Compost bins how do you fill yours ?

[Newishgardener]

I was just wondering how everyone fills their bins and what with ?
By that I mean do you throw weeds in ? Do you put cardboard in ? Do you chop everything up really small or just throw everything in as it comes up ?

Thais should be interesting ?

Also how successful has it been ?


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[MarkHackwell]

I put in eggs shells, vegetable peelings and vegetable left overs (uncooked only), shredded paper and cardboard and also to help it all rot down I put some water into it aswell As for weeds I don't put most in because they are like couch grass or bindweed and they won't rot down very well, but you can put annual weeds into there It seems to have all worked well soo far

[Mumbles]

Also just to add another question- how long does it take before you can use it?


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[snakeshack]

I tend to fill my large 1m cube bins in one go if I can but can only do this when large quantities are available such as the end of season clear up or when I've cleaned out the chicken run. Other waste from general weeding goes into whichever Dalek I'm currently filling ( I have 4). The large bins are insulated with old quilts and rot quite fast, the chicken poop with hemcore is usually ready in 3 months in the spring to autumn period if kept moist and stirred, over winter it takes longer. The darleks are left until they are full and I need the space at which time I empty out the oldest , usually about a year.couch grass bindweed and horsetail go into the barrel I use for comfrey/ nettle tea and are put on the ground when this is emptied. The darleks get layers of straw every so often to space out the green layers


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[jacob]

I put it basically everything (between my two wooden heaps, a dalek and a wormery).

How long? The first year seems to be slower the later. I'm guessing that the heap is busy building its eco system of bacteria, fungus, worms, insects, etc...

[Bill HH]

I stuff most things in, annual weeds, general greenery, kitchen peelings cardboard (Not glossy printed stuff) newspaper (crumpled up individual sheets) the occasional handfull of chicken manure pellets. And yes I chop things up to about 6 inches for the dalek because I have a gizmo for turning it and it doesnt like large pieces. I dont put doggy doos in because my wife has threatened to leave me if i do. The ones I fill throughout the summer are good enough to eat the following spring (I have 4) I also do leaves but put them into black bags and they take up to 2 years.

[Two_Sheds]

do you throw weeds in ?

yes, but not anything that will survive in the heap (buttercups, couch grass, bindweed) or anything seeding: pull them up as they come into flower

Do you put cardboard in ?

yes, and newspaper: they are 'browns' and you need them

Do you chop everything up really small

I chop my green manures up with secateurs and leave them on the soil surface as a mulch. It improves the soil really quickly, and avoids filling up the heaps

Tough things, eg sweetcorn & brassica stalks, I leave out over the winter to get battered by the weather. Come spring, there's not so much to go on the heap, at a time when weeds are going to fill the heap on their own
(photos in FB link below)

[Bigmallly]

Pretty much as above with the addition of some as an accelerator.

[mothhawk]

I put in everything from the garden except, as above, stuff like couch grass, dandelion roots and so on. From the house, all veg/fruit peelings, corn cobs I bash up with a hammer first or they take forever to rot, I also put in all paper tissues, used kitchen roll, greaseproof paper from the bottom of cakes when I've been baking, bones from lamb chops or turkey carcasses - yes I know official good practice says not, but bashed up with a hammer, and especially if raw, they rot down fast and I don't seem to attract rats.
I also chuck in a handful of garden lime occasionally and water the same as BM (but more discreetly)

[Bigmallly]

Wee guys can get away with it Mom................

[Spunky]

I usually wait till the little food bins full we get from the council then throw that in then fill it with cardboard that I've torn apart a bit then fill it up with leaves and throw that in, I try to turn it all in best I can and recently transferred it all to another bin and some of it was a stinking mess so fingers crossed I haven't completely cocked it up!

[Sandyback]

tend use a compost heap for most things, papers and cardboard I normally burn. the ash goes on the heap. I have just invested in a wormery having had reasonable success with the home made one, I thought I'd go for the real McCoy.
A final thought which I'm still undecided about is composting dog faeces, its something I've done for as long as I can remember. I do worm my dog/s and hopefully this counteracts against the nasties. But I've not read any balanced or logical debate as yet.

[Bigmallly]

I recently transferred it all to another bin and some of it was a stinking mess so fingers crossed I haven't completely cocked it up!

You may have too much greens, add a bit more paper/cardboard if you have any lying around. Leaves are often kept separate as they take so long to break down.

[Mumbles]

You may have too much greens, add a bit more paper/cardboard if you have any lying around. Leaves are often kept separate as they take so long to break down.

Can this go the other way? So if there is too much 'brown' will it also be a smelly heap?

[Bigmallly]

Can this go the other way? So if there is too much 'brown' will it also be a smelly heap?

It won't smell but will take longer to decompose........

Composting / Royal Horticultural Society