[bb_odiham]

So I've got this big old green compost bin thing at the bottom of my garden in a small copse. ( garden stuff )

Whenever our co-op recyclable plastic bag is full of vege bits, or whenever I mow the lawn, we bung the proceeds into the compost bin.

It's got a bit nasty in the compost bin lately (we've been throwing it in for about four months)

My significant other isn't keen on the chore, as when the lid of the compost bin is opened, a gazillion tiny little flies magically appear, along with a lot of big old slugs under the lid and a month back, some angry wasps due to our apple tree waste.

Anyhoo, the bin is not even 20% full after four months. I've been chucking in some organic accelerator stuff that looks like cat litter - I have no idea if that does anything.

My boss at work says I need to get a pole with a hook on the end to mix up the compost every so often - I've settled for a tree branch.

I'm completely at sea regarding this compost thing and have no idea whether what I'm doing/experiencing is correct or whether next spring I'll end up with putrid sludge that'll kill at 10 paces...

Are all these flies/slugs/wasps/insects a good thing?
Do I need to stir up the compost every so often?
Is it wise to have the compost bin in the shade of a small wooded copse?

Right now, it really doesn't smell that bad - it's just full of all sorts of insect life!

Am I doing this right?

[peapod]

you need to put brown waste in too, shredded paper, cardboard, egg boxes, loo rolls, newspaper etc. Also too many grass clippings can lead to a slimy mess. Try to get a 2/3 green to 1/3 brown (thats what works for me)
The flies, although annoying are harmless.

The stick to stir it with is ok, but you are really better emptying the bin once a month and spading it back in, plus keep it moist but not too wet
Paula

[lincspoacher]

Compost is made of two things:

Green Stuff:
Stuff that was alive when you threw it in - like leaves, grass cuttings, apples, raw veg from the kitchen, weeds, root balls, comfrey, tea leaves, coffee grounds, nettles, manure and urine (diluted 20:1) . Green stuff rots away to almost nothing, but provides  most of the nutrients. Some green stuff acts as an activator, promoting quick or 'hot' composting.

Brown Stuff:
Stuff that's been dead a long time when you threw it in: dried branches, wood chips, paper, leaves,  hedge, sawdust, small amounts of wood ash. Brown stuff provides the bulk matter that absorbs the nutrients and turns into the stuff you recognise as compost.

Try and make layers of green and brown, and have equal volumes of each in the pile.

I have three piles rotting away on my plot , two hot, one cold, plus the bin at home. No such thing as too much compost.

Hot and Cold Composting:
Some stuff rots so quickly the release of heat is noticeable, like a pile of grass cuttings, or try making  apile of alternate layers of sawdust and horse poo, covered with black plastic - in a couple of weeks it will be very warm to the touch. Other compost heaps rot slowly, and never warm up, but its still composting. Powerful activators like grass trigger hot composting.

Compost needs to be not to wet and not too dry. It needs to be kept dark and every 2 or 3 months, you need to turn out onto a plastic sheet and mix up the entire pile, or the inside will compost while the outside is untouched. And the other point is that the pile will shrink and compact. Expect a pile of compost the shrink to 20 or 10 percent of its starting volume, depending whats in it. I have a 350 L compost bin at home ive been putting stuff in for 3 years, ive only emptied it once. The stuff inside has been tested for nutrient levels, its now average nutrient level is 4200 (compared to normal uncultivated soil which is 350). Thats why they call compost 'black gold'. Also, realise the stuff you buy in the garden centers called 'compost' is really nothing to do with the stuff you make in a home compost bin - what you make at home is really 'green fertiliser'.

[BigPaddy]

Good answers.

The only thing I would add is that it is supposed to rot down, so don't worry that after four months it isnt full. I fill big darlek bins. When full i leave them. When they look ready I trun the contents into a new bin. When that has 'cooked' I end up with less than 1/4 bin of compost to spread and I really do fill the bin to start.

[compostqueen]

It's full of rotting stuff so you will get insects and slugs, quite normal. The finished compo won't smell at all, it will be brown, crumbly and lovely. It might have some weed seeds in it though but no worries    

You need  to put it where it gets hot, eg in full sun so get it shifted     Make sure you put in all your tea bags, coffee grounds, spent flowers, washed out egg shells, peelings in it and your spent bedding plants etc, dead headings from plants, old compost from baskets and planters, loo roll middles etc  and it will soon fill up.  Make sure you keep the lid tightly on as you want all the heat kept in.  I turn mine out a couple of times a year, into a wheel barrow and then chuck it back in.  You don't have to but it does make it "cook" faster  

[Ice]

I agree with Compostqueen.  It's not rocket science so don't get hung up on the detail.  The only thing I would add is don't ever put cooked veg in.  You will get rats.

[lincspoacher]

It's full of rotting stuff so you will get insects and slugs, quite normal. The finished compo won't smell at all, it will be brown, crumbly and lovely. It might have some weed seeds in it though but no worries    

You need  to put it where it gets hot, eg in full sun so get it shifted     Make sure you put in all your tea bags, coffee grounds, spent flowers, washed out egg shells, peelings in it and your spent bedding plants etc, dead headings from plants, old compost from baskets and planters, loo roll middles etc  and it will soon fill up.  Make sure you keep the lid tightly on as you want all the heat kept in.  I turn mine out a couple of times a year, into a wheel barrow and then chuck it back in.  You don't have to but it does make it "cook" faster  

yes insects and worms in it are good.

Ive had an entire ants nest in mine last year , does wonders for aereating it.

[compostqueen]

Some folk put bread in but I don't

I have loads of egg shells in my kitchen compost which is good at deterring slugs I reckon     I really like kitchen waste compost cos it's got no weed seeds in it. I'm a bit of a saddo about compost and like to keep a bin just for the kitchen stuff. It rots down faster too.

[peapod]

The trouble with composting is that people can become obssessed getting the right mix! (My tutor for example :-) )I can remember being worried when I first got my bin, thinking Id done it all wrong! But as long as I dont put cooked stuff in or doggy poo and get the OH to pee in it every now and again (its good for acceleration apparently) I just let it get on with it. Every time I think my bin is too full to shove something else in I manage to fit another lot of waste
:-)

[compostqueen]

  Bung it in and then try and get the lid on. Have you tried sitting on it yet    My mate stands in his and treads it down     Does the same with daleks full of manure too, and when he's firmed it down to his liking, plants a squash or courgette in the top    

On a sunny day like today the bin does slump quite a bit specially if you add a few grass mowings. Always room for a tidge more  

[lincspoacher]

The trouble with composting is that people can become obssessed getting the right mix! (My tutor for example :-) )I can remember being worried when I first got my bin, thinking Id done it all wrong! But as long as I dont put cooked stuff in or doggy poo and get the OH to pee in it every now and again (its good for acceleration apparently) I just let it get on with it. Every time I think my bin is too full to shove something else in I manage to fit another lot of waste
:-)

I agree.

I have 4 piles, mainly consisting:

1. nothing but horse poo and sawdust
2. horse poo,sawdust, earth sods
3. earth sods, grass, hedge trimmings,
4. grass, hedge, roots, kitchen.

All composting nicely. i dont agree with compressing it too hard, it needs air though it or you get smelly anerobic bacteria or it just doesnt go.

[Knoblauch]

All men and I'm sure lots of ladies pee in the compost heap - but why should it be diluted 1:20?   I often save the first dark and dank excretion of the day as being particularly rich and good for the compost heap - 1:20 would make it look like water?

[lincspoacher]

All men and I'm sure lots of ladies pee in the compost heap - but why should it be diluted 1:20?   I often save the first dark and dank excretion of the day as being particularly rich and good for the compost heap - 1:20 would make it look like water?

ah because you pour 1 pint of wee on a heap it wets the top 6 inches. u pour 20 pints on its wets the whole heap, much more useful.

[compostqueen]

Lady water    goes straight on top  here but I take your point entirely  

[bb_odiham]

Wow, what a ton of good advise!

So, looks like I firstly need to reposition my compost bin from the bottom of the wood to somewhere where it'll get more heat! - then again, with Autumn about and Winter approaching, it's a bit late.

I've been throwing in mostly green, but also bread and egg shells. I'll throw in egg cartons too from now on.

The scary thing is, working out how much the compost will have cost - we are trying to cut back on waste, but still end up turfing out way too much vege.