advice - making compost heap

countrywoman

Hi all

I am considering building a compost heap
I think i have a good idea of what to put into it but it's the building of it that I'm wondering about

I've seen one in a garden locally and it seems to be built with timber pallets

Also, do I need 3 spaces? For each stage of the composting process

Any ideas welcome
Thanks

looksee

A compost heap can be anything from posh plastic bins to literally a heap. However holding the material together in a stack does make for better composting, and you can use pallets. Fix three together with maybe a bit of timber as a diagonal across the corners to keep it rigid, then wire the front on so it is removable.

Everyone has their own theories as to how to make the best heap, if you have space for three bins and are willing to do the hauling to and fro, then go for it. Some sort of cover is needed to help reduce the amount of rain getting in and allowing it to build up some heat. Again, you may be happy to use a few pieces of old carpet and/ or plastic, or you might make a lid. If it is out of sight then go with what is easiest.

On balance a bit more care and attention will do better composting, getting it to heat up is the main thing and a bigger more solid pile is going to heat better than a small one. Avoid weed seeds, too much grass clippings at one go, and roots of scutch and bindweed.

macraignil

Not sure if I have heard of the 3 stages of composting but I have read of people making more than one compost heap as they can fill one while the others can be at different stages. When one is cleared out of mature compost it can become the next space for filling with fresh material. It depends how much material you have to compost. I made one big compost heap and reckon it might be another year or two before I will dig it out to spread around the garden. I don't recommend this option as the material I am composting is not contained enough to reach a temperature that will kill off weed seeds.

Wood pallets can be sourced for free or bought fairly cheaply so would probably be a good choice of building material. I have seen designs as well that just use a piece of fencing wire held in a upright cylinder shape like a bin. Some gap in the wire is allowed at the base to allow the composted material be removed and fresh material for composting is fed in from the top.

seagull

Bear in mind that you can have either a hot or cold compost heap. Hot is better, as it breaks material down faster, and can kill off some of the seeds that find their way in. You need a mix of wetter and drier materials as you go. If you have a huge load of grass clippings, it can help to shred some newspaper and add that in with it. Bigger is definitely better once it starts warming up, until you start reaching the point of spontaneous combustion.

The 3 compartments are so that you always have a "new" heap on the go that you can add to, rather than adding new material to your mature compost that is ready for use.

countrywoman

Thanks a million for taking the time to reply

RebelButtMunch

I'm using a wheelie bin. I cut a hole in the bottom and replaced it with a mesh, to allow worms in and liquid out. I cut a flap in the front to allow access for a shovel. I've three of them and I get a nice bit of compost.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

It would be cheaper to just buy a plastic compost bin. Bigger and access etc already in place.
You can get the for circa €50

countrywoman

Thanks rebelbuttmunch, I actually have a spare wheelie bin here - the lid broke off it

I might use it and see how I get on
I could put a layer of carpet on the top.

From your experience, has there been any vermin around your bin. That's my fear, as I would be placing it behind my kids play area?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

You won't get vermin if you don't put cooked foods in it.

RebelButtMunch

Ashley Sticky Men wrote: »

You won't get vermin if you don't put cooked foods in it.

Yep that's right. Although last autumn we had a lovely little field mouse that would be in the bin. My fault really as I had too much stuff in there and the lid wouldn't close. The kids would visit Joey da mouse before school in the morning. He'd just sit the twitching his whiskers.

Calahonda52

Ashley Sticky Men wrote: »

You won't get vermin if you don't put cooked foods in it.

Not true.
I have been composting for 45 years and anytime rats get access they are in like a light
Never anything but garden waste and veg peelings

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Not true.
I have been composting for 45 years and anytime rats get access they are in like a light
Never anything but garden waste and veg peelings

Likewise, composting 45 years too, but I have never had rats in the compost. I always use a sealed bin type rather than a wire or wood framed heap, so maybe that makes the difference.

magicbastarder

have had mice in a dalek style composter. no rats though.

looksee

We had a compost heap at a time when we were also at the edge of a field with a ditch/depression in the ground at the end of the garden. There were a few rats around but I can't say I was ever aware they were at the compost bin. We only put vegetable matter in it though.

Wyldwood

I'm with Calahonda. I've been composting for 40 years and the only time I had rats in the heap was when I had an open one made from timber slats with a nice felted roof. Never put cooked food of any kind in the compost, just garden waste/vegetable peels. I've now got closed plastic ones and no rats or mice.
Having said that, the composting from the open bin worked far better and quicker.

countrywoman

Thanks a milion to everyone for replying

I had planned to just compost vegetable peelings, some grass cuttings, leaves, eggshells etc. I wouldn't add cooked food

I'm still within two minutes minds if I'll do it

If I saw vermin, I can honestly say I would hyperventilate!!

A2LUE42

countrywoman wrote: »

Thanks a milion to everyone for replying

I had planned to just compost vegetable peelings, some grass cuttings, leaves, eggshells etc. I wouldn't add cooked food

I'm still within two minutes minds if I'll do it

If I saw vermin, I can honestly say I would hyperventilate!!

Eggshells are something I have been told a few times attracts vermin. Not sure if true or not though.

countrywoman

A2LUE42 wrote: »

Eggshells are something I have been told a few times attracts vermin. Not sure if true or not though.

Thanks a million for that...

RebelButtMunch

A2LUE42 wrote: »

Eggshells are something I have been told a few times attracts vermin. Not sure if true or not though.

Interesting. You know it seems to me that the thread is spilt 50/50 along the lines of vermin. What does that mean?

I find it hard to believe that there are no rats near me yet I have never seen one at my bins. I do have a family of foxes nearby. Maybe they are a deterrent.

RebelButtMunch

Or look at it this way. Assuming rats are everywhere. Then every compost bin should have rats. Why don't they?

macraignil

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

Or look at it this way. Assuming rats are everywhere. Then every compost bin should have rats. Why don't they?

The farm yard behind my compost heap has had a bunch of cats introduced at the start of the year. I can see them in the garden patrolling for rats or mice regularly and have seen no rats near the compost heap even though I throw on to it anything organic including egg shells and food waste(excluding meat). I have seen crows pecking at the freshly emptied organic waste bucket contents but I usually cover this with grass clippings fairly quickly and have no crows visiting after that. There also have been foxes about that might help the cats keep the area less rat infested than some other places. My parents usually put down rat poison to get rid of them from their back garden. Some places are less rat friendly than others.