A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Compost Question??

Can you put privet hedges in your compost bin??
Thank you.

To grow or chopped up???

If it's to grow, no...
if it's to compost, yesss!!

Absolutely!! Chop them up for quicker results.

I need to find out what type of plant I have what do I do??

I sent you a PM to let you know where to post Mystery plants...

I'm using branches that my landlord prunes from different bushes and trees to make sure my pile remains airy. It's been a number of days since I turned it because the flood really soaked it. I thought for a while that it had washed half of it away but it didn't it just really helped it break down. I have almost no brown left in it at all. And it is definitely time to sift it. Which is good because I'm still looking for homes for all the plants that need thinning. And you know I still won't thin lol.

I also have loads of twiggy material in mine, but every time I turn my heap, I keep finding loads of this woody material still in there. Some of them are breaking down, so I'm happy for them to stay, but others look very tough (part of a Quince tree I chopped down I think). Should I leave this material in there for aeration, or should I remove it, as it looks like it'll never break down??????

How long have you had them in your bin???

I have just started mine. The information that I have is, it takes approx 6-9 months until it is ready or even longer.

I've had my bin going since about October/November. I put a lot of woody stuff in the bottom, and then alot of leaves, and grass clippings, plus food stuffs from the kitchen. The process is definitely working, as it's got a nice smell to it now, and is looking very brown (and a bit crumbly in places). But I still have these twigs all over the place?

Are these twigs very big???
Can you break them down smaller??

It sounds like your compost is coming on. Well done

They're quite long (1ft or more), but are thin (twiggy ). I struggle to break them down, as they're so tough. This is why I don't think they'll break down on their own? The outer layer comes off on some, so might be worth persevering with them, to see what'll happen? I think I may just have to remove them when I sieve it (assuming my wife will bye me a rota-sieve for my birthday -- she may think I'm mad and having nothing more to do with me

Well, if there are quite long. I think I would take them out. But that's just my opinion.

I was removing them when I spotted them during my heap turning exercise, but stopped just in case they were proving beneficial. I'll go back to picking them out. They go off to the council compost heap anyway, so not a complete waste.

Daniel,
For branches, etc that may be a bit bigger...
I keep leaving them in..
They are good for aeration of the stuff inside,
and in the process they will eventually break down... *some wood may break down faster than others, which is which, I am not sure of exactly*
but for me and my own piles, I just keep leaving them in *the bottom mostly* from bin to bin...

And as a side note of info....
When you re~introduce those twigs/branches into the new compost pile you start, they bring with it alllllll the wonderful bacteria, microbes, and "stuff" on them that helps "jump start" your newer piles...gets the "juices'" flowing on the new pile faster, than if you didn't have branches/twigs innoculated first..

And eventually, they won't be any more and you'll have to add new ones...
Personally for my own piles, I re~use the old one's, and also stick in fresh ones'.. that way...as the older one's break down more and more each time and use.. I have new one's to work in the process...

P/S Daniel,
I hope you get your sieve....
Please if you ever get pictures of it,
we'd *I know I would* love to see it!!!

P/S Princessazlea,
How are your piles are coming along???

Good, I am adding to it at the moment. Greens and Browns.

Weezie, a question for you?
At the top of the page was a advert about a compost bin in Switzerland. They said they add meat and cooked veg in theirs.
How can this be right? I thought you could not add these to a compost bin?

Catch the ad for me, and post here
*the link on a post.*
**Sometimes what are are regional ad's..***

Weezie here it is?
http://www.smartsoil.co.uk/

I am sure I read of here

Can you put the contents of what's in your hoover bag in the compost pile???

I've read that soft-wooded trees take much longer to break down the hard-wooded trees.

This sounds very interesting. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I would really like to see a picture of it, too!

http://www.rotasieve.co.uk/aboutrotasieve.htm

It's a bit pricey, but looks good

Now that's a nice lil'contraption....

Pleasssssssse let me know if you get it,
how it works???

I use a trusty trowel and shovel...

Wow, Daniel, that's really a niffy looking little gadget! I hope you get it and give us a full report on how well it works.

Actually, looking at it and how it's made, the principle reminds me of the old-fashioned flour sifter that my grandma and mom had and it sure seems like it would do a great job!

I have noticed little flying bugs on my compost bin. I take this as being normal??

Is your pile really wet?

Or are they fruit flies?

I would not say it was wet. It is totally covered, its like a black plastic bin designed for composting.
I just thought these tiny flies where normal and the compost waste is doing what it should do??

The only time I get some flies' *which are fruit flies* for me, is if it's on the moist side, *and it's a dry summer* or I haven't turned it as much as I should...
*or maybe the word would be to incorporate or cover the new/fressh stuff I just put in..*
Does that make sense...

and when you say, That means it's in a bin, with a lid on it??????

Yes

Hi, I just wanted to know if you can put raw onion in the compost bin??

Yep, any raw vegetable or peelings or ends are greattttttt!!!
It all renders down in the end..

(carrot/potato/apple peelings, onion skins and roots, banana peels, cut off broccoli chunks,
even cooked potato water can go in to it...)

Anything that's uncontaminated and has grown in the garden can be composted.

You sure can, Lisa! I haven't seen you in quite a while!

Just so you all know, I have successfully created my first decent load of compost.

Following Weezie's excellent advice in early/mid summer, I transferred my current pile into bags so it could cook itself finished during the fall and winter, so I could start a new load in the mean time (I only have 1 bin).

The lot that was stored in the garage was a complete disaster. It was very sticky, and a nasty brown colour. Looked just like clay soil. But the stuff that I've had on the go through summer has turned out beautifully.

It's not finished yet, but I've bagged all this up to finish off, and have reinstated my first load back into the bin, as I now have learnt so much about composition and rotation, that I think I can turn this into something special by the end of fall.

So I now have four bags of decent compost ready in my garage, with another four or so in my bin. Should be well set for the spring, as I intend to install a 6x4 foot Square Foot Garden, and know I'm going to need a lot of compost for this :-)

Thanks for all your advice so far...

I am just soooooooooo very happy to have read those words..
Makes me all warm and fuzzy...
*I know, I must be wierd to get warm and fuzzy
over compost :rolleyes: *
but I am sooooooooooooooo veryyyyyy glad to hear
that your pile did good... and on your way to MORE...
I just get so happy to hear proud to hear of your success Daniel,
Please keep us posted on all your composting and gardening..
*especially that square foot gardening*
*There's a post someone started about Why doing raised beds, and there's some good info there for you*

Thanks Weezie,

I know you have a small thing about that black stuff that comes from bins, but that's another story. I know that I'm so encouraged to compost because of your words, so well done to you too :-)

Two guys have just turned up in my back garden to chop my conifers down, to make room for my vegetable plot (SFG). It's scary to see how quickly they're converting my garden. It looks so bare, but I know it'll look good once all my improvements have happened (some are going to be quicker than others, but that's gardening).

Oooooooooh make sure you keep that stuff....
Wooooooooo~hooooooooooo....
If they're shredding it up *thru a chipper machine* keep it for sure...
That stuff is great for adding in between the greens....

I've just sent the wife out to give them a couple of bin bags to fill up with the shreddings. As you say, useful source of 'brown'. She says it looks good, and has made the garden seem much lighter. It'll be dark when I get home, so can't wait until I get first look tomorrow. :-)

Daniel,
If you can *and have room or a corner*
just leave that stuff in a pile too/also, *out in the elements*
and it'll help in the composting process faster for the chipped wood,
*cause the process starts with exposure to the elements*
Just leave it in a corner and let it be..
Then use it as nessessary to your compost pile..
**and you will find when that pile of chipped tree is gone,
the soil will be wonderfull and full of worms...**

Interesting. Thanks. I now have a very large corner, where a forsythia and some of the conifers were, which I plan to plant a fruit tree (plum?) in, so this technique may help me in many ways. Thanks.

The one thing I would advise on for planting
where the compost pile was is.....
Give it at least a season, if not maybe two..
and then plant...*keep it covered maybe so no
weed seeds invade..*

Why I say this is...
I have a compost pile, and left some compost on the bottom and then moved it and planted a "WILD Elderberrry tree" there.. and although it took off like a "r@ped @pe" it didn't "go to sleep for the winter properly" and stayed green too long when it should be getting ready to go dormant.....
and stayed green and the bark on the branches peeled.. it did survive, but resent out new branches.. and it is growing *or should I say, not dying* but I want you to be aware of what can happen when you plant things in toooooo rich of soil, tooooooo soon...

Would you advise the same for the pile of woody shreddings? They shouldn't be quite so nutritious?

Sorry for the delay, my mom called and
had to scoot over..

Um, let me think...

It's not so much that they are nutritious..
(The plant life it's self..)

It's that the compost is too rich for the plant
it's self, to be in straight compost..

I'm not sure if I've discribed it enough,
or am technically qualified to fully answer it..
Other than to use the word "rich" and because the soil,
*what's left from the decomposing*

Now of course, mine was a compost pile and not a wood chip pile...
but just wanted you to be aware of what can happen..

That's fine. All knowledge is good in my book. I think I'll go down this route, but make sure I did a nice big hold (which I should do anyway) and improve/degrade as needed. Thanks.

Yes, having a stock pile of stuff to put in..
Alot of times, browns are very hard to find in the summer..
and sometimes too much in the fall...
(so that's the time to save it..)

~~~~>We go down to the sawmill and pick up saw dust too...That decomposes faster...
*I even put it in buckets with splits in it
to keep them in the buckets and they decompose in there..*

Here's my update on my compost bin.

It's full and rotting down.

Question: The potato peelings have grown roots. Does this mean it's working???
I know, it sounds like a stupid question!! :rolleyes:
Should I add more to it. Or should I leave it for now???

It means the potato peels are growing. They will die off due to lack of light but it also means the bin isn't generating enough heat. However, it's not a bad thing, just means the compost will be slower to mature. Add more stuff whenever you have it!