look at my lovely compost [grin]

[Gatekeeper]

I am a boring old fart ! Emptied out four of our six compost bins as we are putting up a new fence and they were in the way. Got ten full barrow loads of lovely, crumbly muck!

Yah boo sucks to the patronising swine I spoke to a while back who worked at a composting depot. He was supposed to be giving 'helpful' advice regarding home composting at a local event but was dismissive and smug saying that in his opinion compost COULDN'T be made at home

Mulched it round my shrubs and trees and then dug the rest into where me dwarf and runner beans will go. Happy as a pig in muck!

[IAmcuriousyellow]

Gurt lush! How long was it in the heaps?

[Gatekeeper]

not that long really - about eight months. Combination of shredded cardboard, kitchen peelings and teabags, egg shells, leaves, grass clippings, some bits of seaweed and spent hops from local brewery and annual weeds, netle and comfrey tops etc. washed down with regular 'waterings' from dh and ds

[IAmcuriousyellow]

What a lovely mixture. I'm too lazy with the cardboard and don't shred it, we have way too much as council won't recycle it, and it makes big fat layers that hang around too long. I think I'll have to in future. I compost everything you do though, plus horse manure in shavings but am about to treat my heaps with seaweed extract to hurry them along as I really really want to use it. Very envious of yours!

[TheSpottedZebra]

Ooh it looks good! I made my first compost last year, and spread it on my allotment beds.
I was soooo proud. I still am, actually. I'm branching out into leaf mould this year. Rock and roll !

[IndridCold]

God, I'm becoming obsessed with compost at the moment. I love the idea of putting all these unwanted things in a pile and getting this amazing, lovely stuff at the end of it. Yours looks very good, OP.

I have just set up a new wooden bin. My dad contributes some of his kitchen and garden waste to it, and he was a bit as I lectured him about how to put stuff on in the right order.

[Cathpot]

I am a complete compost novice and I am very envious as I currently have a huge mound of unusable sludge at the bottom and unrotted stuff at the top. How often should I turn it and can I put paper from the shredder in it? Does it matter that it sits on concrete? We are away for 2 months now so I threw some compost accelerator on it and am hoping for some miracle in my absence. Husband is oddly anti compost heaps and prefers to bag all the garden waste and take it to the council one. I'm not helping my cause with my sludge mound.

[shovetheholly]

That looks AMAZING!

The question of frequency of turning a compost heap seems to cause more arguments than just about any other question in gardening! I think it needs to be done every month at least, and it's better to to do it more frequently.

My Dad has three bins: the first one takes raw waste, which he pokes around every week with a pitchfork. After 2-3 weeks of that, it's turned into the second bin, where it gets similar treatment, and then into the third. In about 8-10 weeks, he has amazing compost. And his heaps are hot.

I, on the other hand, have just one small heap, which isn't nearly big enough for the quantity of waste we generate. I have no room to turn it, and frequently forget to do so anyway. The heap just sits. I get great compost, but it takes 6 months or more! It doesn't work at the rate I need it, and I don't get sufficient quantities. There's also a poor mix between green and brown waste!

I have applied for a second allotment, and if I get one I will be devoting space on it to proper composting facilities with the 3-bin system. I'm also being given a compost tumbler by a relative who doesn't use hers any more, which I think will be really useful.

[Gatekeeper]

I don't turn mine at all, just make sure that the mix is right and dh does plenty of wees in it. Cathpot I wouldn't put it on concrete- the worms and insects and whatnot need to be able to get up inside from the soil

[Gatekeeper]

every now and again mind I agitate it with a garden claw thing- I also have to say it in a horror film type voice The Clawwww but it isn't obligatory

[wonkylegs]

Yay well done. We are using the first of our compost this year. We have 3 open 1mx1m bins, the first was started a 18mths ago and we have started using it this year. DH turned it once but we've got a good mix in there and so far it looks pretty good. I sifted it a bit for pots as it was still a tiny bit twiggy but it's fine on the veggie patch & borders.
I think the second bin will be ready by the end of the summer. It's a godsend as our garden is huge and it's a great way to get rid of the waste and save some pennies on the stuff we actually want to grow.

[Cathpot]

I have no option about the concrete as its the only hidden spot in the garden and husband is really anti compost. (He is also anti flower beds. He would prefer a rolling savanna of lawn with the odd tree. It's an ongoing 'debate' but he did build me a bloody enormous raised bed so I forgive him. ) I get horse poo in and that always has lots of lovely worms in it- would that help if I chucked a bag in? Is that worm cruelty? I bought one of those small upright green bins which does sit on soil and I put stuff in and over time the level lowers and I put more stuff in. I've never actually tried to 'use it' by taking it out. I will try turning the big heap lots more but it's a grim job at the moment.

[LikeASoulWithoutAMind]

I've composted really successfully on concrete. The worms somehow found their way in anyway Chucking a few worms in wouldn't hurt though - they'd love it.

Slimey compost usually means too much green waste (softer wetter stuff) - adding more brown waste (drier twiggier stuff, ripped up cardboard, shredded paper) will help. In the summer it helps to cover food waste with a layer of something else just to keep the flies at bay.

We tend to just chuck it all in and hope for the best - have 2 bins on the go - one that we're filling and one left to rot down. Dh turns it with a fork when he remembers. It takes a while though. But it's marvellous stuff when it's ready.

I did read somewhere not to use horse manure. Can't remember why. We got a load of that once and spread it as mulch over the veg patch over winter. Then dug it in in the Spring.

[Oldraver]

I have a plastic compost bin I havn't got round to using properly...what do I need to do ?

Our house (along with 6 others) was built on a huge garden that had been used as a Christmas Tree farm. Our house is where all the trees were, we still have 4 humungous ones out the front. I think the corner of our garden was his 'rubbish' compost area, and the soil here is like pure compost. It was the only place to put the shed and it has sunk on one side into the compost

[Kmetsch3]

Lovely

Do you add urine?
My dad always swore by 'the wee of an ovulating woman'
Something to do with added oestrogen