WHAT CAN I PUT IN MY COMPOST BIN
HI ALL
i was thinking:-
grass clippings
veg peelings
egg shells
is this about it,and is there any chemicals that can help the compost rot any quicker,and is there anything else that i can add to help my veggies,
best regards bob
Views: 434
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jan Willetts on -
I wholeheartedly agree with Flighty on the above recipe. Kitchen waste is added from a mini bin under the sink-teabags/leaves and coffee grounds all help. Potato peelings are a nuisance-mini potato plants seem to grow from nothing. I don't put cooked foods in because we have a rat problem. I layer veg and garden waste with shredded paper(avoid window envelopes and anything glossy), occasionally straw goes in between the grass clippings in summer to avoid slime. You can buy commercial compost activator but comfrey is more natural, and I encourage the men in the family to add some urine if they are in the vicinity-its sterile and free! You can add leaves but they slow things down unless mixed with grass. The odd bag of free horse manure doesn't go amiss either, guinea pig/rabbit/chicken droppings are excellent too!
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Permalink Reply by Malagrowther on -
I don't turn my compost either, but then I've got a team of brandling worms that turn it for me and accelerate the whole process! Once you've got some you just need to keep conditions within their zone of tolerance and they go on from generation to genaration. Ours have been going about 15 years and survived winter temperatures of -14C so they really are very tolerant!
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Permalink Reply by Mark on -
Pee is good but when adding grass clippings try mixing with shredded paper/documents to avoid the slime/mould/smell/matted layer. Never had any problems with spuds growing from peelings but then I use one of those swivel peelers. Horse manure should go straight on the beds if it's well-rotted. Fresh horse manure should not go in the compost - treat it like leaf litter as it takes at least a year to rot down enough. Best accelerator is fresh chicken droppings. Shredded leaf litter can go in but not whole leaves and while a well constructed compost heap will eat them cabbage stalks/runner bean plants/sweetcorn stems are best either shredded or burned and the ashes added. Never add anything cooked or meat, raw or cooked, or you will get rats.
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Permalink Reply by Damo on -
Hi, the only other thing I put in that's not been mentioned is the vacuum cleaner contents. I did a post on the "Quick Cook Method" of composting in my February 2010 archive but as yet have not got round to starting it!! It appealed to me as you can put pretty much anything in it as the heat generated by this method is significant and should kill off any weeds etc and you should have compost in 3-4 months. I am definitely going to give this method a go next year as the traditional heaps or my current dalek bin take too long and I end up shelling out on loads of compost each spring. Best of luck with it!
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Permalink Reply by Louisa @ The Really Good Life on -
Bit embarrassed to pimp my own site but it's whole point is to answer Flighty's "what can I compost" question - Can I Compost This? http://www.compostthis.co.uk/
It's a very conservative guide at the moment - advising against stuff that some people would compost without fail - but I wanted it to be a reasonably foolproof guide for beginners.
I'm currently working on a complete revamp of the site - loads of new content/reviewing old content, how-to guides etc and a pretty new design -- if anyone has any suggestions, do let me know :)
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Rideout on -
Hi Bob
Agree with comments already made, you've got 2 high nitrogen ingredients in your list which need to be balanced with carbon in the form of shredded paper/straw/shredded twiggy matter to get a good balance. keep your bin nearly full but with air pockets (scrumpled up paper, twiggy bits) the more stuff there is the quicker it will heat up and break down.
You may be able to get a subsidised compost bin through the county council called a green Johanna which takes all kitchen waste including meat,fish, dairy, cooked leftovers etc and garden waste. We don't have a lot of leftovers but this bin means you can put things like that in - I wrap the chicken bones in paper and put that in. Our bag for the binmen is small and doesn't smell. The only problem is that they are very expensive if not subsidised! If your council does not run a food waste collection service they should be offering this sort of compost bin.
Have also had success with putting 4 paving slabs with just a worm size gap between under the Blackwall type of composter and not adding kitchen waste until about half full with garden waste. Rats can chew through chicken wire but weldmesh keeps them out too. Adding a layer of garden waste or shredded paper on top of kitchen waste reduces smells.
Whatever you do, don't add chemicals!!
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Permalink Reply by Debbie on -
Yep I agree with all the aforementioned. My allotment compost heap is contained in old corrugated metal panels and so the heat does all the work for me, and my garden one is a green plastic affair that also gets quite hot, so I don't have a need for accelarators.
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Permalink Reply by Higgledy Garden on -
Put a layer of top soil in every now and then...its got all the goodies in it to get your compost fired up...and when no one's looking take a crafty slash on it...but don't get caught by Mrs Slater from my allotments or you'll get grief and evil stares for...well nearly six months now... ;)
PS If Mrs Slater is reading this...'get over it!' x
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Permalink Reply by SteffLovesSeeds on -
Hi Sarah, we have one of those bins.
Sarah Rideout said:Hi Bob
Agree with comments already made, you've got 2 high nitrogen ingredients in your list which need to be balanced with carbon in the form of shredded paper/straw/shredded twiggy matter to get a good balance. keep your bin nearly full but with air pockets (scrumpled up paper, twiggy bits) the more stuff there is the quicker it will heat up and break down.
You may be able to get a subsidised compost bin through the county council called a green Johanna which takes all kitchen waste including meat,fish, dairy, cooked leftovers etc and garden waste. We don't have a lot of leftovers but this bin means you can put things like that in - I wrap the chicken bones in paper and put that in. Our bag for the binmen is small and doesn't smell. The only problem is that they are very expensive if not subsidised! If your council does not run a food waste collection service they should be offering this sort of compost bin.
Have also had success with putting 4 paving slabs with just a worm size gap between under the Blackwall type of composter and not adding kitchen waste until about half full with garden waste. Rats can chew through chicken wire but weldmesh keeps them out too. Adding a layer of garden waste or shredded paper on top of kitchen waste reduces smells.
Whatever you do, don't add chemicals!!
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Permalink Reply by SteffLovesSeeds on
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What dear little robins :) We have a gentleman-robin who frequents the garden.
Flighty said:When I emptied mine at the beginning of March it certainly got the approval of the plot robins!
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Permalink Reply by Helen Gazeley on -
Hi, Bob
As you posted a while ago, you may or may not have found any problems with egg shells by now. I stopped putting these in the bins because they attracted rats. Not everyone finds this, I know, but the shells were being dragged out of the bins by the enthusiastic rodents. Baking the shells in the oven before adding to the bin might solve this, but when I've baked them, I crush them up and save them to sprinkle around as a slug deterrent.
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