[bloomer]

ok i am up to speed with the basics of home made compost...


i have 2 1metre cubed spaces available built out of old scaff planks the fronts are removable for easy turning, the plan is when box A gets full to turn it into box B and start filling box A again and hope B is ready to use before A is full again...


i have plenty of chicken mess on auboise bedding (rots well) that is the base of it and green garden waste goes in as well, we are just starting to separate our kitchen waste into compost/non compost, we're lucky in fife they take all kitchen waste for recycling, but we want to keep the good stuff back for ourselves.


so my question is what are the good/bad things to look for avoid in kitchen waste for composting??


i know all aliums are bad as is citrus peel anything else i should be aware of?


if i compost potato peelings am i just going to get a million rogue potato plants???


can you tell all my previous composting has been garden waste only...

[Mammyshaz]

I compost all raw bits of fruit and veg, egg shells, tea bags, fire ash, plain cardboard and tubes etc. giving it a quick stirr into the chicken waste layer and garden waste which is usually thicker than the household waste layer.
The only thing I don't use is potato peeling as we did end up with a load of plants starting up around the edges of the heap inside the walls.

[Dan]

One problem with potato peelings is the storing up of disease, like scab or more seriously blight.

Not a problem if you're not going to use the compost on potato beds, but we do so to be safe put potato peelings in the food waste bin, not the compost.

No meat or meat waste, no fat, and only compost cooked veg if it's unadorned. We do compost citrus peelings, but don't eat a whole lot so in the scheme of things it's a tiny proportion of our bins.

With good air circulation, sufficient moisture and regular turning the odd mistake in what you compost won't ruin it. It's a bit like a bad haircut - time and a little attention fixes most problems. 

[doganjo]

Rats!

[bloomer]

dobby :-)

[doganjo]

Well Rio does a pretty good job too - what about your cats? 

[bloomer]

too old or fat!!!


chickens also do a number on rats...

[doganjo]

I think I have rats at the front - no duck eggs for months.  Keeping them in tomorrow till noon to test them.  I think we may find nests under the duck shed you'll be moving to take the tree down.

[Womble]

We have two compost heaps

One gets used in the Polytunnel, so that gets all the kitchen waste plus some bedding from the chicken coop (the rest goes on the muck heap).

The second is just for getting rid of nasty stuff like cat litter and things the cat dragged in. It's in an area of the garden well away from anywhere we'll ever grow things. The idea is that that pile can take as long as it wants to rot down, and we'll never use the result for anything - it's just for reducing what we send to landfill. We also put potato peelings in there, to be on the safe side.

I did see a nice system once that you might want to consider Bloomer. There were three open fronted square bins next to each other (could be made from pallets), with adjustable retaining planks across the front of each. The idea was that compost was turned over from chamber A => B => C, and was then ready for use in the garden. However, the open front meant that the hens could get in and scratch about in there for bugs, which accelerated the composting.

I heard a Gardners Question Time once where the panel were asked "What's the difference between good compost and bad compost?"  The reply was "There's no such thing. Either it's good compost or it's not compost at all!"

I have three quesitons for you all though:

1) Eggshells - yes or no?  Ours never really seem to break down properly, so we end up with lovely compost with bits of shell right through it. Is this still a good thing, or is it just making a mess?

2) Covered - yes or no?  I've read that heaps should be left so the rain can get at them to keep them moist. However, I've also read that this washes all the nutrients out of the compost. What do you all do?

3) Does anyybody use a Green Cone?  Does it actually work, or is it just a magnet for vermin?

[Mammyshaz]

I give the egg shells a quick crush before putting in the compost pot in the kitchen. I think it helps with drainage and will eventually turn to crumb.

On the open or closed debate I think heavy rain probably does wash nutrients out if the heap is open to the elements permanently so I keep ours covered but lift the cover off if the contents look a bit dry and rain is forecast.

Don't really know if there is a right or wrong   

[Dan]

1. Yes to eggshells.


2. We cover our compost bays (made from pallets) with a square of black plastic. There's always a corner sticking up, or the odd occasion when it slips off, so they seem to get enough moisture.

[Bex]

This is probably a stupid question,

Should the compost be on bare ground or a concrete floor? I'd have thought bare ground but DH's father built a compost area with a concrete bottom so that all the good compost 'juices' didn't run off into the ground.

Which is best and why?

[bloomer]

all my garden only ones have been on bare ground to allow worms etc up into the compost to aid the process...

[Mammyshaz]

all my garden only ones have been on bare ground to allow worms etc up into the compost to aid the process...r

Mine too 

[doganjo]

I've got plastic cooncil ones - one on gravel, one on grass - no difference that I can see.