Homemade compost is so exciting! (MERGED)

Cacran

You need to add a variety of things to the compost bin. Just grass clippings is no good.
Things you can add - Annual weeds, veg peelings, tea bags, contents of your vac bag, shredded paper (not glossy stuff), newspaper, woody clippings.
You need to get a variety of things so that it does not turn rancid.
Adding an accelarator like 'Garrotta' speeds up the process, too.
Don't expect to get any compost for at least a year. I find that having two bins is best. One for this years stuff , when it is full, start another one.
Happy composting anyway.:T

Mojisola

If you've only been putting grass cuttings in then it has probably make a solid, smelly layer. Fork it over to let some air into it and mix in other things, as Cacran suggests.

RAS

Add, old newspaper, loo roll inners, egg cartons etc.You need equal quantities
of green waste - lawn clippings and brown waste - dry stuff.

kate83

If you dig the compost heap over every so often to mix everything in, then it should compost a bit quicker. Can injure the worms in the process though so be careful if you do this.
Ripped up egg boxes and scrunched up newspaper are good for mixing with grass clippings but the more different things you can get in there, the bigger the mix of nutrients in the final compost.

Yep, it does need to be fully rotted down to put on the garden, it should be a dark brown colour and not smell much when ready. Should look similar to the compost you buy. Probably won't all look like this though as the top doesn't normally compost as much as the bottom. Any big bits can be sieved out and put back in to compost a bit longer.

surfsister

should be rotting down quickly in this warm weather my compost in a plastic council composter can be emptied every 6 weeks or so. If any isn't quite ready I put it back in again.

I add lots of tea/coffee grounds torn up newspaper cabbages leaves etc a little grass clippings and add a bag of manure if it's slowing down too much. I also grow comfrey to add to the compost it helps it rot quicker.

Jake'sGran

We usually use ours 12 months after it was full e.g. in early Spring we took out two large bucketfuls from the opening at the bottom. It was good black stuff with masses of worms. I sometimes add a pint or so of water (or jug of of urine as recommended by Bob Flowerdew). We put all sorts in ours but not any foodstuffs that have been cooked or which might attract vermin. Good luck with your veg growing and compost. I used to put grass cuttings around the base of shrubs but someone on here said it deprives them of oxygen or something.... It did disappear quickly and I'm sure they liked it.

culpepper

Wait till it is unrecognizable and doesn't really smell of anything anymore. You can put near enough anything organic in. I put the blood water from soaking liver in and hair from grooming the cat or home hair cutting, dust from the vacuum ,I used to put drier lint in too when we had a tumble drier.
You might have to separate out the usable stuff and chuck the not-ready stuff back in to wait it out some more.

Kantankrus_Mare

Ive been doing this for two to three years and I get lots of waste salad, veg peelings etc from the restaurant I work at.

Have had a couple of instances though when I have lifted the lid of one of my five daleks to put more stuff in and a rat has been sat there.!! :eek:

Frightened me to death and shut the lid again quick.

Not sure how they get into the dalek in the first place.

Horrible things..........yuck.

angelavdavis

Kantankrus_Mare wrote: »

Have had a couple of instances though when I have lifted the lid of one of my five daleks to put more stuff in and a rat has been sat there.!! :eek:

Frightened me to death and shut the lid again quick.

Not sure how they get into the dalek in the first place.

Horrible things..........yuck.

They dig in under it. Next time you completely empty it, fill up tunnels left by the rats and then place it onto a large piece of chicken wire, ensuring some of the wire sticks out around the edges by at least 3 inches to stop them burrowing from the side.

People always insist it is cooked food that attracts rats - it isn't - they will eat anything!

Lotus-eater

I would hesitate to use chicken wire, not unless you put at least two layers on, I would use the heavier stuff myself, indeed I do