? Sorry didn’t quite understand

[@DavidGibb-vo3df]

Sorry my typing sucks it's sterilised

[@freakygardener8033]

I'm curious about those triple-pouch things you have hanging on your fence???

[@eliandkate]

if you mean the colourful things, they are just pots. We got them in the local garden centre a few years ago now. Handy for brightening the place up

[@freakygardener8033]

@@eliandkate I was assuming they were holders, for putting pots in, but they are VERY CUTE! 😍

[@freakygardener8033]

@@eliandkate Thank you for your VERY quick response! Even though we are on opposite sides of the planet, I noticed that you are just slightly farther north than I am (I'm in Minnesota, U.S.A) so MANY of your tips, seem like they should be good for me! Best wishes to you two!!! 🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸

[@eliandkate]

it's always surprised me to learn that we are further north than places in Canada etc... totally threw me :D We are 56 degrees north

[@leahwithheld783]

Do you have a source for those kits in the US?

[@eliandkate]

afraid not, they are an Irish company :( but you could come up with the same idea without the little corners etc. Just drill into the frame and push the tubing into the wooden frame?

[@Garden-of-weeden]

Excellent interview, did you get much left over?

[@eliandkate]

We still have heaps. Came home with two massive sacks. Gonna keep us going for a bit 😁

[@Garden-of-weeden]

@@eliandkate what a great resource To get Hold Of 😍

[@eliandkate]

@Garden-of-weeden they offered us tonnes of grounds as well but we figured we generate that ok 😂😂😂

[@carolinebown8686]

Fab video as always .... Do you only ever use your own homemade compost or do you occasionally have to buy a bag or 2 ....if so do you recommend any particular brand ? 🌷🌷🌷🌻🌻🌻🐝🐝🐝

[@eliandkate]

Oh we buy a lot. I can’t possibly make the amount I need through the year I’m hesitant to recommend a variety as I’ve not found one I’m particularly a fan of for the last 2 or 3 years

[@carolinebown8686]

Yes it's amazing how quickly a bag disappears ..... 😊

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

Is that North Berwick ??

[@eliandkate]

it is indeed :D

[@BEGGARWOOD1]

Lovely . Before moving south at age 13 I was brought up in Dalgety Bay and have many happy memories of North Berwick ! Dont miss the cold though

[@eliandkate]

@BEGGARWOOD1 cold yes but the last frost date is brilliant 😂😂😂😂

[@cyndywaskelisthecrowscall]

Just curious, Eli - what is on your hat? I think I know, but I can't quite read it.

[@eliandkate]

It’s a Michigan State hat - Go Spartans!!!!

[@cyndywaskelisthecrowscall]

@@eliandkate that's what I thought! My parents grew up in East Lansing and were lifelong Spartan fans. Thanks so much for the nostalgic smile! ❤️

[@leahwithheld783]

Spartans rule! How on earth did we end up with a Spartan in Scotland?? MSU CVM ‘94

[@eliandkate]

@leahwithheld783 I studied online with MSU (photography) :)

[@sallyfenney429]

😊 Hi ya! Can you link details of the little cold frame thingy (4.22 in the background) thank you!

[@eliandkate]

It’s actually the cover that you buy for veg trugs… we just use it as a separate thing

[@sallyfenney429]

@@eliandkate good idea!

[@jimmyconnolly3461]

lol!!! 😂😂😂

[@jimmyconnolly3461]

The first 30 seconds 😂😂😂

[@eliandkate]

?

[@jimmyconnolly3461]

The camera was filming you from very high up. Everyone will think it was Kate. 😂😂❤️

[@eliandkate]

@jimmyconnolly3461 oh it was even higher than that

[@jimmyconnolly3461]

At least Kate isn’t scared of heights. 😂👍❤️