New compost bin

Other half made me a compost bin out of pallents, after reading advice on here I will put some mesh around the inside so I don't have rats moving in, then I will start to fill it :gnthb:Question I have about 5 bags of leaves I have raked up, can I put them in as long as I mix them with other stuff ?

All advice greatly recieved as I am new to composting:cnfs:

 

unless chopped up by the lawn mower or shredded it is best to make a separate container - wire mesh is good - as they can take a long time to breakdown. Beech and oak are notorious at being slow to breakdown as are leaves from evergreens

 

Forget the mesh. Rats will just dig under. If you don't put cooked food in then it wont attract rats. Leaves are high in Carbon so need mixing 50:50 with soft, nitrogenous material such as uncooked kitchen waste ( peelings etc) or lawn mowings. Soft stuff on its own just becomes a smelly mess so needs the high carbon stuff like leaves, crumpled paper, straw or torn up cupboard to make good compost.
If it is made out of pallets then it might have air holes in the side that will cause that part to dry out too much so it is a good idea to line it with cardboard. It is also a good idea to cover the top to stop the rain getting in if it does not have a cover.