Cardboard and paper in compost.

I have a load of cardboard and paper to get rid of and I was going to put it on the compost heap. Do I need to shred it prior to chucking it on or just lob it on? Also how much can I put in? As I have about a car boot full to get rid of.

 

Hi Rusty,

I've made the fatal mistake in the past of overdoing it with one type of material in the compost and then seen it struggle to break down. Layering is best with a green material such as grass followed by a brown material such as paper or cardboard.

The smaller paper or cardboard is then the quicker it will tend to break down as all the microscopic bugs get to work. That said I launched a Pickfords removal box in mine today which a poorly chicken had been roosting in and I didn't fanct trying to tear it up!

I think that non-coloured cardboard is probably advisable and glossy paper isn't recommended but given time it all breaks down, just some things may contain chemicals which you don't really want to introduce to your soil.

Good luck, its great when it works!

MrM

 

Yes, I go along with M - best shredded or torn up and mixed with soft green material such as grass cuttings or green prunings.

a-a

 

I agree, 2 to 3 inches of green material, then 2 to 3 inches of brown. Do this until bin is full. If you are using one of those dreadful plastic darlek things, then don`t bother, just chuck it in.

 

I just can not find enough brown waste to layer mine 95% grass cuttings and the rest made up of kitchen veg waste and paper/cardboard

I have never yet managed to get any of my compost heaps, to get any heat going
Ive bought compost activator stuff, I have used recycled larger
tried turning it every second week nothing

I have been to allotments over the years as a visitor and you can see the compost heap steaming, and if you feel it , it is actually very warm

I just can not compost, last years compost was just a black sludgy mess of grass cuttings and bits of hedging

I do not really have a "garden" just a 16 sq meter meadow and a green house, so I am never going to get any real brown stuff am I

Jack McH

 

Try a wormery, we started one this summer with a few red worms and they are breeding furiously, they chomp threw our waste at a frantic rate. They favour paper and cardbord, if I dig in and find old cardboard or paper it is covered with worms. I am new to this but I think that as long as we keep the frost out of the bins there is little else to worry about.

 

My compost heat has never really heated up either but I still get good compost in the end. It just takes slightly longer than others.

Have you tried introducing worms to your compost bin? Every time I empty mine I go to the local fishing tackle shop and ask for some brandling worms (although apparently they don't sell them anymore when I last went, but sold me that seemed similar). They only cost about £2 a pot and shall reproduce quickly. Also I like the idea of saving a pot of poor worms from being eating by the little fishys.

It does sound like you need to add a lot more newspaper and cardboard to your compost if it's coming out more slimy than normal. You're probably adding too much grass and not enough carbon. You could also try growing some cromfrey next year to add to the heap, this is good for heating it up, so I've heard. But then again it's green waste. I would stop adding so much grass cuttings and adding more paper. A great way to add paper I've found is to add shredded documents and post to the heap, it's the ultimate way to protect your identity.

Also is your compost heap kept in sun or shade?

 

HEAP is in part sun part shade depending on time of day but at the wrong times sun mornings and evenings only

I will try the worms route but not wormery, costs a fortune for the kit

Jack McH

 

When printed, cardboard packaging can have one of two different types of "Varnish" over the top of the printing. One is dull or satin iand that varnish is water based, the other is high gloss and is a UV highly toxic varnish, Ultra Violet light dries the varnish coat nice and quick on the printing press.

I never compost UV varnished cardboard, I send that to the recycle bin for the council waste dept to deal with. If I am in any doubt, it goes in the recycle bin. It probably wont do any harm when composted, but why take the chance?

Steve...

 

You don't need an expensive wormery Jack. We've two council supplied 'Daleks' to which we added brandling/tiger worms and they chomp through the compost at a great rate. The worms were left overs from a fishing trip. Whenever I remove compost from them I pick out a good handful of worms and add them to the main garden heap where they continue to chomp away. I never empty the 'Daleks' completely so there's always a good colony of worms left in them.

 

Is there a time of year for buying these worms ?
I know of a fishing tackle shop about five miles away
(well they sell licences to fish in a local area err trout I think) and sell rods and line Would they sell worms and at this time of year ?

I know "why not phone them" I do not wish to appear to be a plonker :-) this guy wants to buy worms in November

I thought you had to find EARTH WORMS but they are few in my borders this year which is quite good as there were none to be seen in April

Jack McH

 

I had heard of that and only compost plain brown cardboard and only newspaper without colour pics, consequently even less of the brown stuff to add

Jack McH

 

Close season for trout is 7th October to 14 March Jack so doubt if the shop would have stocks at present, but you could always phone and ask.
There's a number of suppliers you'll find on the internet who sell worms by mail order.
Earth worms live in the earth and while you'll find some in most compost heaps they don't process vegetable matter (including paper and card) like tiger or brandling worms do.