Composting

[Gizmonster]

Well, I was under the impression that you just put your waste food into a composter and let nature take its course.
I've just been watching SuperScrimpers on Channel 4 and it showed someone putting their waste food into the composter - he lifted up what can be best described as a piece of loft insulation .... it was apparently some kinda cover to help increase the composting speed.
How long should it take for waste food to compost, 'cos on this show it said you should have compost in a matter of weeks !!!!!

[boxtops]

We have two compost bins in the garden, one being filled up and one resting and becoming compost. You can put carpet on the top to keep the warmth in, but I think the best asset is worms - the worms chomp about in the compost and break it all up. We leave ours about 9 months, the one just coming into use is full of lovely friable compost.

[EcclesCake]

I have three compost 'bins', i.e. pallets used to define each compost zone. I reckon it takes 9 months to get well rotted compost from a bin. I'm probably being generous with the amount of rotting time I allow but a few weeks seems a bit ambitious.

[VHG]

You should not put all waste food on a compost.

Meat and things like that should not go on a compost, nor other cooked food, and my wife does not put things like onions on there (not sure why).

Sounds like the loft insulation was there to keep in the heat and make it rot down quickly.

[Gizmonster]

We never put meat in - dunno why, but I'm sure I heard/read it somewhere that u shouldn't put meat in so we never have. Looks like I'll be getting a piece of carpet or other insulating material to keep the heat in.
This might sound like a daft question - but will the worms find their own way there - i.e. will they be attracted by the smell etc?? Would I be better adding some more worms ?? If so, how many and where can I buy some from ...... TIA :)

[roslyn251254]

"Dendra/red tiger worms " can be bought on ebay quite cheaply.

[roslyn251254]

or even dendrobaena worms

[annadomino]

No cooked food cos it attracts vermin.
Heat is the secret to good compost.
Veggie peelings, tea bags, ripped up paper
some animal bedding
and, make sure heap is NOT in shade.

[rowanwitch]

or get a worm composter for smaller amounts of waste or bokashi unit
http://www.wigglywigg...90591c169D0kHFF90627E

[Brinjal]

I cover my compost heap with black plastic sheeting. I tend to think its done when it stops steaming when I turn it. About four months.

[Kiki-frog]

We've got a compost bin which produces pretty good compost. I was always told not to put in cooked food or cheese as it will attract rats. Any fruit or veg peelings, tea bags, egg shells, newspaper, all seem to work a treat. It seems to produce good compost very quickly in a few weeks, but that may be because it's in a sunny position. It also attracts loads of brandling worms for some reason, which helps it along. Until Mr Frog steals them for fishing bait, that is. :-(

[Old_Geezer]

Dunno. I have a compost bin, Filled it with garden waste. Even added stuff from the garden centre which was supposed to speed things up. A few years later it still looks like straw and twigs and all the stuff that originally went in. I think it's all a great con. Maybe if you are tending it every moment, emptying it, stirring it around, reinserting it back into the bin, singing it to sleep each night, or alternatively using a tractor or something to sort a ten foot high pile, then just maybe you can witness something happening. But for us lot encouraged to think you shove it all in at the top, wait, and get loads of nice compost out the base, well what a load of nonsense.

[Old_Geezer]

I don't have veg peelings. It's for garden refuse, hedge clippings, grass cuttings, etc. and it doesn't work. Any new garden refuse the council now collects.

[Frank97]

I find that turning it help speed thing up somewhat!

[Gizmonster]

Thanks for all the replies - mulch - oops I mean much appreciated lol :P
My composter is in the shade, which I suppose won't help things :(
We tend to put mostly kitchen waste in - veg peelings, eggs shells (crushed up), tea bags, etc ... although we do put a little garden waste in. Hmmm ..... looks like I'm gonna have tp start putting more garden waste in along with some paper/cardboard and to start turning it over from time to time as well.
What kinda cover do u reckon is best to place on top to keep it warm ???
Jeez - I never knew composting was so complicated lol :P

[Brinjal]

OG. garden waste takes a lot longer especially twigs and things. Must be cut into small bits. I have a lot of gum leaves and they are very hard and take time to break down. I don't use a bin I use a pit and because there isn't a lot of moisture in dry garden matter I water the heap occasionally. Also grass clippings help and every three weeks turn the heap. Does take time and work I'm afraid but results are worth it.

[shirleycox]

Chop organic matter into smaller particles to speed up the rate of decomposition by mowing them with a lawn mower or chopping them with garden shears. Cutting organic matter down gives microbes more surfaces to work on breaking down the organic materials. Turn the pile once a week using a garden fork to stir the pile. Mixing the pile will aerate the compost. The more oxygen the microbes in the pile can receive, the faster they will break down the compost. Add earthworms near the end of the composting process. Earthworms will eat the largest batches of organic matter and turn them into dark, rich soil.

Choose best organic nutrients from http://www.advancednu...onics/ProductList.php

[Old_Geezer]

Thanks for the advice directed my way. The only reason I tried was the council seemed to have agreed a deal for cut price compost bins, black plastic with lid and small door at the front. I thought i'd benefit from material that I'd only get rid of otherwise; but kept filling it up, and pushing it down, and eventually it filled and I had to get the excess collected anyway. I concluded it needed continuous tending since it was failing to do anything, but maybe the thing that encouraged me to try was not the deal I thought it was. Perhaps, in the spring I'll pull it all out and see if anything has rotted down in the last 5 or so years. Not raising any hopes. No chance of kitchen waste though, don't know where it comes from. Veg isn't peeled, it is scrubbed, or at most scraped. Used tea bags are created at the rate of about one in six months. There's the occassional chicken, lamb, or beef bone, but I suspect that's not what was meant. And in the north facing back garden most of it is in shade, although being near the end it gets what sun is going.