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What To Put In Compost - How To Make Compost Part 2.
Sat 22 November 2008
03:53pm
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How To Make Compost Part 1 I talked about a place for the compost magic to happen and in this part we will now start adding stuff into your composter.
To get the best out of your compost heap you need to make sure that the things you put in are the right things and also in the right quantities. It is a bit like a recipe in that putting the wrong amounts of ingredients just won't work all that well to create the final result that you are looking for (in this case lovely crumbly compost).
The items to place in your composter come in two categories called 'greens and browns' and the general rule of thumb is that you should be aiming for approximately about twice as many 'browns' than 'greens'. So 66% of the items you place into your composter should be from items classified as 'browns' and 33% should be 'greens'.
To understand why you need items from these two categories it is a good idea to understand what they achieve by going onto your heap. For compost to do its thing and decompose properly you need four ingredients which are nitrogen, carbon, water and air. 'Greens' give your compost the nitrogen it needs and 'Browns' gives your compost its carbon. The air and waterwe will look at a little later on.
When you add these ingredients they need to be intermixed well with each other to aid in their decomposition. To do this easily it is best to add your 'greens and browns' in layers so basically your whole composter is made up of layers like a lasagne. Each layer should be no more than around a couple of inches (5cm) thick.
A List of Greens You Can Put In Your Composter
Mowed grass clippings (remember the 2 inch layer above)
Fruit and Vegetable waste (Cut up potatoes and onions to make sure they don't grow)
Any plant wastage (Such as old flowers or carrot tops) Manure
Weeds (Although I leave perennials and stubborn ones out)
Old potted and bedding plants
Tea bags and tea leaves
Seaweed
A List of Browns You Can Put In Your Composter
Leaves (Including green ones which are technically browns)
Prunings, sticks, twigs and branches (Cut them up into small pieces)
Paper (not the glossy sort)
Shredded paper (I always put my shredded bank statements in)
Newspaper (Scrunched up or torn up)
Bits of cardboard (Empty loo rolls and egg boxes)
Kitchen towel and tissues
Coffee grounds
Eggshells
Pet bedding from herbivorous pets (Such as rabbits and guinea pigs)
Straw and wood shavings
Hair (From you and your pets)
Things you should not put in
Not everything is decomposable and if these items were added it would not be very nice for you or your compost. These include...
Any meat or dairy products
Anything cooked including vegetables (these attract rats and flies)
Oils (such as vegetable oil)
Cigarette ends
Plastic bags
Dog and cat faeces (including the litter from a tray)
Glossy magazines
Diseased plants
Any plants which have been treated with chemicals
Thorny plants
Air and Water
As mentioned above in adding to your 'greens and browns' you will also need air and water to help in the decomposition. If you have an open heap then you will probably not need to add any water to it as rain will be able to get in but for an enclosed composter it is a good idea to add some water, especially in the summer because it will get really dry in there. You should be aiming for everything to be damp but not completely drenched.
To get air into your compost the best way of doing this is by doing things such as scrunching up your browns such as newspaper so there are air pockets in your compost. Just make sure you don't try and compact as much as possible into your composter so it is all squash in as no air will just stop the composting from taking place.
Hopefully this list has helped you understand what can and what cannot go into your composter. If you are ever in any doubt as to what to put in, it is probably a good idea not to put it in as you don't want to ruin your lovely compost which is what you are aiming for. If you need a compost bin to put all this lovely stuff listed above and are based in the UK you can always try
Greenfingers - Compost Bins and Composting Accessories
Go to How To Make Compost Part 3 - 10 Ways of Speeding Up Compost
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