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Understanding compost basics and why it went wrong for me

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  • Understanding compost basics and why it went wrong for me

    So it's the first time I've properly tried to compost with an objective and it's been a horrible failure. In fact I've had better results not trying at all.

    To give a bit of background, the plot I inherited had a compost heap at the back, and I replaced the pallets that were rotting with knew ones over the years. I've never really had very much biomass from the heap so the idea was to change that and turn it into a more efficient operation. In the past it just sat there.

    The first mistake I made was covering the whole heap with black poly sheet, as is suggested by many tutorials. This is to stop the heap from getting too saturated, and so turning the whole thing anerobic, which is not what you want. I judged the moisture content by eye and assumed that as I was adding wet material all the time, it would all add up to something. It didn't. The heap suffered a lot from lack of moisture.

    Horrible result:

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    The heap is compromised by about :
    10% horse manure from a local stable
    10% grass clippings from mowing
    10% straw bought from the local stable
    60% weeds pulled from the ground
    10% household food waste which amounts to approximately 20-30kg every 2-3 weeks

    So in this fashion the compost heap was filled to the top and then covered with the sheet and left for a few months. It's been sitting like this for about 10-12 weeks.

    Why did it go wrong & observations

    The centre of the heap never reached above 35 degrees. After researching, it appears anthropods should not be in compost at such high numbers, and it made me question whether the wood had something to do with it, although more likely due to dry conditions.

    What I found most bewildering was the sheer amount of soil in there. I had no idea I was adding so much soil when dumping weeds.

    Negatives in conclusion:
    • adding material like tree clippings without chopping them up finely and mini-christmas trees whole
    • adding weeds pulled from beds often with huge amounts of clay soil still attached to them
    • inadequate layering of each material (would not prevent decomposition in any serious way, but a good thing to get right for efficiency)
    • not turning it more regularly (not essential but would lead to better efficiency)
    • not using an optimised shape.
    • not keeping the heap at the right moisture content


    What I learnt & what to change

    Clearly hosing down the heap periodically is essential

    Not adding wood clippings without chopping them

    Being more selective about the weeds I put in, making sure not to throw in huge lumps of clay with it as it all adds up

    Layering hotter and cooler materials consecutively to get a more even chemical process

    Turning it frequently

    The shape of the heap is more rectangular than square, I will need to shorten it lengthwise to get a more even square. I suspect this will affect the heat generated at the centre. I added the weeds under the pretence that they would burn up, as is the common conception, but conditions never reached hot enough for this to happen.

    Adding more heat, so material with a better nitrogen content, i.e. manure & more grass clippings.

    Questioning the heap - getting the context right

    I don't think buying in a plastic compost bin is the answer, I'm not convinced they are necessary, and there is no evidence to suggest they are any more efficient than using pallets.

    Some of the compost turfed out and relocated, there are still materials like cardboard that have been in the heap for over 3 months that are practically still preserved:

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    In conclusion I hope someone can benefit from how not to compost and not make the same mistakes I did. As the old saying goes a mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn from it..

  • #2
    If you want the temperature of your heap above 35C, i.e. hot composting, you have to shred everything you add so the bits are small, keep it as moist as a wrung out sponge, and turn it every 3 or 4 days, insides to outside, outsides to the middle. The heap wants to be about three feet on a side to heat fast and be easy to turn.

    What you've got at present is a cold composting pile, with very large pieces, especially of 'browns', which are the slowest to decompose. It will rot down, but over a much longer period, 6 - 8 months.

    I cold compost, as I don't have much space and must continually add to my one heap as I have no room to start another. Every 3 or 4 months, I dig out the well rotted stuff from the bottom and give the rest a shake up and turn.
    Location - Leicestershire - Chisit-land
    Endless wonder.

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    • #3
      Very interesting post, Forage!

      I must say though, I think your compost looks fine, and would be even better left for another 6 months!
      3 months is a very short amount of time to expect finished compost.
      He-Pep!

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      • #4
        20-30 kilos of food waste!!

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        • #5
          I used to spend hours chopping up wood/carbon based material to balance my compost pile until I found out that most tree surgeons will happily give you a pile of chippings for free.

          It is more effective time wise to bin any wood/carbon material you would need to cut up and instead use the wood chippings.
          Last edited by Jonny.D; 20-08-2017, 04:28 PM.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by burnie View Post
            20-30 kilos of food waste!!
            I hope this is a typo!

            Just a few random thoughts..............

            The smaller the item you add, the faster it will decompose.

            Cardboard boxes, spread out on the surface of a bed, will prevent the weeds below from germinating. Even with all the rainfall in the UK falling on the cardboard, it takes a long time for a sheet of cardboard to degrade. You need to tear it up and wet it well if you're going to put it in your compost bin. Also, remove any sticky tape and plastic first.

            I shred all the (non-shiny) junk mail and paper and add it to the heap.

            The best way to learn is through experience. You'll get there

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            • #7
              Composting really isn't an art, it's about adding the material you put in it is in layer's rather than say bang all the same substance for instance grass clippings which just become an horrible mess!

              Add greens, grass, outer cabbage n brassica leaves that are a little worse for wear, then bang in your browns, fruit tree pruning's, brown stalks of whatever you have, then paper shreddings, even leaving air pockets, just "Mix n Match" that really makes for a good home made compost n soil invigerater, oh! and I empty my bin once a year, mix it up n bang it back in

              Makes lovely "Black Gold"
              "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad"

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              • #8
                No one has mentioned urine as an accelerator.

                Nothing wrong with covering heap. If it heats up you need something to keep heat in.

                Don't add material in penny parcels. Bag it until you've got enough to give a foot's depth then it might heat up.
                Riddlesdown (S Croydon)

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                • #9
                  I have a large garden and so have three compost heaps made out of pallets side by side and have tried all sorts of ratios of greens to browns and hosing it down or not. I put weeds, veg scraps, kitchen peelings, chicken manure, shredded paper, prunings, leaves, cardboard and anything else i can get my hands on that i think will rot down. My biggest challenge is getting enough brown material!

                  The thing that makes the most difference to me is time. I don't have much spare time and just leaving the pile for longer makes really good compost! I only dig out once a year in the spring - i dig out the top layers into builders bulk bags until i hit good compost then that goes on the veg beds then the top layers of 2 or all three beds get tipped out of the bags into one pile to rot down over the following year. It makes lovely stuff!

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                  • #10
                    I don't think it looks too bad, certainly be good to dig in on the veg plot rather than mulch the flower beds. It certainly has a worth in terms of organic matter and humus which is what you want. I chuck a hand full of nitrogen on top of mine.

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                    • #11
                      I used to keep a piece of carpet on top of mine until I discovered that encouraged the mice. And whilst they make tunnels through it aerating it, I felt the shock for me and them when I pulled the carpet back was too much.

                      Compost is simple.
                      If you have time and effort it gets made quick. Shredding and stirring.
                      If you have no time and plenty of space then a big heap will get there in the end.

                      I used to ask the council grasscutters for the clippings, - good as a layer in compost and a mulch, but they don't waste time collecting it anymore.

                      I also layered a builders bag with muck and bark. That was interesting - used it as a mulch on fruit bed but decided it was easier just to throw it on neat. Am always looking for less effort ways.

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                      • #12
                        I use 2 plastic drums with a horizontal tube through them supported on a frame for my food scraps and kitchen waste to avoid problems with rats. They've turned into a giant wormeries over the years and I just take out a few shovel fulls of compost as and when I need it - if one gets full, I clear the other completely (being able to rotate it makes it easier to empty) and start using that from scratch.

                        I also use the large builder's bags for leaves - the leaf mold goes in to bulk up compost for containers.

                        Most of my gardening revolves around me being lazy and not spending any money :-)

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Forage420 View Post
                          The heap is compromised by about :
                          10% horse manure from a local stable
                          10% grass clippings from mowing
                          10% straw bought from the local stable
                          60% weeds pulled from the ground
                          10% household food waste which amounts to approximately 20-30kg every 2-3 weeks
                          I understood it to mean that the total of all the above came to 20 - 30kg, not just food waste, so the words in blue should be on a separate line, I think.
                          Location - Leicestershire - Chisit-land
                          Endless wonder.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by DannyK View Post
                            No one has mentioned urine as an accelerator. <snip>

                            I've got a few wormeries and supposedly the liquid that gets drained off is a good fertiliser. I'm not so sure about that so I prefer to use shop bought fertiliser. This means that I have quite a few litres of this brown liquid to spare so this gets sprinkled inside my compost bins.

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                            • #15
                              wormery liquid is great as far as I can tell - I water mine down and apply it...
                              sigpic
                              1574 gin and tonics please Monica, large ones.

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