My compost isnt doing anything....

soon2bjobless

I got a compost bin last spring (the black ones from the council) read all the gumph and have been putting in exactly what they say (in fact with the rabbits bedding etc it got really full) Havnt looked at it all winter and was quite excited when I opened the lid.............and nowts happened! I turned it over (that was an effort) and it all seems really dry and nothing seems to have broken down.

Help! what am I doing wrong?

WestonDave

Sounds like its a bit dry and could do with watering. Apparently male urine is particularly good for this but normal water will do if you prefer.

They also tend to be less active during the colder weather as the bacteria go dormant.

fwor

The rate at which organic material breaks down depends on a few factors. I've had 4 compost bins for six years now, and I've always had to wait at least 2 years for the compost to be useable.

It certainly sounds like yours is too dry, but other factors which slow the process down are if the bin is not in a sunny position, if it's not on ground through which worms can easily access it, and if it becomes too compacted and air cannot get into it (being waterlogged doesn't help either, but that's obviously not the problem here).

If it's really dry, try adding water or, better, urine - this accelerates the process.

Lotus-eater

The answer is cold, it has been and stuff doesn't break down much when it is.
Now it's getting warmer, tip it out and turn the mixture, put it back in and put some urine in as said. Get it quite wet.
It will instantly start working, will start to get hot and steam very quickly.

It does depend what you have put in it though, some of the greens may have rotted away, which will be helped by the urine, but you can also put in extra greens at the turning point.
If your mixture contains straw, it will need a lot of nitrogen rich stuff to deal with that, so keep stuffing in the urine, but not too wet.

4li5on

We just emptied the latest batch out of our compost bin yesterday to get it dug into the garden.

We have a house rabbit and put all of his litter tray contents (we use wood pellets which give the compost good texture) in (whiffs a bit but it's doing the job) but we don't put a lot of his bedding in. We found the hay was taking ages to rot down and made the compost very rough.

Make sure you add plenty of veg peelings as they add moisture and in the summer, when it's hot, as a big watering can full of water with a drop of compost accelerant every 10 days or so.

Our poor old bin was having a few problems, so we dug out the usable stuff yesterday, then emptied the rest to fix the bin and give it a new lease of life so we should get a few more years from old faithful.

Also, OP, your comment about turning it over. What sort of bin do you have? If it is one with a door at the bottom on the front, you shouldn't turn it (well, we don't!) The natural process of the rotting and being compacted means the compost at the bottom is easily accessible when ready and you can see if it's ready. Once you've emptied out what is usable, the rest will drop down after a few days and continue the process!
Don't have any experience with ones without the door at the bottom!

soon2bjobless

Thanks for all your answers -we have the one with the door at the bottom but I decided to rake around in it to see if anything was happening - nothing at all.... I have decided to move it as it doesnt really get any sun....me and oh are going to shift it this afternoon and I;m sure he would love to pee in the bloomin thing but will get him to do it in a jug and not frighten the neighbours!!!

Diane_MacRae

I wouldn't bother moving it unless you need to for other reasons; our compost is in a fairly shady position & has no trouble getting hot all on its own! As others have said, you do need moisture in your compost, but most importantly you need a variety of compost, ie some fibrous, some lush/green stuff - all mixed up. This in itself can provide enough moisture without frightening the neighbours! It seems easy just to put in a load of grass or a load of plant material (or in your case, rabbit bedding) as you get it, but it won't rot down easily & you risk just getting layers of uncomposted slime & straw. If you have a glut of one type, it's worth keeping some to one side & adding it later when you have a different type of material to mix it with. Hope this saves you an unnecessary move.

tripod2000

The bins with the door at the bottom is good for easy access but the heap should still be turned to get oxygen into the mix. Bacteria love oxygen and need it to break down.

conradmum

If you've been putting stuff in since last spring you must either be putting very little in or it has been rotting down but you couldn't see to the bottom of the bin. What can you see through the door at the bottom? If it's just straw you aren't putting nearly enough waste in to make a reasonable amount of compost.

You should try adding all your uncooked vegetable waste from the kitchen and weeds without seeds (or roots for the worst ones) from the garden. Grass clippings can go in too.