Where do I Put My Compost-Bin/Heap?
Whether you have purchased a composting unit, or made your own, you need to make sure you have a flat, well drained place in your garden – not so far away that you cannot be bothered trudging there, from the kitchen. Compost bins should not be placed on concrete, patio areas etc. as you want to allow the insects and worms access, as mentioned previously.
Also, choose a site which suits your climate. Warmth and moisture helps the composting process, so place your compost somewhere which receives a fair amount of sunlight; and shelter from the wind if you live in a cooler climate, if in a hotter climate, ensure you give it shade to prevent it drying out.
How Long Will it Take to Become Compost?
This is dependent on a number of variables: weather, balance and management.
Weather: as discussed previously :”Warmth and moisture helps the composting process, so place your compost in a place which receives a fair amount of sunlight; and shelter from the wind if you live in a cooler climate, if in a hotter climate, ensure you give it shade to prevent it drying out.”
Balance: This concerns – just what you put in there; and how you do it. If you were to dump a couple of wheel-barrow loads of one type of material, barriers are formed ; and there is no longer an exchange of moisture, nutrient, or macro and micro-biology. I am certain we have all seen what happens with a large pile of grass-clippings – it forms mats of noxious ‘stuff’. What you are actually looking for is a mixture of everything, a bucket of kitchen scraps, then a bag of leaves, some prunings, a catcher of grass, couple of spades of soil; then more kitchen scraps and so on. More like as not – you will not have all of these things to hand at the one time, this is where Management comes into play.
Management: You can – just chuck stuff in there, leave it, and let nature take its course. This is called a cold compost. It will still turn into compost – just take a bit longer to happen. This is fine if you’re not in a hurry, generally though, once you start producing compost – it just never happens fast enough! In order to speed up the process, a heap needs periodic turning. by this I mean – that which was on the bottom of the pile should now be on the top, or there-abouts. This is not a simple task of just flipping it over – if you can do that, your heap is not big enough.
Starting at the top of the heap, remove the top 8 inches or so and put it aside – this being the most recent addition and therefore the least composted. Then dig out the whole heap – any old how, it doesn’t matter, there is no need for neatness. Now, place that which was on the top – on the bottom of what is now the start of your new heap. The rest of the heap now goes back in, on top of that. There we have a new and revitalised heap.
What has happened here is quite simply – mixed the heap. As each shovel-full is taken out , mixing occurs, then as each shovel-full is thrown back in – even more mixing. It is a fact and luckily so, that you would never be able to replace the heap exactly as you found, even if you tried. Bits from the top and sides fall in, one time you may take from this side, the next time the other, big bits and small bits get all mixed up, leaves mixed with soil, soil with prunings; and so on. I would ordinarily do this once, when the heap is half-full; then again when it is full. If you can get it, the addition of horse, cow, sheep or chicken manure, at each turning, will make for a really rich compost.
Now That I’ve Got Compost – What Do I Do With it?
Spread it around the garden, dig it into the veggie plot, use it as a potting mix. No matter where you use your compost, it will only improve the health and general well-being of your garden . The follow-on benefits of this are: healthier and stronger plants – less open to pest and disease; a greater root-mass – allowing plants to withstand extremes of weather; better tasting fruit and vegetables; more flowers; bit of exercise; less waste – you have taken responsibility for your own rubbish; the benefits to the environment cannot be dismissed – you haven’t played an enormous part – but you have done your bit.
O.K. You have made your first compost!
This is when you come to realise – you just can’t seem to make enough of it!
Types of Composting Units: Pictures