Composting with a Green Johanna

Following the Eco meeting in June on waste disposal, I decided I ought to be composting. Anthea Rossouw gave such an enthusiastic lecture on her success with a “ Green Johanna” that I put my scepticism to one side and ordered one from West Sussex County Council (at present they are offering them for £20 to residents.). I’ve gardened in Japan and was astonished how quickly rubbish became compost there but such high temperatures and humidity are never seen in Sussex so I have always assumed it wasn’t worth bothering in the U.K. I talked to my sister in Western Canada who always composts as she doesn’t have rubbish collection. “I’ve never had a problem, you ought to give it a try”.

My “Green Johanna” came in a flat pack-a clever trick as it is a large conical bin, but the instructions to assemble it were easy enough to follow. There was however one problem concerning the position of side doors and there was an addendum slip explaining how to shut them securely. However the picture was hard to follow so take special care. I found that the doors slid down in their slides but do stop short of their lock position. I had to bend the bottom of the bin slightly to encourage the door to fit exactly. It is correct when the bottom of the door is touching the ground and the top of the door rests on the top of the door frame.

How is the bin going to duplicate those Japanese conditions I mentioned at the beginning ? The secret apparently is the ventilation system. Unlike normal composters the bin bottom is closed except for tiny holes around the base of it and the bin lid can be accurately adjusted to limit the airflow. I should be able to encourage the little creatures I need by keeping the temperature up by limiting the air flow. If all else fails they sell an insulation jacket too but the implication is that it is not needed in the UK. The booklet with the bin has a useful set of pictures of the creatures I need but I’ve no intention of rummaging around to check if I have them all !

I was impressed with the booklet on composting that went with the bin as it contained sound advice simply written. I’m all set up now with the extra kitchen container that went with the bin strategically placed beside the sink. I’m now hoping that I will generate enough rubbish to have compost to spread on my garden in the Spring. I thought our Eco drive was supposed to encourage less waste !

Roger Khanna October 2009