Homemade compost is so exciting! (MERGED)

katskorner

skyepark wrote: »

i read somewhere that homemade compost cant be full of bacteria and disease, how can we make sure that our compost is good and wont damage our plants?

no cooked food, meat, bread, cat or dog litter / waste (they are carnivores), or perennial weeds and then you should be fine!

Keep it layered with wet and dry stuff (add shredded paper or cardboard sheets for dry).

nodwah

olibearhorse wrote: »

I've heard that male wee is very good but I can't quite bring myself to ask my boyfriend to carry out that task, he has enough bad habits!

Squiggle 37 - I think you should give it a go, from the posts in this thread there are obviously successful ways to deter them.

I would feel so guilty now throwing good veg waste etc away, I even comtemplate bring old work teabags home with me (now that is sad!)

I look longingly at my work kitchen bin! It's full of teabags, apple cores discarded salad etc, I even suggested a compost bin on site but was laughed out of the place

Kantankrus_Mare

Ohhhh Im so lucky. I have now accumulated 5 compost bins which I have down the allotment. I only started composting last year and as I work in a restaurant, everyone saves all salad waste, veg peelings, tea bags and coffee grounds for me. As you can imagine I can soon fill a bin.

I did find that what Id made last year DID break down but was very sloppy. This year Im making a more conscious effort to put more shredded paper amongst everything else. Fingers crossed

squiggle37

I have been thinking about it they are only a tenner after all, i do chuck alot of kitchen stuff away and always got garden rubbish, i will get one but not going to pee in it tho.
No doubt i will be back asking questions when it arrives.

Ange

middleman_2

My compost is starting to look quite good. The only problem is there aren't any worms to be seen but it's full of woodlice. Could this be a problem? I inherited it last year when we moved and just added to what was already there. Should I dump it and start again?

showtunesgirl

Oh the joys of compost! I got a lottie beginning of last year and I love making my own. However, we just got a new bit of land which really is just pure London clay so this weekend we are going to go to a farm and go shovel lots of manure to take back. I never thought I'd be so happy at the thought of shovelling sh*t! :rotfl:

olibearhorse

When I started this thread I didn't actually expect any replies, I thought I was embarrassing myself admitting to my love of compost :rotfl:

Middleman - I can't see why woodlice would be a problem? Is your composter on earth? i.e can worms get into it from the bottom? I wouldn't start again personally, I am sure that what is there is decent stuff - just have a good look at it, it's the only way!

showtunesgirl - I get huge amounts of pleasure shovelling sh*t, I feel I am getting something back from the money I plough into my horse!

middleman_2

Yes the compost bin is on earth but if my small flower beds are anything to go by I haven't got any worms!

Kantankrus_Mare

Concerning shovelling sh it or horse crap whichever term you wish to use :rotfl: Im a little confused about this.

Everyone tells me I could do with some of this on my ground at the allotment to improve it (really heavy clay soil) but Im sure I read somewhere you should leave fresh manure to rot down for a year before putting it on the earth

Be pleased if someone could clarify this for me as I have a stable not far from where I work and could go and ask them for some sh it! lolololol

olibearhorse

Ah, now after 23 years of shovelling it, I am a horse poo expert...:p

You must not put fresh manure on your lovely plants and soil, it needs to be at least 6 months old, well rotted manure.

I have a pile of poo which is constantly added too but never acutally cleared away so I take the very bottom stuff which you could barely recognise as horse poo. If you have a composter, put fresh manure/straw in it as it will rot down much quicker because of the heat and other yummy ingredients you add to it.

Hope that clarifies your poo question?