Is this garden waste suitable composting?

[Icarus]

Hello,

I recently started doing a proper tidy of my back garden (in prep for putting in a beehive), and I have become a bit obsessed. It seems that in the back corner the previous owner had cut back the Firs and dumped it all in a big pile (over 5 years ago).

Some of the wood is decaying and crumbles in the hand (with a white powder/fungi on it). The other stuff is hard and I have put through a garden shredder. This has left an approximate 1 foot high pile of detritus under where the branches etc had been dumped. It looks quite root heavy (a lot of Ivy in the area) and I think it was all dumped on some grass.

I bought a compost bin the other day, as I plan to start a vegetable patch soon and now this has me thinking that this would be good to add, though I'm a complete novice and have no idea. Would this layer be suitable to add to a compost bin (when rubbish, wrappers, plastic bags etc removed), and if not could I make it suitable?

I hope that the pictures are ok (it wouldn’t let me upload from my phone direct, because I’m a new member? So has to link them) and this makes sense, Thanks for looking.

The red line is to show how high the branches were pilled up.

[nickdub]

If its not in the way I'd leave it for a while and just add fallen leaves when available. As it is the branches etc will require quite a bit more time to decompose, but when fully broken down it would make a good mulch for soft fruit or an addition to a growing medium for something like blueberries.

Another reason is that tidy gardens are generally very bad for wildlife - so something which can look like a bit of a mess to us can be a "des res" for bugs etc.

[burnie]

I put stuff that's not composted down through my shredder, that usually speeds it up(including sprout stems), as Nickdub says, it will be on the ericaceous side of the spectrum, so careful where you use it.

[lottie dolly]

MY only concern would be the ivy,pick it out and burn it,or take tip,

[Snadger]

A good compost heap is a mixture of browns and greens. Put alternate layers of grass cuttings and your browns and you should be ok.

[Icarus]

Thanks for the info guys, The material is in the way, as a new fence is going down the side and round the back (that small concrete boundary on the side has a 10 foot drop to a river the other side, and it’s on the boundary with commercial land behind).

I’m going to compost as much of the mulch and rotting wood as possible once I remove and burn the root mass. I also picked up a big plastic bin to store wood chips, which I plan to make a mulch with.

Does that sound reasonable? Any other advise would be appreciated (I’m a novice). Also the compost is going to primarily be for several vegetable patches.

Weird last question, if I use standard Roundup weed killer on a weed can I then add it to my compost heap? The label says it kills to the root but is then broken down in the soil. What are the ingredients I need to avoid in weed killers to make them compost friendly?

Thanks again.

[veggiechicken]

Why do you need to use Roundup?
Have you read about the impact of Glyphosate on bees?
Best you do, especially if you're considering siting a bee hive in your garden.

[Mark_Riga]

Glyphosate (roundup) is not recommended for general use, particularly where veg are going to be grown. I would wear rubber gloves as a precaution and only in flower bed or initally to gee rid of pernicious weeds you are not prepared to live with. It can remain in soil for 6 months or more. A lot of bread samples are found to contain it. It may degrade quickly (days) or slowly. to sites to look at:

https://www.soilassociation.org/our-...is-glyphosate/

Glyphosate General Fact Sheet

or use a web search.

[Icarus]

Why do you need to use Roundup?
Have you read about the impact of Glyphosate on bees?
Best you do, especially if you're considering siting a bee hive in your garden.

I had not. Thank I definitely will tonight!

[nickdub]

Generally speaking with compost and other organic matter its best if you can to keep the acid type stuff (which is the sort you have) separate from the more general sorts. The reason is that some plants only grow well with an acid medium to grow in eg blueberries, and other plants don't eg cabbages.

If I was in your shoes and needed to move the existing heap I'd still try to keep most of it separate by doing something like putting it in a 1 ton builder's bag and dragging that off out of the way somewhere.

Obviously all this depends on amounts, a few odd bits aren't worth worrying about and can just go in to a general heap.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Most of that detritus looks dry so I woud be having a bonfire and then spreading the ash from that on the garden borders.

[Icarus]

I worked from 11am till sun down today, shredded about 250 litres worth of wood chippings and made a new surface for my 3 council bins. Still going to take me a week or so to clear the stuff that can be shredded, then I will look at detritus properly, could I sieve it and add the sieved product to my compost bin and then burn the rest? If so what thickness gaps in the wire do I need for making the screen?

Thanks.

[Dynamite]

I worked from 11am till sun down today, shredded about 250 litres worth of wood chippings and made a new surface for my 3 council bins. Still going to take me a week or so to clear the stuff that can be shredded, then I will look at detritus properly, could I sieve it and add the sieved product to my compost bin and then burn the rest? If so what thickness gaps in the wire do I need for making the screen?

Thanks.

Hi Icarus, I wouldn’t burn any of it. It’s useful organic matter and when you are as short as I am for topsoil and compost etc, you realise how valuable it is. I would pile it up, dampen it down and mix with greens, shredded paper and household compostable waste, let nature do its work and you will have some good material.

Kind Regards.............Rob

[rary]

As Dynamite had said don't burn any of your material if you have doubts about some being dead add it (along with any other weeds and roots that you don't want to add to your compost) to a container of water and leave for a few months and by the summer you have a ready all round feed for your garden, but remember it will need to be diluted, by a 10 of water to 1 of your solution and it may smell a bit