How to start a basic compost heap?

Freiheit

Hi I've never made one, but I'm just wondering how I could go about making a start? something fairly simple that a novice could do?.

Also is there anything that would inhibit the growth of grass on a flower bed or driveway? or is pulling the only option in the former?.

Danke

K

magicbastarder

were you planning on a bin or a heap?
just keep a good balance of ingredients; plenty of greens (leaves, moderate amounts of grass clippings) and browns (twiggy stuff), so it doesn't turn into a wet sludgy mess, or dry out. if you do go for a compost bin, consider the height of it if you're a guy - may as well get one you can irrigate au naturel.

Freiheit

Hi I'm thinking of a bin, actually my father left behind a bin with an opening at the bottom (think he may have been intending to make a compost), so maybe use this? Is it ok to used cooked vegetable waste?...and should it be vegetable waste entirely or are dairy or meat waste ok too? There''s a brown bin that Mr Binman normally takes away, how about the contents of this? there would be tea bags etc in this as well.

Oh and can the grass be cut by a lawnmower or does the petrol do something?.

Danke again
Karen:)

Keeks

Anything that was once "alive" can be composted, but is best to keeping anything that was cooked or meat/fish from the compost bin as it attracts rodents.

Attached is a link to a sheet showing what is good/bad items to put in a bin.

http://www.stopfoodwaste.ie/userfiles/file/PDFs/green%20brown.pdf

Cooked food waste can be composted by using a bokashi method to anaerobically ferment organic waste which can then be added to a compost bin. It si very simple to make one of these with a couple of buckets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokashi_composting#Bokashi

joseph brand

You can make a compost bin from a wheelie bin.

Although this person made the mistake of not turning the bin upside down. (prevents blockage). This is why shop bought composters are wider at the base.

I don't bother with cooked veg or meat. If you have a small garden, you may be able to take grass clippings from neighbours you know, to help fill the composter.

When starting your composter, throw in some garden soil as it contains beneficial life helpful in the decomposition process, and if you're not too squeamish, collect some tiger worms (aka red wigglers) and drop them into your composter. The more the merrier.

The more fresh fruit n veg you eat, the more leftover peelings --> compost you'll get.

bmaxi

I would compost leaves separately as the composting process is different, fungi as opposed to bacteria. If you have lots of leaves, gather them up and put them in black bin bags, wetting them if they are a bit dry. Punch a few holes in the bags and leave them in a shady place for about a year, the resulting leaf mould is one of the best planting mediums you can find.

paddylonglegs

Question about the resulting compost. Is this then mixed in with the likes of store bought potting compost or moss peat? What other ways should it be applied?

Freiheit

thanks, and again should I avoid lawnmower cut grass?.....and does it take a year to be good? could I use next spring or summer what I start now?

bmaxi

Freiheit wrote: »

thanks, and again should I avoid lawnmower cut grass?.....and does it take a year to be good? could I use next spring or summer what I start now?

No, don't avoid grass, just don't use it in one big heap, spread it throughout the heap or you'll be left with a soggy mess. The trick is to get the ratio of carbon (woody material) to nitrogen (green material) correct, I think it's about 15:1. Don't get discouraged though, I've been making compost for years and still get it wrong but you'll know where you went wrong, too wet, too much green stuff, too dry too much brown stuff so you can balance it out. Try to add the woody material in as small pieces as to can, a shredder is a great asset there, also shredded newspaper, not the glossy pages though. It's also important to turn the pile every week or so to let air in, I use two plastic compost bins I got from the council and tip the pile from one to the other. Also, if you're short taken while in the garden, a good pee will work wonders for it, (I'm assuming you're male, otherwise that could prove awkward but there's always a bucket )

bmaxi

Coincidentally Monty Don did a piece on making compost on Gardeners' World tonight, on a much grander scale than most on here could manage but the basics are the same. Catch it again on Sunday at, I think, 9a.m.

dxhound2005

Plenty of videos on Youtube. Just google youtube compost.