Composting Advice

twinklie

I’m fairly new to growing my own and have never had any need to compost. However, just over a year ago we moved to a new house and we have a lovely garden with a raised bed and greenhouse. As I am finally in a position to grow my own this season, I thought I’d look into composting (I appreciate its not going to be ready for quite a while).

We have visitors in the garden (and house) in the shape of mice/rats, there’s plenty of squirrels around to. So does anyone have a composter that they would recommend.

Also, is there a method in how to set up the composter to encourage good quality compost? I’ve genuinely never composted before so any help/advice would be gratefully received. I appreciate it’s probably a daft question, but hey, you only know what you know.

Linda32

It isn't a daft question at all, it is a lovely question to ask on a gardening forum.

First of all buy a compost bin. Google dalek compost bins and chose which ever one takes your fancy. Put on the open ground which means on soil.

Now is the ideal time to start a bin off, you have a mixture of materials, you just don't want a lot of one thing.

Grass clippings - thin layer, but not essential if you haven't got a lawn.
Egg Shells, tea bags, veg peelings, apple cores, any other fruit not eaten. You can put citrus peelings in but they attract slugs which actually do good in the compost bin but are revolting so it is up to you if you can stand them. Dead flowers, plants.

Then shredded paper, toilet roll tubes torn up, cardboard egg boxes, if you buy apples in a plastic bag, the tray they sit on - sort of pressed soft cardboard, that torn up.

Bedding from animal which eat vegetables, birds and rabbits, not meat eaters.

No cooked food what so ever.

No need to worry about the current wild life you mentioned so long as you don't add cooked food.

You might read about a mix of greens and browns, greens are the veg peelings, browns are the cardboard and paper.

Leave until November when you should have compost to spread on empty beds to enrich for the following year.

savemoney

I have several daleks whilst they are good my quickest composter is on wooden one, due to lots of air gaps it makes compost quicker but I have to put chicken wire around it and make a roof to stop rats as its on my allotment. You can make one with pallets all same size too


Potatoes peelings can sprout as can carrots you can compost them I just break them up or feed to worms in my wormery.

As said its always best to have a mixture of greens and brown not much grass cutting. Browns can consist of paper (not glossy) and cardboard I shred mine save with any big plants like corn on cobs stalks.

Dont use tbags because the bags dont compost well the tea does but you end up with plastic material. I empty the tea out and use it in compost and also my wormery.


https://www.edenproject.com/learn/for-everyone/how-to-make-a-compost-heap-10-top-tips


I get loads of compost I have 3 at home (small garden) and 3 on allotment, I hardly ever throw out away I even shred cardboard and some woody material now I have a green shredder

savemoney

This is wooden type of one I have it holds 800 litres sounds a lot but some fills up by November when empty by late Spring https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apollo-Gardening-Ltd-Wooden-Composter/dp/B004ODQMNS

Davesnave

savemoney wrote: »

This is wooden type of one I have it holds 800 litres sounds a lot but some fills up by November when empty by late Spring https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apollo-Gardening-Ltd-Wooden-Composter/dp/B004ODQMNS

Looks good for the price, but you don't need the compost activator. Just collect pee and use that; it's just as good and most of us have enough of it.

Farway

Davesnave wrote: »

Looks good for the price, but you don't need the compost activator. Just collect pee and use that; it's just as good and most of us have enough of it.

One of the unsung wonders, it also helps keep the compost moist, and hearsay is the human smell deters vermin although I rely on close meshed chicken wire over the base of my daleks, the rats have good gnashers which chomp through plastic


If you do get dalek style forget the pictures of people lifting a flap at the base & shovelling super compost out, never works like that. I have to tip it over, use the composted stuff & shovel rest back in to continue

savemoney

I haven't mention compost activator but yes your right pee does work. I do use compost activator sometimes I get it cheap from home bargains about £1.


The composter I have had for 6 years now and works better than the daleks I suspect because it allows more air in, however it also allows rats in so had to put chicken wire and make a wooden roof


I get more than enough compost from mine and collect it in rubble sacks. I sieve it though especially for my carrots. for the beds it doesn't matter

Davesnave wrote: »

Looks good for the price, but you don't need the compost activator. Just collect pee and use that; it's just as good and most of us have enough of it.

Davesnave

savemoney wrote: »

I haven't mention compost activator

It was in the advert from the link you posted.:)

savemoney

Oh right I have a advert blockers on so dont see them

Davesnave wrote: »

It was in the advert from the link you posted.:)

-taff

You don't necessarily need a bin, but if you want to keep it contained nicely then get one.

I had three pallets and just chucked it in there and turned it before, made good compost, or if you have room, add an extra square and turn form one side to the other.
I now have a bargainous bin which are very expensive to buy normally, and I'll see what the compost is like later on next year.
I love my compost..which might sound starange but it's a lovely feeling to have your own compost and know exactly what went into it.
As above, a mix of browns and greens will give the best results and you generally won't find rats in there unless they are nesting in there because it's warm [ hot composting gives off quite a lot of heat] because they don't eat rotting greenery or cardboard. Can't say as to fruit but the only time Ive seen rats in mine was on a farm when I had the use of a polytunnel and it was because they were nesting in there


Have a look at this film from the war

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce7IVl-glaQ

Farway

-taff wrote: »

As above, a mix of browns and greens will give the best results and you generally won't find rats in there unless they are nesting in there because it's warm [ hot composting gives off quite a lot of heat] because they don't eat rotting greenery or cardboard. Can't say as to fruit but the only time Ive seen rats in mine was on a farm when I had the use of a polytunnel and it was because they were nesting in there

The bins can get warm, I had rats but chicken mesh stopped them. However slow worms then moved in this summer, presumably able to navigate the mesh holes.

Of course they presented their own problems as I didn't want to disturb them by chucking more stuff on top of them
Overall slow worms are preferred to rats;)