Suggestions into improving the quality of my compost?

Deep_Ocean

I have been composting for a few years and have been successful on the most part. I sieve out all the large bits and put them back into the compost bin for the next time.

The trouble is that the compost is always very heavy and muddy. It is nothing like the soft light dark compost brought from the shops. What do they add into the saleable compost which would also improve the quality of mine? I have tried increasing the amount of paper and cardboard but nothing that I try has any positive effect, it always amounts to the same heavy compost regardless of what has been composted. I wonder if there are any chemicals that I could buy. Could anybody advise?

Thanks

ginvzt

I was always told that the home made compost will be nothing like the shop bought one. Maybe someone can advise on what can be done though to improve it. I have only started composting couple of months ago, so no advise from me...

Deep_Ocean

ginvzt wrote: »

I was always told that the home made compost will be nothing like the shop bought one. Maybe someone can advise on what can be done though to improve it. I have only started composting couple of months ago, so no advise from me...

Yes I read that as well in the leaflet that came with the compost bin. But it is obviously possible to create such compost as it is clearly made somehow. Unless you need special machinery or something.

The compost from the bin is a good way of recycling and I am sure that it is nutritious for the garden. But it is not give the soft spongy feel that the compost in retail outlets give. It is not a patch on the proper stuff.

ixwood

I guess they chop everything up 1st and have huge heaps that actually get up to a decent temperature. And of course, a lot of them have peat in, which is effectively harvested/mined, not created.

splodger_seedswapper

well i make lovely compost at home and on the plot - and it is much better than any shop bought stuff

i put quite a bit of effort into getting nice compost - and i doubt others would bother as much as i do - but i guess i value top quality (and free) compost more than some might

i live close to a river - on the edge of a rural village - so rats are always a major problem when composting food waste - so i have an old wheelie bin that i use just to put food waste in - when it has rotted down enough - i then empty the contents into my main compost bins (i used builders / dumpy bags last year as compost bins - they worked a treat

all soft green garden waste gets composted - and i always add manure every so often - as long as the heap is kept warm and moist - it should break down easily enough

i don't put cardboard or paper in my compost though

Sally_A

I get crumbly stuff, mind you I do have 6 bins on the go, rough guide to my layering is:-

Kitchen Waste
Clods of clayey earth that come to the edge of the bed when raking, or are too hard to break up when digging over.
Grass cuttings
Shredded paper
Bonfire ash
Horse manure

Bins are kept in a sunny spot.

The top 12 inches are so are often not broken down, these just get chucked back in to start of a new bin.

I've found ants are brilliant at breaking down hard clods of clay, and make sure your bin is on soil so the little red worms can climb in and do their stuff.

valk_scot

Potting compost (the sort you buy from the garden centre in big bags) and home made bin compost are not the same thing at all. Potting composts were traditionally made from sieved bin compost + sand + well rotted and sieved leaf mould in varying proportions. You can still do it this way of course but most folk tend to buy the pre-mix. But your actual bin compost is much more solid than bought potting compost, which contains peat or coir to make it open and light.

I make a lot of compost...two big cubic metre bins made from pallets, three green cone types and an overflow builders bag, normally. I just opened up a bin that's been maturing for two years and though it was made from a good mix of ingredients and has totally rotted down it's still very, very solid stuff. Think heavy fruit cake rather than light as air sponge cake! Still, I've covered four beds with a 2-3 inch layer of this stuff and it will get worked in by the worms soon enough and do the bed soil no end of good. What's not to like?

Deep_Ocean

I am wondering if horse manure is perhaps the key ingerdient. I like Valk_scot's description of 'thick fruity cake rather than light as air sponge cake' this is exactly my issue. Perhaps introducing horse manure could increase my success.

I had an issue simlar to SS above regarding rats, I solved this by using chicken wire under my compost bin. It allows the small insects in to break it down but there is no way rats can get in. Not unless the chew their way in, which they haven't done yet. My house backs onto an open field so rats are never far away.

debtmess

to save me starting a new thread i am looking at buying 2 blackwell 220ltr compost bins when i move in a few weeks subsidised by the council

but i dont want a rat problem, currantly my area will collect all food waste for composting, this suits me as there is alot less for the bin, but with (hopefully) starting to grow veggies it would save me £££££ to be able to have my own compost

yumyums

debtmess wrote: »

to save me starting a new thread i am looking at buying 2 blackwell 220ltr compost bins when i move in a few weeks subsidised by the council

but i dont want a rat problem, currantly my area will collect all food waste for composting, this suits me as there is alot less for the bin, but with (hopefully) starting to grow veggies it would save me £££££ to be able to have my own compost

They collect all food waste in my area too but I got one of those subsidised bins and only put uncooked fruit & veg waste into it now. This means the stuff I send to the council is truly disgusting looking (mostly bones & plate scrapings!)
I don't have any problem with rats. I think it's only cooked food & meat that attracts them.

ginvzt

I bought a compost bin from Lidl, and it was 360l, square, and had base plate - so unless rats will chew through the plastic, they will not be getting in. There are holes in the base for insects to get in, and drainage, if it is too wet. It was £20, and it looks good, has 4 access panels (one on each side). It looks very much like Keter super composter.

Aldi were doing similar one for a similar price (slightly smaller), and one of the Aldis around me still had some the other week. Worth having a look if you are still looking for them.