Can I rescue my homemade compost?

[Ironfloor269]

We've been collecting all fruit and vegetable peels, eggshells etc. in a compost bin since last year hoping to use for our garden.

Unfortunately, it's not suitable apparently. DH had a look online and says that our compost is too moist hence could be harmful to plants.

Please tell me whether there's a way to rescue it before shelling out for garden centre compost?

Thanks.

Our compost is proper brown crumbly stuff and loads of worms live in it, but it's pretty much all greens - garden pruning, a VAST amount of tea leaves, veggie kitchen waste. For browns there's a few eggshells a week, I maybe empty the shredding in once a year (if DH doesn't catch me at it!) and it gets the odd eggbox.

We use one of those dalek bins with a cover so it's only got the moisture that is in the content to start with - maybe that's what makes the difference?

@OooPourUsACupLove I do pretty much EXACTLY what you are doing. Down to the type of compost bin! Still, my compost is slimy and lumpy, not crumbly like yours... 😕 I have compost envy now.

Have you put loads of grass in it? I do put my grass in,but I have to layer it with other stuff. Also I use the clippings as mulch on things.

@Ironfloor269 I have no idea what's different then.

Um...other things it could be:

DH stirs the compost with a big fork quite regularly
When we first started it we used a compost accelerator powder. That was 15 years ago, but maybe it got things started the right way
We are in London with a South facing garden so when it's warm the heap does get hot

I think it's most likely the worms though. One thing I found out from having a compost heap is that compost (at least our compost) is pretty much worm poo! Does your heap have them? If not maybe you can introduce some?

Amazon parcels are your friend. Empty and layer it and it will be fine for next year.

Oh, one other thing... when you say "Please tell me whether there's a way to rescue it before shelling out for garden centre compost?" - are you thinking of using it like a growing medium, or like a mulch/fertiliser? Home compost is fine for the latter but it's not a straight replacement for bagged compost for the former, so if you plan to use it to fill plant pots or something, you'll need to mix it at least half and half with something like coir to stop it drying out too fast. Also, if it's not getting hot (mine doesn't) it won't be killing off weed seeds. I just live with that and weed the containers.

Yup, lots of grass and plenty of worms, too.

@OooPourUsACupLove we never used a compost starter powder. We do mix it around with a garden fork occasionally though. We want to use it as fertiliser/mulch.

Thanks again for your suggestions. I'll layer the bin with paper shredding, follow your other tips and see how things go...

I think the grass sort of compacts down into a thick layer that slimes a bit. Compost needs greens and browns, but also air and lots of grass seems to turn into an airless lump. Which is why I have to be really careful about layering the grass with other stuff.

When you add your paper bits (browns), make sure you aerate it as much as possible. As pp said, maybe a layer or 2 of lightly scrunched newspaper?

@TheSpottedZebra yes, I suspect this is what happened. I used to just chuck the whole lawnmower basket-full of grass cuttings which came to about 4 inches high. I did mix it up a bit with a rake afterwards but it will not have been enough.

Urine is a good addition to compost. I used to make DP pee in a watering can every now and again and empty it into the compost (sadly, he died last year so I suppose I should start peeing in a watering can myself lol).

And composting is an aerobic process - it requires oxygen, so stirring it up will help (I use one of these www.wilko.com/wilko-carbon-steel-multi-prong-cultivator/p/0476798?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmcWDBhCOARIsALgJ2QdY6oRczNjSY5zh3hbo9ozhZegkE8fRX_0zaQrFgtvbcVI6v-KI6qEaAiMXEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds ).

The bacteria in soil are beneficial, so chuck a handful or two in every now and again. It will also help if the open bottom of the compost bin is sitting on soil (a sheet of steel mesh beneath will stop rats from getting in). And twigs, when you rake them up, are a good source of "brown".

I also chuck in some well-rotted horse manure in there now and again.

When the compost is rotted down but still wet, it dries out beautifully in one of these www.primrose.co.uk/-p-5030.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmcWDBhCOARIsALgJ2QeHmefoidfgp07Lbi9l-TJCBOeULUEnmeb0NHJHl_pqbeBTQGqIpIIaAl9VEALw_wcB . My ex made one for about a fiver, you don't need to fork out £60 for one! And I have an old carpet tile that goes on the top to keep the heat in, so it rots and dries nicely.

You can't rush compost imo, mine takes 2 years to get to the point where the consistency is close to bought compost. It's great stuff though, I give MIL a sack every couple of years, and she swears her pinks (grown in pots, because she has clay soil) do marvellously on it.

I also get slowworms living in my compost, I suspect they're beneficial too.

@LakieLady thanks for the advice. I suggested to DH that he could pee directly into the compost heap and he looked at me in horror! 😄 Agree about the urea though.

I'm kind of relieved to hear that it takes about two years for compost to reach the stage where it looks like proper compost.

The wonderful Bob Flowerdew, of Gardeners' Question Time, refers to the practice of peeing on the compost heap as "Adding recycled beer and cider".

And he's firmly in favour of it. You should make your DH listen to GQT, this gets mentioned at least twice in every series.

@senua

So no teabags then? The tea is fine but the bags are made of some plasticised material that doesn't decompose. It comes back out, months later, looking like leaf-skeletons.

It depends which teabags you buy. Most of mine compost fine.

I have three heaps, roughly one filling, one maturing, one emptying. Each about 1m cube. Probably about 18months to maturity. I don’t bother to turn. Kitchen waste, garden waste, grass cuttings no more than 6in deep, old cotton clothes, cardboard and paper. The shiny sticky labels on egg boxes compost fine.

End result is beautiful, rich, dark, runs through your fingers. Last year we were shielding, so I used my own compost for everything including seeds and pots. It was fine. I’m not sure of the need to go back to bought compost.

I keep a pot for rubbish near the heap, so anything that doesn’t compost can be dropped in there. Seems easier than pre-sorting

I fish out anything that hasn't composted when I turn the heap but I also try and prevent plastic going in as my garden has quite a lot of plastic pollution from home made compost.

The biggest culprits are stickers on fruit and veg (some are plastic and don't break down), plastic glues on the flaps and seals of food boxes, and teapig teabags (most of our day to day tea is clipper which composts fine). Toothpaste boxes tend to have a plastic label on them but most other boxes are okay apart from glues.

I don't bother adding grass to the heap because I never have enough browns to mix it. It will definitely be the grass clippings that has caused the problem. I no longer put avocado peel in the compost because it takes an absolute age to break down

@deplorabelle thanks, I'll be extra vigilant not to let plastic get in.

You may be right, we put in shed loads of grass as we now the lawn very often.

Also agree about avocado peels. We used to put even avocado stones and coconut shells. Never again as they started coming out whole.

We have 3 heaps as well.
We add our paper shredding to the active compost heap. It means we have plenty of browns as we have quite a lot of branches, twigs etc which DH puts through his garden shredder.
I reckoning if you turn your heap and incorporate some brown stuff, and some garden soil for the microbes, you will have decent compost soon. If you know anyone with chickens, rabbits guinea-pig etc, some old bedding will help. We had no end of great compost when we had guineas, and it heated up quickly, so killed the weed seeds.

Oh, and I gave up putting eggs shells in the compost, and i empy out the tea bags and just add the leaves. Also , changed to unbleached coffee filters and add those.

I live in a coldish wet part of the country and despite every type of composter haven't managed the hot ness that means it decomposes down quickly. However I still make compost but I turn it two or three times, in my case I pull it out of the frame then return it piled up, or lift off the plastic dalek and move it a metre along and refill. I think due to the damp it needs lots of air added. And it takes at least a year though the middle of the compost pile can be readly before the outside.
The compost in bags from the g centre is specially mixed for specific purposes. the seed compost is not nutritional particularly, it is more to encourage rooting. Home made compost ime is very rich and nutritional so more for the veg garden than for seeds.
Because I don't know how rich I am cautious about using it to for example, plant a new shrub, it could even be a bit strong for small new roots?
Do others use their home made compost for everything?

Too much grass is the problem. Save up cardboard torn up Small and mix it up with the grass clipping before they go in.

Or ...possibly better...leave the grass clippings to mulch the lawn or use as mulch on beds.

My compost is a bit rough and ready from the dalek unless I leave it 2 years. I also have a compost stirrer compost srirrer

I use home made compost as mulch on beds, more as soil improver. . I think you’d have to mix it with other stuff to use in pots or for seeds,