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I think nothing is happening in my
bin?
There are several possible reasons for this.
Firstly the moisture level may not be right. The bin needs to be
moist but not too wet, or too dry. If the contents appear dry add
some water or leave the lid off when it is raining. It may be that
you also need to be adding more
'
greens' to the bin as these have far more moisture than
'
brown' materials.
If the contents look/feel very wet you will need to mix in more
'brown' material, paper, cardboard, straw etc.
Move the position of the bin into a more sunny position which
will heat up the contents and help it work faster.
I've got a slushy mess in my compost bin, what should I
do?
Time for some intervention ... empty out the
contents of the bin and mix in plenty of carbon rich material
(scrunched paper/card, chopped prunings etc). The emptying and
re-filling of the bin with a better mix will allow air to circulate
and dry out the compost. Also ensure the compost bin is in a free
draining position, this will allow excess water to escape.
Grass cuttings turn into black sludge in my compost -
what am I doing wrong?
Don't dump the grass cuttings all in at once. To make successful
compost you need a good mixture of materials and layers, so stir
the grass in with the rest of the heap.
Every time I open the lid, lots of little flies come
out, how can I get rid of them?
These are fruit
flies. Flies are completely harmless, they live on the kitchen
scraps that you put in the compost. You can control them by
covering the scraps with a layer of soil or cardboard and leave the
lid off for a day or two; when there is no food for them, they fly
away. Leaving the lid off partially allows access to beetles and
spiders, which will eat the larvae. Remember that little creatures
such as woodlice, beetles, worms, spiders, slugs and snails are
essential to make compost happen, so be pleased if you manage to
attract lots of them!
I have lots of prunings that are too woody to compost,
what shall I do?
Chop them into smaller bits. If you have lots, hire a shredder from
a tool hire shop. The chippings can be added to your compost, or
used as garden mulch to help control weeds and keep in moisture.
Alternatively, use the
green
garden waste service for the extra you can not compost or take
it to your local recycling
centre.
What are compost activators?
A compost
activator is a substance that can encourage the faster breakdown of
material in a compost bin. It can be anything that is rich in
nitrogen.
Can I put weeds in my compost?
Generally, yes, many weeds are ideal for composting especially if
you compost quickly. A hot heap will kill weed seeds. If you
compost bit by bit the process will be cooler and slower, and the
roots that are not killed in the composting process are likely to
grow again. Therefore, it's probably better not to put in fresh
perennial weeds such as bindweed, ground elder or couch grass.
However, some gardeners will put nasty weeds like this in to
black bin bags or buckets of water. They leave them for a couple of
weeks and then chop them into the compost heap which works
well.
I'm worried about attracting rats.
It is unlikely
that your compost will attract rats, but there are steps you can
take if you are concerned. Don't add cooked food, meat or fish, mix
in kitchen scraps well and cover with a layer of sawdust or soil to
mask the smell. You could also put a sheet of wire mesh or broken
paving slabs under the heap. Turning the contents regularly also
helps to stop vermin tunnelling and nesting.
My compost bin smells, a bit like ammonia.
Not enough
carbon in your bin. Add brown materials like leaves, straw, hay, or
shredded newspaper. |