How to make compost

Making your own compost at home is something that is so easy but many of us don’t bother doing it. The most important ingredient with compost is time. Organic matter will always break down. As gardeners we want to get it to break down as fast as we can so we have something to use on our garden.

Compost can be made in a big pile or more commonly in a compost bin. If the materials are mixed together with air and moisture then they will break down and we will get a usable product to use on the garden.

I compost most of the waste from my garden. This is a photo of my finished compost.

Here is the shredder i use. It is old now but still does a good job. Here is the link from amazon. https://amzn.to/2JJOSGX

I have 2 Dalek style bins and this allows me to compost the bulk of the green waste in my medium size garden. Most of my waste is grass cuttings which I mix with shredded paper. I use a cross cut paper shredder then mix them into the cuttings.

These are links to products from amazon. I use plastic compost bins they are cheap and dont rot. By using a shredder for garden waste i can fit a lot more in my bin. Also it means that the waste breaks down faster. I also use a paper shredder to shred paper. I mix this with grass. Paper shredder from amazon https://amzn.to/2VYnZRm

All organic matter will eventually break down given enough time. As we want a usable product we want to speed up this process as much as possible. We can do this in a few ways.

• Shred the material to create a larger surface area
• Mixing the right amount of brown and greens
• Aerate the pile
• Keep the pile moist and don’t allow it to dry out
• Kick start the process with compost accelerator or a shovel full of garden soil.
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Micro organisms break down the organic matter into compost. They need oxygen and moisture and give off carbon dioxide and heat. The heat can kill off any weed seeds. By increasing the surface area of our materials we can expose more of it to the micro organisms. Aerating the compost bin allows the micro organisms to do their work. If the bin is too dry then they will die. Mixing the right ratio of green and browns speeds up the process but any mistakes can be corrected later. Adding a compost accelerator and a  shovel full of soil speeds up the decomposition process.

 

How to start a compost bin

Ideally place the bin on soil, this allows the microorganisms to get into the bin naturally. When you first add materials add a shovel full of soil on top and fork in. It is better to add a lot of volume at once. This will generate more heat to the pile which speeds up the process.

Any soft pruning’s I just scrunch up by hand and add into the pile. Harder pruning’s that need secateurs to cut I put them through my garden shredder if you don’t have a shredder then you can chop them up by hand. Any weeds I add to the council collection bin.

Really thick branches get left out of the pile. I could cut them up and add them but it takes too long to break down and my shredder is only small. The council take them away and compost them off site where they have access to massive commercial shredders.

Grass is something that breaks down really well. Mix it with brown material and don’t compact it. I use shredded paper and mix it in by hand. If you compact it to squash it, then it tends to just dry out as no air gets into it.

Before I put material in the bin I use a garden fork to fluff up the previous layers. This gets the air in it again. Also this is a good time to check the moisture level. If it is too dry add some water or wet grass cuttings first. Too wet and add some brown material and mix it in with a fork.

Once the bin is filled up leave everything to settle. The process reduces the volume dramatically and you can get more on top.

 

Common problems

Too wet- Add brown material and mix well

Too dry add green material or water.

Smells- Not enough air is getting in use a fork to mix it and if its wet add some brown material

 

Best compost bins

Loads of different bins are on the market and you can even build your own. I like the Dalek style compost bin because it doesn’t rot and retains moisture well.

Insulated bins keep the heat in a reduce the time for a finished compost. They also allow you to add things that you wouldn’t normally add to a bin like dog/cat poo

Wooden bins are a lot more attractive and look much better than plastic ones. Especially good if it has to be on show.

Multiple bins work best as when one is full you can start another bin while the first is breaking down. Larger gardens should have a 3 bin system to always allow room for more materials. Bigger gardens would have multiple composting bin sites spread around.

When you first start the bin quickly fills up. As it breaks down then the level will drop. You can put many times the bins volume in green waste. I have a medium size garden and i use 2 dalek compost bins.

After one season you will get around one half of a bin that is ready. The top has to be scrapped of and you will see good stuff underneath.This lets me get plenty of compost to spread around the garden as mulch. I sieve out the good stuff and anything else I leave it there for the next season.

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