[Jaye]

We inherited a yucky sludgy fullcompost bin when we moved in. It's coming apart a bit and could do with emptying and mending and well to be honest with family aand ill-health and new babies we've kind of ignored it  :oops:

I'd really like to get it sorted and in working order and either mend it or replace it. I have no idea what to do with the stuff inside. Do i just chuck it all out, bng it all on the flower beds or keep turning it over and hope it improves (my hubby suggested the latter)

Jaye

[lefrog]

From what you are saying the inside looks sludgy, you can keep the sludge and use it in a new compost bin with more brown than you would do usually.

[Jaye]

"with more brown"?

elaborate please (i'm a thick newbie sorry and not tried composing before)

Jaye

[noshed]

If it smells nice and earthy, just spread it on your beds. If it smells a bit disgusting and is slimy, mix in some prunings and twiggy stuff to get more air in. Really you just need to give it a good stir up. Then it will rot nicely and be lovely.

[Sally A]

Compost is made up of greens and browns.

Greens are lawn mowings, veg peelings, ie the mushy stuff.

Browns are prunings (shredded for preference), a few leaves swept up, shredded paper (no nutrients in that but it does stop it getting too wet).

Also make sure there are air pockets throughout, and empty egg box, or loo roll innards will help there.

[Jaye]

Wow you guys are really amazing! Thanks a lot!

Jaye

[lefrog]

brown are referred as high in carbon things ( cardboard, newspaper, leaves, sawdust, woodchip) while the green on the other side are more nitrogen oriented things ( grass clipping, veg trimmings, old vegetables...).
the perfect mix depend on the ratio of green and brown ( too much green or too wet and the compost will start getting smelly and sloppy, too much brown or too dry and it will stay dormant or not much will happen).

it s easy as soon as you notice what work and what wont. at the end of the day it s hard to do something dramatic to a compost heap. trail and error:)

[splodger]

i have a mushy bin - that i empty when full and put in my proper compost bin - i like to keep them seperate - to create layers - once it's had a bit of time i can turn it - normally only once - sometimes twice - cover - and wait til i want some - hey presto - lovely compost  

i use a wheelie bin for my mushy stuff - which is most household food waste - i rots down very quickly   but does whiff a bit - when you move it

[Jaye]

i always thought composting was really difficult - well the way it had been explained to me sounded like it - but that sounds simple and well DOable

Jaye

[lefrog]

at the end of the day it all goes back to compost, there s many way to get to the end result, some fast low maintenance some others are faster and more time consuming

it s all up to you, but as long as you are having fun doing it

[Jeanieblue]

I thought I had some rather nice compost, even if it was a bit twiggy/egg shelly/tea baggy, and spread some over my new onion patch, but ended up with a load of weeds. Any advice? My current compost heaps (three tonne bags in a neat row) are festering away nicely!

Must go to bed, the Baileys is kicking in .... hic

[DD.]

I thought I had some rather nice compost, even if it was a bit twiggy/egg shelly/tea baggy, and spread some over my new onion patch, but ended up with a load of weeds. Any advice? My current compost heaps (three tonne bags in a neat row) are festering away nicely!

Must go to bed, the Baileys is kicking in .... hic

How long did you leave it? If it was a year the seeds should have gone through their cycle, germinated grew a bit & then gave up! Also if the composting process is working correctly, the heat generated should help destroy them.

[Selkie]

If you could still see stuff like tea bags in it then it wouldn't have rotted down enough.

Did you put perennial weed roots into the compost heap? What weeds did you get growing from the compost?

[corndolly]

Sounds like the temperature was nt hot enough, try putting a cover on in winter to keep in the warmth and the worms will remain active .If your compost is in bags ,have you put any worms in there .I find that turning over the compost 2 or 3 times a year helps .

[Jeanieblue]

Thanks everybody people for the advice. I probably didn't leave the compost long enough. Fortunately it was just annual seeds which came up. I'd been very careful NOT to put dock, couch grass, dandelion roots on the heap. Will get some old carpet and make the heaps a bit more cosy. I'd only put a bit of black plastic on the top.  There were plenty of worms - and I do fish them out and rehouse them when I start a new bag of compost.