Help me become a composting god

[ugley_matt]

Well maybe not quite a god but at least competent.

I have been growing veg for 4 years now and have been fairly successful although its more luck than anything else and this year i want to get "serious". The one thing that i would really like to crack this year is making my own compost. I've already got last years fallen leaves in a chicken wire bin to make leaf mould but would really like to get the compost bins going.

My usual problem like most people is just putting too much green and not enough brown in the mix so thats the first thing i am going to sort out. I've got a 50ft lawn so it produces a lot of green but I've been reading up on what browns i can put in and i think i should be just about ok.

I've made a 2 bin compost bin out of some polycarbonate roofing sheets which should keep it all nice a warm. The questions i have to those that have been sucessful are:

1. Cardboard - i understand this is a good brown thing to use, does that in include things like cereal packets? Are you better off ripping/shredding them or just scrunching up?

2. Paper - Would you be better of shredding the paper and using that rather than just screwing it up? We've got a shredder at work so i've got a big supply of shredded paper if need be.

3. Food waste, same thing really? should this just go in as it or is it better to cut it up a bit?

I guess theres a balance between smaller things breaking down quicker but aerating the pile a bit more.

I think that will do for starters....I await your wisdom.

[chris]

Hello, welcome to the vine!

Shredding the paper will make it rot down faster (which, is good), however scrunching it up will create air pockets, which is vital for aerobic activity (i.e. so it doesn't go anaerobic and stink ).

I bang my food waste (veg/fruit) as is. I've I've had to throw a chunk away (i.e. had a butternut squash that we forgot aobut - went mouldy) I roughly chop it. As above, smaller = faster rotting (more surface area, I guess?) Browns include other stuff, like hair, nail clippings, natural fibers (wool), cardboard (as you've rightly said - but think of things like your food boxes, etc)... rough hedge clippings, wood shavings - wood ash (burnt green waste) - quite a lot really.

When you add your kitchen waste, wrap it in a couple sheets of newspaper - that'll add more browns as well as making it easy to carry out.

check this site out, I find it great: Make your own compost, a comprehensive guide from Garden Organic - the national charity for organic growing. Includes video guide - another one that comes up a lot is getcomposting.com.

Mixing it up often helps as well.. I found I had too much green waste - but the more I turned the heap, the faster it rotted - when I turned it I chucked newspaper in there (I collect the free metro on my way into work - often get 10+ copies at a time). Since I've got chickens though, I find I'm lacking in green waste now! So it swings both ways

Edit: Are they open heaps, or do they have a lid + closed in all sides?

You can add leaves to the compost bin as browns too - but they do take a while to rot down, so to activate the heap if it slows down either wee on it, or add some more grass clippings - anyhting high in nitrogen. I wee on mine a few times a week, then add water (too lazy to find something to wee into then water down - so I just stand on top of the daleys and wee in then chuck a bucket of water collected from rain in there!).

By all means add the shredded paper to balance out the amount of grass you cut - it's better to layer it mind, rather than a huge layer of green, then huge layer of brown. I tend to lay ~3-4cm of browns, then chuck green waste on, and repeat. My first lot of compost was purely grass clippings and cardboard (I have a LOT of cardboard in my garage from a new house + countless purchases). I started off with 1 layer of cardboard on the bottom, then grass, then 3 odd cm of cardboard, and vice versa. That rotted down incredibly fast - but due to the amount I had, I had to buy another bin. Then I started doing it as in the GO links above. The videos there are helpful, in my opinion!

I also scroung waste of family members too (who think I'm a bit bonkers) - I also take my food waste home from lunch (have even taken apple cores, etc off work collegues heh) to compost.

[Occupiedblond]

Um...perhaps not wisdom but a little note...I started our compost last year as I had a glut of fruit (post jam making)...everytime I put peelings etc green in I try to add the same amount of brown. Yes cardboard and paper torn up. Sometimes we put in whole green potatoes and rotten apples but then hubby gets in there with a sharpened spade (mad man that he is) and hacks it all and gives it a good mix up. He mixed everything up just last week because it was very smelly but the stuff towards the bottom actually didn't smell at all and looked lovely, so I reckon I may have actually succeeded. The trick I reckon is 50-50 mix of green and brown and give it a good mix every now and again. My issue with it is the slugs....ewwwwww....she shivers!
Hope this helps a little.
Sherry

[ugley_matt]

Thats some great advice thanks.

I've read conflicting advice on the green/brown split, some say 50:50 others say 2 parts brown to 1 part green. Is that really that crucial?

[chris]

(btw, I think garden organic do courses to make you into a master composterer (composteuer? )

[chris]

Um...perhaps not wisdom but a little note...I started our compost last year as I had a glut of fruit (post jam making)...everytime I put peelings etc green in I try to add the same amount of brown. Yes cardboard and paper torn up. Sometimes we put in whole green potatoes and rotten apples but then hubby gets in there with a sharpened spade (mad man that he is) and hacks it all and gives it a good mix up. He mixed everything up just last week because it was very smelly but the stuff towards the bottom actually didn't smell at all and looked lovely, so I reckon I may have actually succeeded. The trick I reckon is 50-50 mix of green and brown and give it a good mix every now and again. My issue with it is the slugs....ewwwwww....she shivers!
Hope this helps a little.
Sherry

I throw my slugs in the compot bin now - if they're munching on the stuff in there, so be it - all part of the process. Stops them eating my veggies They'll eventually die in there, and rot down.

Thats some great advice thanks.

I've read conflicting advice on the green/brown split, some say 50:50 others say 2 parts brown to 1 part green. Is that really that crucial?

50:50 is what all my gardening books say.. however, if it looks to dry, water it, if it's too wet, add more browns in. If it's like slude, add more browns in. It's just really balancing it - it needs to be moist (not wet), and not dry. I think the 50:50 is more of a guideline, but just go with what works for you, rules are made to be broken

By the way, I've edited my original response to you to add some more info.

[Occupiedblond]

[QUOTE=chrismarks;823979]I throw my slugs in the compot bin now - if they're munching on the stuff in there, so be it - all part of the process. Stops them eating my veggies They'll eventually die in there, and rot down.

I squished one of the rim of my bin yesterday (by accident...yuk) but I didn't realise that they were good for the compost. That just gives me a place to put them, may have to add more card!!!

Last year after a chiminea evening with my brother we decided to go on a slug hunt and send them to their maker on the embers of the fire...it was 2am and after about 15 mins we were 40 slugs up. All in all a good night! The sizzle was enough to turn me vegetarian though!!

[chris]

Have not not seen the slug satays that they did on the river cottage? Or the slugs on toast/wahtever it was?

[ugley_matt]

Well snails are very popular eating so why not slugs, even easier as you don't have the shells to worry about.

[taff]

if you had raised/edged beds or something to grow in, your lawn clippings can be partly used to mulch with in the summer. They have the added bonus too of when they're green, cats stay off them.
For your cardboard, using original cardboard [ not printed on], like packaging boxes, egg boxes, toilet roll innards will rot slightly quicker because the platicised print type stuff takes a bit longer to break down.
Green v brown mix is not crucial in terms of amounts, it's crucial in terms of keeping a balance.
Turning your compost regularly will make it compost quicker, you can get usable compost in 6 weeks if you do it once or twice a week during the summer.

[chris]

Probably should point out that slugs / snail contain various parasites that can make you seriously ill - please don't eat them from your garden

[Two_Sheds]

I've got a 50ft lawn so it produces a lot of green

I add it to the compost heap in 2 inch layers to speed up the rot. anything thicker will turn to black sludge.
Or, use clippings as a mulch on your onions and spuds

. Cardboard - ... does that in include things like cereal packets?

I put all card on my heaps, ripped up. Loo rolls too, if I'm not using them as plant pots. Whole egg boxes are great for creating little air pockets in your heap: it needs some oxygen

Paper - Would you be better of shredding the paper

y-e-s, or if you scrunch balls up, they act as air pockets

Food waste, same thing really? should this just go in as it or is it better to cut it up a bit?

Cut it up as much as you can, smaller bits rot quicker. I wrap all my kitchen scraps in a sheet of newspaper like a fish n chip wrapper (like Chris Marks has said)

smaller = faster rotting (more surface area, I guess?)

Yep, more surface area equals more bacteria, chomping away

I've read conflicting advice on the green/brown split

I've never considered what my split is, but I aim for 50/50. I get a lot of browns from my pets' bedding: parrots & guinea pigs all poop on newspaper which goes in the heap

I throw my slugs in the compot bin

Me too, caterpillars go in there too if there're no birds around to eat them

[ugley_matt]

Once again thank you for the tips, i will keep this thread updated with how i get along so that others might get some benefit if thats ok.

[dope540]

wow! cool info. i'm gonna start tearing up old cereal boxes and newspapers and chucking them in my compost.

[ugley_matt]

I took up quite a bit of turf at the weekend, that would be ok to layer inbetween grass clippings etc?