Getting the Right Compost Mix

Home composting is really easy, there are just a few rules to follow, they are easy to learn and will ensure that you make wonderful compost without any nasty smells.

Your bin needs to be sited on a drainable surface so that excess water can drain away and worms can get it. Do not site it on concrete or paying stones. It needs to be placed in an accessible place, preferably in a sunny or semi-shaded position away from water courses.There should be no gaps in the sides and it needs some sort of cover or lid

The material that you put in your bin is split into two categories - greens and brown.

The greens are nitrogen rich, they are soft, wet materials such as vegetale peelings and grass clippings. These are rich in nitrogen which will help your plants grown once it is composted. However, you cannot use these items alone, the wrong sort of microbes woud be attracted and it would get smelly and slimey.
The browns are carbon rich, they are items like twigs, sawdust, shredded paper, torn up cardboard. If you were to use just these items however, there would be no smells but it would take several years to reduce to compost.

Obviously neither of these scenarios is what you are looking for so you need to have a mix of greens and browns. An easy way to achieve this is to start off with a layer of twigs at the bottom to help the air circlate, then add alternate layers of greens and browns. You will soon learn from experience what mix works best but if you set off with roughy equal quantities of greens and browns, you won't go far wrong. Ideally you want the contents to be just moist.

You can also add human urine to the mix. This is sterile and helps to activate the process of composting.

You may have to add some water if the heap seems dry but be careful, the heap should be the consstency of a damp but wrunt out sponge.

If you get your mix right you will soon find that the contents of the bin start to heat up. This is caused by the microbes working to digest all the different materials and turn it into compost. As you add material to the top of the bin, you will see that it seems to shrink down to make room for more. The plastic bins usually have a door at the bottom that you can use to dig out the finished compost.

Greens
Raw vegetable peelings
Fruit skins and cores
Grass cuttings
Annual weeds - you don't want seed!
Wool, cotton and other natural fibres
Leafy vegetable waste
Urine diluted with water 20:1
Comfrey leaves
Soft green prunings
Tea bags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
Manure from herbivores, eg horses, cows
Poultry manure
Hair from animals or humans
Algae and plants from freshwater aquariums

Browns
Twigs and hedge prunings
Torn up cardboard, cereal packets, egg boxes
Shredded paper including junk mail!
Scrunched up newspaper
Eggshells (crushed)
Bedding from vegetarian pets - straw, hay, shredded paper, wood shavings
Old bedding plants
Sawdust and wood shavings
Bracken

Not to be included ever!
Left over cooked food
Meat
Fish
Dairy Products
Bones and Fat
Plastic
Metal
Man made fibres
Roots of pernicious weeds
Dropping from carnivorous animals (cats, dogs)
Coal and coke ash
Disposable nappies
Plants suffering from soil borne diseases

For further articles, information and offers, Home Composting Information