Compost. What am I doing wrong?

[lyrabelacqua]

I'm a composting novice so not sure if i'm doing it right. We inherited a compost bin with the house we bought 18 months ago, which was half full at the time. It's now full to the top with garden waste, veg peelings etc but it doesn't seem to be rotting down, or whatever the terminology is. Everything seems to stay as it was when it went in. It's now also crawling with woodlice. I did sprinkle some Compost Maker on top of every layer but it doesn't seem to do anything.
Help needed please!

Water it, with urine if you're prepared to!

Does it seem warm? Does it have a lid? If not, cover it with some plastic sheeting, a wooden board, folded sacks etc.

I have a large compost heap that I turn with a pitchfork from time to time. I don't suppose that can be done with a bin. Are there worms in it?

Woodlice are fine - they won't hurt it.

Throw in some cardboard and some egg shells, and (yes, she's right!) pee on it.

If it's open it will take much longer to rot down than if it's covered - you need a bit of patience or a cover.

Accelerators don't help much on uncovered compost heaps.

It does have a lid. I did water it once but didn't know if i was supposed to (should have read some gardening books).
I'll get DSs to pee on it tomorrow I'm sure they'll be more than happy to.

preferably you need to turn it a bit as well - its mixes it up and aerates it - but often that's not practical, depends on what type of bin you have. it mainly requires patience, and a mix of ingredients. don't put grass cuttings on

Damn, just put grass cutting in it yesterday.

Also get DSs to throw in any worms they find?

I give ds an ice cream tub & 5 minutes to gather up worms from under stray flower pots etc - then we send them 'on holiday' to the compost bin...

you can get away with them if it's a big heap and if there's not much grass - the problem is that they go slimey - you really need to distribute any grass all the way through and/or, iirc, mix with paper

We always BLAG grass cuttings off MIL (lives opposite)! Otherwise compost tends to be all food waste & newspaper...

I stand corrected on the grass. good guide here

actually, not entirely corrected - it does say not to let grass dominate and to mix it in.

Thanks, that's all very useful info.