What to put in the compost heap list.

Evening all,
Ive spoken about the soil/manure and the compost both vacuumed packed and home made compost and i said that tonight i'd post a list of what you can use to make your very own compost.

I did want to keep this as a very simple list but having given thought to one or two items we use and why we use them im thinking i'd better explain why these few items are used so lets start with the list.

Human "urine"
Yes the victorian's we're great ones for having pots under the bed and all the urine "only" contents we're tipped over the compost heap and this helps the rotting down speed up, It's still used today and is excepted as a good additive to the heap but only urine and no other human form of defication is tobe used.

Wool/cotton "natural" materials,
Again pure wool and cotton rags are an old offering to the heap and if you intend to leave the compost heap for at least 12 month before wanting to use it ? the wool & cotton will have rotted enough to be of use,
I myself find the wool side of this formula a bit of a long wait, "But wool makes a smashing liner for hanging baskets and when your baskets are ready to go on the compost heap at the end of their use just tip the lot on the compost heap.

Make your compost quicker by shredding everything before you put it into the compost heap,
small even sized pieces of material will heat up quicker.

Turf (placed upside down on the heap (it rots quicker this way up)

Grass cuttings (but not to thick a layer " if you put to much to thick a layer you'll just have a soggy green slime",

Manure,
remember "horse" is hot manure and will keep the heap hot,

"Cow", is cold and wet and takes longer to rot "But" is excellent for the heap,
chicken/foul again chicken house cleaning offerings are a good offering "but" all foul offerings have more lime than most compost making materials so spread it on the thin side and add the likes of straw ect on the top of it.

Garden waste such as spent tomatoe storks/ plant cuttings, fruit, weeded weeds (the heat will kill any seeds) verious leaves ie lettuce/cabbage ect


Comfrey, (plant) Is one of the best activators to go on the compost heap
it's also excellent for liquid feed maker (more on this subject another time)

dead plants (storks must be really bashed about so they'll rot down use a hammer)
old composts (just tip it on the heap)
hedge cuttings

Kitchen waste,
fruit peel
old tea bags
coffee-grounds
veg peelings
bread crust etc
Hair "both human & animal.
The contents of the vacuume cleaner bag
nail clippings
shreaded news paper or cardbourd.

Straw or hay.
Leaves (if you lots of these then compost them on their own to make leave mold)

Sawdust or fine wood chippings

If your a bear maker? the spent hops

feathers
(dont chuck the old pillows away and fill the land fill sites empty them on the compost heap)

Seaweed from your days out at the sea side,
this is an excellent item for the compost heap or to put around plants.



A list of the" DO NOT PUT ON THE COMPOST HEAP"

Meat scraps or bones
these will attract rats /mr fox, and the local dogs.

Weeds or grass cutting "After you've used weed killer"

Manure from cats /dogs /humans or cat litter trays
(these may carry diseases which if used in compost may then be carried into the soil.

Used paper hankies or disposable nappies sanitary towels, (due to health risk factors)

Plastic, glass, man-made fibres or other hard non rottable materials.

House hold cleaning fluids; old sump oil, or unwanted garden chemicals.

Leather, chromium salts used in tanning process can build up in the soil creating a toxic reisdue, this reduces plant health and if used on the veg beds could effect people who eat it.

Shiny card or paper, paper or card with colour printing (these may contain lead or other harmful chemicles.

Large amount of pruningd from conifers (these will take a long time to rot down and are acidic,

if you have large amounts of these compost as a seperate operation and add lime

Diseased plan material, "important" burn or send to landfill" if you put these diseased plants on the compost your spreading the disease and re-interducing it to your garden.

Leaves from prickly plants like roses or thorns (they take a very long time to rot down and can cause injury when turning the heap over "not worth bothering with)


Shreading!
One of the best ways to rot down the contents of the compost heap is by shreading as much as you can also a good shreader i feel is worth its weight in gold whan it comes to keeping weeds down around paths,
if you have or are thinking of raised beds and the space between each bed is covered with the shreaded waste of hedge cuttings ect "then these machines are a good buy.

Well i'd be the first to say this is some list,
But for the "new to gardening" its both a saving in as much that you'd only be chucking away the items to make compost and then going out and buying it, plus the other side of the coin and much more important is knowing what "NOT" to be using to make compost.

There are all sorts of things ive not talked about tonight, ie wood ash /soot ect but in order not to make you feel this lot is to much to take in.

I hope you've enjoyed this little welcome to the garden and if i can say one thing to keep you interested its this,

No two days are the same in the garden world no matter if your just a veg grower or flower's or fruit, its a wonderful hobby that can feed you and help keep you a little fitter than sitting in the chair all day.

Thats it from me for a whilen but if you need more? just ask.

Regards Moonraker.



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I myself have a little plastic bin out of sight & with a tight fitting lid on near the kitchen outside, and this is emptied daily if used.



No more than 2inch thick at a time,

 

thanks moonraker ive just bought a composter from b&q so youve really helped x

 

Hi,
you'll not regret it.

 

il get the 3 box system composter up and going like you have as soon as i get all the materials :O)

 

Moonraker very good write up mate,positioning a heap is important aswell but as the best position is usually a good growing area the compost gets shoved into the spare bit left over not always ideal.Mine is under a 70' pine tree and needs regular watering as it does not rain under the tree!

 

Thankyou for the post Moonraker, one new thing i learnt in your list was i can add Bread crusts, i usually chuck mine out for the birds on the green infront of my house, i will share it between them both

 

Fantastic post some very useful tips Thank you Moonraker

 

Hi flowerpot,
I must admit that i feed the birds every day and i make all kinds of bird nesting house's from ones made out of "wait for it" clay flower pots
And they work and look good, to all kinds of shapes and as i say i have them all over the garden,
Now feeding the birds, I feed them home made bread "but" i did write for a long time for a BBC forum and i ended my daily thread by saying "remember to feed the birds and one day i got an "e" mail from an old lady telling off for feeding bread to the birds, she said it swells in their tummy and the birds dont get enough to keep them going until their next feed.

I still feed the birds every day "sun flower seeds" are the main food as i buy a bag every 3 weeks all summer until winter and also a net of the balls the birds like,
So during the bad weather i dont put the bread on the compost "but feed it soaked in milk along with the sunflower seeds.
They really do need a help in hand during this freezing weather