[BigPaddy]

I love compost. Making a nice compost is so satisfying.

As everyone has said the mix is really important. Too much of anything in one go is not good. I keep 'ingredients' bagged near my bins for when I'm ready. You dont want too wet and you don't want too dry. If you get that right everything should be fine.

I am also an absolute fan of the daleks. I now have scrounged 6. I find the average temperature in the dalek to be way higher than my traditional heap made of pallets. When pushed for space I use the heap and then transfer to the dalek. I find that in summer waste to compost can take as little as three months and I happily throw in perennial weeds with the knowledge that the heat will wipe them out.

Love life, love compost.

[Runwell-Steve]

Thanks all,  I will continue on with the making of compost, hopefully I will get it right soon and I will produce somethin useable.  I think my main problem is that it is too wet as I just have some sludge really, so perhaps i need to add lots of paper and cardboard stuff to it as well.

[compostqueen]

Hoiking out compost and giving it a good stir is therapeutic too     

[compostqueen]

It will be sad and cold through winter but as soon as the weather warms up things begin to happen and you need to do is turn up the heat by adding things as we've described. You'll soon have a pressure cooker going. Put it out where it can be in the sun 

[Christine]

Learning to make compost is one of the harder skills on the allotment in my opinion. It's something that comes with experience rather than instructions on a packet. But it does use up an awful lot of leftovers that you would otherwise be left wondering what you should be doing with.

[Chappers]

I used a standard blck dalek type one and emptied it a few months ago and there must have been 5kg of worms in the nice compost. its now up the lotty as ive got a Green Johanna hot composter that you can put everything in including meat http://www.greencone.com/how_it_works.asp?prid=28
My council were selling them subsidised for about £25.
Time will tell

[Jonajo]

While I have bought compost from garden centres when there is an offer on, I do love chucking on veg peelings etc from home a few times a week. It is amazing how quickly the compost bins can fill up.

I have 2 dalek bins and a large compost "heap" made with 4 pallets -  all inherited a year or so ago from the previous tenant. I have got into the routine of putting peelings into one bin for a couple of months, then leaving that and putting stuff into the other bin for a few months. Once that 2nd bin is full, the 1st bin is then pretty decent stuff in terms of rotting down etc and gets emptied into the pallet-bin. And then I repeat the process with bin 1.  Sounds more complicated than it actually is - but last year it worked a treat.

[granjan]

I used a standard blck dalek type one and emptied it a few months ago and there must have been 5kg of worms in the nice compost. its now up the lotty as ive got a Green Johanna hot composter that you can put everything in including meat http://www.greencone.com/how_it_works.asp?prid=28
My council were selling them subsidised for about £25.
Time will tell

That sounds a good idea if it works  

 I don't any worms in my compost at the allotment.  I've even tried using a 'starter' in the form of some of my garden compost which is full of them but with no success.

[Rampant_Weasel]

ive found if u have loads of greens but are   a bit short of browns a small layer of soil is just as good

[jondav]

Living near the coast,I use seaweed,lovely stuff,it pongs to high heaven,no need to wash the salt out the rain does it for me,its full of nutrients

[Trikidiki]

.....I even read somewhere of someone putting a pair of old denims ......

Sorry old denims are reserved for the woodburner, they burn for ages.

[MrsPink]

is it ok to put in coloured cardboard - or just plain brown?

[Carrotcake]

Any colour, but not the shiny stuff