Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: mrt003003 on March 11, 2011, 14:33
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Hi there,
Ive got a hugh amount of used compost, green and brown waste.. (see pic)
Whats the best way to treat, process and recycle the compost pile. Its just getting too big at the moment and I want it to recycle as quick as possible.
Thanks
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What I would do is get some pallets and make a new bin. Then put some twiggy stuff in the bottom to aid air circulation. Then layer green stuff and kitchen waste with chopped up twiggy stuff, ripped cardboard etc. Keep layering it and then put some accelerator on without getting arrested.
The bits of old pallet and the thicker twigs need to be burnt or put in the skip.
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you mention used compost..........this can be dug directly into your soil :)
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Hi there, thanks for the reply and advice thats great! When you say layer it with green waste (leaves, etc). What do i put on the layer above (same again)?
Also inside the bin is a few tones of used ocmpost. With that you think i should dig it into the ground?? Because underneath all the tree bits is already quite a bit of good compost that has formed naturally over the years... Is is ok to dig this up and add in the used compost. What sort of time period will it take for the used compost to have its nutrients put back into it.
Sorry for all the questions im new to this.
Thank you all :)
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Take the twiggy stuff off the top and use all the rest of the pile by digging it into your soil, wonderful soil conditioner :)
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Ihave 3 compost bins which, each year, I lift them off the base, fork out all the un-composted stuff at the top, put it in a pile, remove the good stuff and put it onto the soil where I want it, then replace the un-composted stuff on the bottom of one of the bins, then add more waste later on. When it's full, I start on the next one. I do layer it, but you can fork in each addition as you put it in.
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I do what Goosegirl said but I just have two heaps on the go.
Most of what is visible in your pics looks pretty woody or twiggy. Thick branches won't compost for several years so I agree skip or burn, or trim twiggy bits off for compast heap and stack logs up somewhere unobtrusive for wildlife such as frogs and insects. Eventually they will rot down. The stuff underneath which you say is already well rotted definately dig this into beds, or use as a mulch between plants.
You could salvage some of the wooden sides to rebuild your new compost heap. Avoid new leaf fall in the new compost heap as they take longer to rot down than other compostable matter. Put these in a sepearate pile or wire bin in two or three years these will have reduced in volume to a lovely pile of leafmold.
If you can get hold of a shreader the twiggy stuff will rot down faster, but it's not essential.