Instructions On Composting..

Excellent addition to this part of the site Shiney...and thanks to John also for the comfrey warning too...it was something I did not know and I will be moving my new comfrey plants to the alllotment next spring.

Steve...

 

Thanks for that Shiney. Very useful. Comfrey sounds like Borage, with those nasty little spikes!

 

Well, that's a job for hub then!

I started two compost bins yesterday, but placed them onto a slabbed area, which is sited next to where my greenhouse will be.
Is it absolutely vital that they ought to be on soil/hardened grass area? Or am I ok at leaving them where they are? One has a base with air holes in it, but the other is sat onto the slabs. Both have a mixture of brown and green, and I've mixed them up so it's not too layered. I did put more chopped brown matter on the base of the one on the slabs, to allow air to circulate, but; would it be more beneficial to put them both onto the grass/dirt to allow for mother nature to work that bit quicker?

 

Ah thanks Shiney, I do appreciate your thoughts on this. It's no trouble to move them, and I do have another suitable plot for them to go on. So, that's the weekend job sorted. :thumb:

 

I was given a large plastic compost bin yesterday and will start making some compost here at home ... I will attemp the 50/50 ratio (50% greens and 50% cardboard/paper)

a quick question ... is it advisable to add potato peels and onion skins to a compost bin? ... (these are the 2 most common veg we use at home)

I know that if you are using a wormery, onion and citrus is a no-no, and I have read conflicting reports about using potato skins

another one ... has anyone tried adding a can of flat coca cola to their compost bins on a regular basis? .... I have read that this speeds up the composting process

 

Some people don't put potato peelings in because sometimes they sprout. If your heap is hot enough they won't, and maybe you wouldn't care if they do - which is the approach I take on mine, chuck everything in (but I put roots of pernicious weeds in a bucket of water for 2 weeks to drown / rot them, and then chuck the lot on the compost pile. I don't think you have to worry about acidity etc. like you do with a wormery - these are bacteria and fungi doing the work, not worms (they will come in when the temperature of the heap reduces later in the composting cycle)

I wouldn't bother, but if its no hassle it won't do any harm. Better, IMHO, would be a source of Nitrogen. In Summer I pee on mine every evening when I close the greenhouse. That definitely gets the heap going and raises the temperature.

If you have time & energy enough to turn it that will make a big difference too. I don't bother, I just leave it at least a year, because I have other things to do. After the initial delay of "no compost for a year" my system provides me with just as much, just that each batch takes a year instead of a couple of months. (There are some compost-aerating "prongs" you can get which you just jam into the top and as you pull them out some hinged-prongs extend and "pull" the heap with the rod which stirs it up without having to actually empty the whole bin and put it back / into another bin.)

 

thanks Kristen .... at one of my clients, the compost bin contents are nearly 2 years old, and only now does the compost look ok on the bottom of the bin .... it is in a shady spot though and has never been turned

 

As Shiney says the top won't compost well, and like Shiney I just remove that and chuck it in the the bottom of the next heap.

In "just a heap" in the shade you have a couple of problems. No vertical sides, so a lot of surface area over the mound that doesn't retain heat well. If in shade its probably under trees, so may be lacking moisture too.

I think that "formula" can be improved by having a container (i.e.vertical sides); I think a black Dalek helps because it attracts sun heat in Summer, and helps retain heat. I also think the pee-on-it approach helps a lot (and saves water flushing the loo). If you can turn it that will help too, but all you are doing is speeding up the process, and once you reach equilibrium it makes no difference - so if you start turning now you will always have to turn, or suffer a 12 month delay when you stop turning (e.g. when you get old!) so you might want to not start turning it, eh?!

I put my rough compost (i.e. not fully composted) into the greenhouse borders in Autumn, mixed about 50:50 with manure (some soil goes in too - the stuff I have dug out to make planting holes), and that is the "soil" for the Tomatoes etc. the following year. By the end of the year it comes out a nice fine material (and, mixed with some grit) that becomes my Tree & Shrub planting "soil".

 

Thanks Kristen ... I will follow your advice aswell ... The bin I have is a large green dalek type with a lid (I think it's 8 cubic feet) .... There is no flap on the bottom though, but I'm not too concerned with that

I may also look at getting a wormery soon