Advice needed on home made compost

[Herbsandveg]

I'm a fairly novice gardener, and could do with a bit of help on my compost project.

I bought two or three composting bags, and have filled them with all our vegetable cuttings plus a few turves from where I reclaimed an area of grassland in order to form our vegetable plot. The turves have been turned upside in the bags - as I wa advised on this very Forum - and I'm just ordering how long (from being filled around the end of March) the bags might take to produce any workable compost. I can understand how the vegetable cuttings would break down by about this time next year, but am worried that there might be some big lumps of turf amongst it, thus spoiling the usability of the end product.

Could anyone advise me on this one, please?

[rustylady]

Why did you buy bags?

[chris]

They will take a long time to break down - I'd guess 12-18months - I'd have stacked them elsewhere - not in your heaps.

Not sure what those composting bags are, but the more you turn and mix up your compost heaps, the faster they'll break down.

Roughly equal parts of greens to browns, and turning often means I can turn a full dalek into useable compost in about 3 months.. The more greens, or nitrogen rich additions will help to keep the heap going, but there's the cool phase of composting too.

Urine really does work wonders - if you have a lot of browns

[Two_Sheds]

have filled them with all our vegetable cuttings plus a few turves

You haven't added any "browns" then? You're going to end up with a bag of slime.

You must wrap your kitchen peelings in sheets of newspaper, and also add any torn up cardboard, paper envelopes etc etc.

[alldigging]

What are composting bags? Those things you can roll about?

[rustylady]

I presume these are the ones Original Organics

[Two_Sheds]

crikey, seven squid each!

I'd just use rubble sacks, from any local supermarket (about a quid for five)

[alldigging]

crikey, seven squid each!

I'd just use rubble sacks, from any local supermarket (about a quid for five)

Or a big heap on the ground. Cost zero. Although it probably needs covering to stop the surface growing.

[Herbsandveg]

Composting update...

Thank you again to all for your advice...

I think I might now dispense with the compost bags and invest in a proper compost heap frame - better still, I could make one.

I never, ever stop learning on here! Many, many thanks again...

[Two_Sheds]

I'm just ordering how long (from being filled around the end of March) the bags might take to produce any workable compost.

That depends on the bag contents, the weather, and what composting organisms you have. In a bag, there're going to be a whole lot fewer composting critters than you would get if you had a heap on the ground. Worms, for example.

Workable compost? A ball park figure would be 6-12 months. I turn my daleks every 6 months or so (basically once they're full), and I get "rough" compost, with lumps in.



Which is fine for my beds, I don't mind lumps. Really big lumps of wood get chucked back in the dalek.

My friend has some really lovely black crumbly compost at hers, it took 5 years.

If you want really fine potting compost, you need to make leafmould, and leave it for at least 2 years.

[Herbsandveg]

You haven't added any "browns" then? You're going to end up with a bag of slime.

You must wrap your kitchen peelings in sheets of newspaper, and also add any torn up cardboard, paper envelopes etc etc.

At the risk of sounding very ignorant, could you tell me what 'browns' are, please?...

[Two_Sheds]

Browns are carbon-based additions: newspaper, straw, torn up cardboard, loo rolls etc

Greens are nitrogen additions: plant material, weeds etc


You need roughly a 50/50 mix

[Angeldon]

I think I might now dispense with the compost bags and invest in a proper compost heap frame - better still, I could make one.

You could try contacting your local council, they normally have the dalek bins at knock-down prices.

[LillyRoseGarden]

Dalek

I didn't wanty to mess with bags and hips, so I bought a Dalek on amazon.
It's 300L capacity and I love it. The only draw back is you need to pin it down somehow as it blew away the other day.

[alldigging]

Once its half full it shouldn't go anywhere.