Compost help please

[Peek]

I know that you have to have a mixture of green and brown stuff in your compost heap, but apart from newspaper, what can I put in that's brown?

[fayemcademy]

peek said:

I know that you have to have a mixture of green and brown stuff in your compost heap, but apart from newspaper, what can I put in that's brown?

This should be on the Forum!! Tsk Tsk!

[Peek]

fayemcademy said:

peek said:

I know that you have to have a mixture of green and brown stuff in your compost heap, but apart from newspaper, what can I put in that's brown?

This should be on the Forum!! Tsk Tsk!

*Bashes Mal on heid with wooden spoon*...get back to the Forum laddie, and let the experts answer .

[Fi]

Woodchips, or, if you want an acid compost, pine needles are excellent. If you don't have your own wood chipper, check with your council - they may either have one to share in a neighbourhood, or, if they are collecting gaden waste, may well be chipping woody cuttings themselves. If you want to buy your own chipper, they are not that expensive at places like B&Q, but they are very noisy, so it may be an idea to share the costs with neighbours. If they are interested, it will not only lower the cost to you, but also ensure they won't complain.
Otherwise, the Composting Association lists all sorts of other stuff that can go in - basically the harder stuff is needed to stop the compost forming into a slimey sludge. However, sometimes I've used slimey sludge when it's rotted properly, for digging in. It's just harder to work with.
Just thought, another one at this time of year is fallen leaves from deciduous trees - either rot them down on their own to make leaf mould, or add them to the compost fro desludging purposes.
Good luck!

[Shuggie]

Keep the brown/green ratio about 50/50. Too much brown and it takes ages to rot down, too much green and it gets sludgy.

Buy yourself a garden shredder. I couldn't live without mine .. everything (apart from perennial weed roots) goes into my compost bin.

[Peek]

Yes we have a shredder Shuggie , it's just getting the time to get out there and do it,lol. The compost certainly isn't as sludgy as it used to be before shredding. I also put in the paper shreddings from our personal mail, like old receipts , statements etc. but of course you have to be careful of anything with a high level of ink in it.


Fi, I hadn't thought of woodchips, just wondering how long they take to rot down....but thanks for that link, very useful.

[Ann R Kay]

peek said:

I know that you have to have a mixture of green and brown stuff in your compost heap, but apart from newspaper, what can I put in that's brown?

Sawdust is useful for the 'brown stuff'. If you have a timber yard, sawmill, carpenters anywhere near they may be able to supply you with a bagfull occasionally. Rots down quicker than wood chips too.

[meltemi]

Kalimera Peek,
well any thing that is not obviously diseased is fair game for the compost bin. After 15 years of trying...a grass-free patio garden...all vegetable matter along with shredded important documents & other shredded personal data is fed to the compost bin (and ripped up egg boxes)
A lid on the top seems important. Air getting in at the base also seems important...lots of old bricks...no contact with bare earth also seems to help.
The one thing that seems not to rot -down are the skeletons of tea bags.

[Shuggie]

meltemi said:

no contact with bare earth also seems to help.
The one thing that seems not to rot -down are the skeletons of tea bags.

Contact with the bare earth encourages the worms up into the compost .. and that would solve your tea bag problem!

[meltemi]

Kalimera Shuggie,
The container has a good population on those nice small red bradling worms (much in demand when ER goes coarse fishing) who strut thie stuff taking the stuffing out of the spent tea bag but leave the bag alone...

[Shuggie]

meltemi said:

Kalimera Shuggie,
The container has a good population on those nice small red bradling worms (much in demand when ER goes coarse fishing) who strut thie stuff taking the stuffing out of the spent tea bag but leave the bag alone...

Give them a severe talking to .. show them one of ER's fishing hooks with a meaningful "either .. or" look on your face ..

[meltemi]

Kalimera Shuggie,
will do...