Beetroot in the compost heap

I cut up or crush anything like that or they can take forever to decompose, or else put them in the bean trench if you have one open

Richard, a request, 

a block of text like your queary is very hard on the eyes,  could you bung in a couple of paragraph breaks next time ?    Cheers,   Tony.

Two good comments in the last two responses. I am grateful to you both.
Tony, yes, point taken, a working past that involved writing legal documents and technical specifications etc has perhaps made me forget the basic rule. Write in a way that encourages the reader to read and understand. So good point, Tony and I will keep it in mind.
Compost queen, again perhaps I had forgotten what I already knew. By the time the beetroot went in whilst the worms were still very active the heap was cooling.
Hence soft stuff like fallen apples and the odd marrow that got frosted in the shed were getting very mushy but the beetroot which perhaps worms just dont like (like citrus) was not getting broken down. Bit obvious really.
Over all though it is all going very well. I made about 4 cubic metres of really very good garden compost last year which has covered around 40 sq metres at 4 inches thick ready for digging in any time now but by end of 2011 all indications are that I will have double that amount to utilise on my garden. None of it brought in, none of it costing me anything and none of it is going to get wasted. Of course having 6 ducks with straw beds that they enrich prolifically helps, and everything else goes in as well.
My thanks again
R

I get loads of privet clippings and I run over them with the mower or they can be put through a shredder before composting.  You could burn them and add the ash to the garden or compost bin

Your compost will sit there until the weather starts to pick up. Once the sun comes out the composting process will get a kick start. Make sure you turn your heaps and don't add too much of the same thing at once. Adding comfrey each time to add more ingredients is a good idea.