The do's and dont's of composting

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Permalink Reply by Lucinda Lupin on August 2, 2012 at 16:18

Looking forward to the feedback I've not done a compost yet but would like to learn, I use good old horse manure and it does a good job on the roses!!

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Permalink Reply by Flighty on August 2, 2012 at 17:12

I compost just about everything. It all goes on the heap which I empty once a year during late winter or early spring then start again.  Anything I don't add gets burnt and the ash added onto the heap.

It's very much a case of each to their own when composting but this website is as good as any to follow - How to make compost - full instructions

There have been various previous discussions about this topic which a search should find.

Lucinda getting a compost heap going should be the first thing to do in any garden!   

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on August 2, 2012 at 17:55

Bindweed goes to the crematorium, along with the rest of the weeds, compost is cheap enough to buy, so I don't risk incorporating weeds.

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Permalink Reply by Joanne on August 2, 2012 at 19:23

I must admit everything gets chucked in the compost bins apart from any waste food of course. We also add a bit of manure from the fields at the back of us. Seems to do the trick.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Robinson on August 2, 2012 at 21:17

Virtually anything that was once organic goes into mine. That includes cardboard, shredded paper, kitchen waste, contents of the hoover bag, tea bags, shredded wood from pruning, combings from the dog.....

All perennial weeds are first stewed in water for a couple of months to make a liquid feed before going in the compost mix so no chance of them coming back to life.

I also incorporate seaweed but not everyone has access to that.

It works because I grow some pretty decent fruit and veg.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Beeton on August 2, 2012 at 22:48

That's interesting Colin as I was wondering about "woody" items.  Its is pretty much what started my train of thought on this topic as I was manually chopping up old raspberry canes to put in there.  I know that these will rot down eventually, just take a little longer than normal I imagine.  Also I guess that they will be more carbon rich than nitrogen so should help balance it up a bit.

Also I had seen on river cottage garden a segment on how bindweed can be soaked in water and is broken down by algae for liquid feed so I imagine this is similar to what you are doing.

Colin Robinson said:

Virtually anything that was once organic goes into mine. That includes cardboard, shredded paper, kitchen waste, contents of the hoover bag, tea bags, shredded wood from pruning, combings from the dog.....

All perennial weeds are first stewed in water for a couple of months to make a liquid feed before going in the compost mix so no chance of them coming back to life.

I also incorporate seaweed but not everyone has access to that.

It works because I grow some pretty decent fruit and veg.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Beeton on August 2, 2012 at 22:53

I agree, a bit of muck helps things along nicely.  Our chooks are as valuable for their poop as they are for their eggs.

Joanne said:

I must admit everything gets chucked in the compost bins apart from any waste food of course. We also add a bit of manure from the fields at the back of us. Seems to do the trick.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Robinson on August 2, 2012 at 23:00

Mike, to get decent compost you need a good mix of green and brown material. A shredder is a great tool for reducing woody material to something that rots down pretty quickly and I'm lucky in getting stuff chucked over  the hedge from my neighbour when he prunes his trees and shrubs. I got mine for £40 off ebay and it's helped me to produce around 1000 litres of good compost a year...well worth the investment.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Dixon on August 3, 2012 at 6:27

Regarding shredders. Anyone who has access to one of these larger office type paper shredders (about 2-3 foot tall) will find that they will easily cope with as much thick cardboard material as you can throw at em. A bin liner full of this stuff is great for mixing with all those lawn clippings and creating heat in the compost heap (both heaps and bins)

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Permalink Reply by Lucinda Lupin on August 3, 2012 at 12:23

Thanks Flighty - that's a good article and I will try and get my act together and get a compost going - where to put it though?

Flighty said:

I compost just about everything. It all goes on the heap which I empty once a year during late winter or early spring then start again.  Anything I don't add gets burnt and the ash added onto the heap.

It's very much a case of each to their own when composting but this website is as good as any to follow - How to make compost - full instructions

There have been various previous discussions about this topic which a search should find.

Lucinda getting a compost heap going should be the first thing to do in any garden!   

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Permalink Reply by Mr Sparkles on August 6, 2012 at 17:20

i put everything in my bin, but don;t use woody stuff as i find it takes too long to break down. Living 20 yards from the sea means i have access to plenty of seawed so it means there is lots of that foes in as well as being used for liquid feed! My grandfather used to say, "if it comes out of the ground it can go back in "

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