Filling my daleks without grass clippings

[Containergardener]

We have a mulching mower so won't get grass clippings (unless OH changes the mower) .
Will that really slow down my composting ?

Neighbours all compost their clippings already.

[burnie]

You will need a green source, have you got a privet hedge?

[Containergardener]

No. Plenty native trees, shrubs, weeds but will not put elder , brambles or nettles in .
Maybe I need to bring clippings from mums garden?

[Mr Bones]

Ours dalek does alright just with veg peelings and corrugated cardboard. We only have one, it takes a while to make any decent volume but the compost is rich in nutrients.

[Containergardener]

OK thanks. I will see if I can get some extra greens from mum to add (another one with a big garden) , we have plenty cardboard , paper, shreddings from trees and shrubs.
I could do with it as fast as possible so going to have to find the greens I can see.

[ameno]

I don't have a lawn, and I still get three good loads of compost each year.
About two-thirds of the ingredients are kitchen waste (including used kitchen roll and torn up toilet roll tubes), a third to a half is shredded prunings from the garden, and the remainder is weeds and dead crops.

[Containergardener]

Thanks ameno

[Containergardener]

Started off my bins at last , used what I had.
Woody tree shreddings that had been sat in leaf mulch
Bit of own soil and old compost
Cardboard and newspaper
Weeds
Soft prunings shredded
Sawdust that had been sat ages

Gave it a water.
Hopefully that will be OK for now.

[Containergardener]

I have a question about Ash from our multi fuel woodburner.
Can this go in my compost bin?
Mostly wood, only few pieces coal go on initially. Have read differing advice on tinternet. All just powder at the end.

[ameno]

You shouldn't add any ash from coal, as it contains toxins from the coal.
I don't know at what percentage coal the toxins would be at negligible enough levels to be considered safe, but I personally wouldn't risk using any load of ash which had any coal ash in it.

On a different note, if you find your heap has too much brown material and rots slowly as a result then try adding urine.
The main purpose of "green" materials is to provide water and nutrients (mainly nitrogen) to help the bacteria to break down the tougher, more carbon-rich materials. Urine is rich in nitrogen, so can help substitute for this.

[Containergardener]

You shouldn't add any ash from coal, as it contains toxins from the coal.
I don't know at what percentage coal the toxins would be at negligible enough levels to be considered safe, but I personally wouldn't risk using any load of ash which had any coal ash in it.

On a different note, if you find your heap has too much brown material and rots slowly as a result then try adding urine.
The main purpose of "green" materials is to provide water and nutrients (mainly nitrogen) to help the bacteria to break down the tougher, more carbon-rich materials. Urine is rich in nitrogen, so can help substitute for this.

Thanks ameno. I will use just wood now for use on compost and find my OH a pot to ***s in

[Snadger]

I just emptied my dalek yesterday so will need to start filling it again. I burn wood only and use the ash on the plot. I burn any wood I can get a hold of, lately my allotment neighbours old fence which I scrounged and had a day chainsawing it up into usable lengths. There are so many nails in it that as well as supplying potassium and altering the ph, the plot is also getting a good dose of iron.
I compost all my kitchen waste plus old cardboard, allotment waste and a few grass cuttings now and again.The weeds are composted in a separate heap.I get a buzz from collecting kitchen waste and taking it to allotment to compost.
The compost I took out of bin yesterday was laid on top of cardboard in a raided bed and covered with shop bought compost ready for planting.

[Containergardener]

As the one that was full sinks down should I still be topping it up, I have been.

[Plot70]

I went to get some shredded fir from the supply provided and found it to be steaming hot.
The chickens got some of the non steaming stuff from round the edges to scratch in.
I put a barrow load of the steaming stuff in a darlek and chucked a load of freshly pulled weed roots in and topped up with a couple more barrow loads. I am hoping that it will cook the weed roots off.
The acid compost will be useful next year because our soil is high PH.

[ameno]

As the one that was full sinks down should I still be topping it up, I have been.

For a while, yes. But then after a couple months you should just leave it to rot down (turning at least once, ideally two or three times), and start another bin in the mean time.