making compost

I got another free compost bin today from the local council .. really well made and sturdy made in Austria from recycled polyethylene  plastic. Anyway I did not have too much in the way of composting material to hand plenty of green and lots of strawy farmyard muck but not much other brown material. So to try to make my compost I mixed layers of mossy thatch that had been ripped out of the lawn with farmyard muck some compost from another bin and a good sprinkling of chicken manure ( rehydrated pellets) as an activator gave it a bit of a watering. What are the chances I will get this to work? I have a mound of mossy thatch to get composted and am thinking I may have to invest in a shredder to get brown material from small branches and perhaps old cardboard. Composting is actually quite scientific I think anybody know the secret and are willing to divulge  ? 

Hi John

As in gardening generally, there are many methods of composting. You can choose between hot or cold composting. If cold then it takes months to break down enough to be crumbly; lengthy process and produces small quantities. Hot compost on the other hand is very fast. We produce about a cubic metre every 3 weeks, Mixing roughly 50% greens to 50% browns. The mix is important, as you point out it is a scientific process, but you can vary it to 60/40 and still be successful. For greens, we use horse manure mixed with straw, bucket of coffee grounds from cafe, comfrey leaves, nettles incl roots. For browns, stored autumn leaves and brown cardboard. It's turned (and aerated by doing so) in to another bin every 3 days once it reaches 60%. This ensures harmful pathogens and weed seeds are killed. After about the third turn, the temp drops off and the fungi go to work. We use the no-dig method of gardening and so our efforts are concentrated on making good quality compost to feed the soil. Check out the Berkely method, there's plenty of info on Utube or email me for more info if you wish.

Invest in a shredder if you have trees/shrubs that you prune. We have had ours for years. I keep all the brown shreddings in a separate container and add a layer to the compost heap after adding the grass from mowing the lawn. We also add coffee grounds, tea bags and other kitchen waste but beware DO NOT ADD ANYTHING THAT A RAT WOULD FIND EDIBLE. Compost heaps with edible kitchen waste are a magnet to rats; they can survive on very little.

I have been trying to make decent compost for at least a couple of years with disappointingly meagre results so far. I throw fruit and veggie waste plus shredded paper into it plus the occasional scoop of cow manure, but it takes ages to break down. How do you make your compost heat up?

You need a heap of around 1m³ to get the temperature up and a good mix of greens and browns. I also give my heap a few turns each year and give it a liberal doseage of the golden liquid whenever it's available.

Keeping the compost suitably damp also deters rats or other wildlife from setting up home in it. 

Many thanks for those tips. Not sure if I'll be able to follow them, as I just use a wheelie bin with the bottom cut off and holes drilled in it. I don't have a lot of room where I have my raised beds.