I have had a compost bin for a long time and I have never really used it I now have twins and have tons of food scraps when I do a big batch of cooking for them. I want to use the compost bin now as it is all just going in the garbage and figure I could put it to use instead. So can someone teach me how to compost (I seems like a silly question to me lol ) Other than fruit and veg scraps what else can I put in there. Also I think I remember being told to give it a soak of water every now and then?? Is that right?
the water is to stop it catching fire as it composts - it can get damn hot in there
basically, you can put anything in it that will break down - if you're thinking of using it on veg garden, stick to stuff you wouldn'tmind having on there (avoid things like dog poop in those circs!) - we put fruit/vegie scraps (no onion cos it takes forever to break down, and we avoid seeds from things like capsicum), basic weeds (we don't put in thistle etc, as they self seed and ruin your compost - grassy stuff is fine), lawn cuttings. you need to turn it over semi regularly (we have an open compost heap - gets turned every four or five weeks - gets the oxygen into it down low, gives access to the good stuff from underneath etc.
we essentially put really basic stuff (weeds, leafy veg scraps banana, carrot), keep the long break down stuff out (onion) and try to avoid the seeds - but sometime i forget and we have a lovely compost heap at the moment htat we ccan't get to cos we're growing pumpkin out of it!
just remember to aerate, and if it seems to be getting too hot (you'll be able to tell from the outside of your bin if it's holding too much heat, hose it down to stop it combusting
we don't tend to do eggshells only cos we know people with chooks so they get the shells back (crush them into chook food - helps to make stronger shells on the new eggs!). all our left over cooked food goes to the dogs so nothing in the compost from there... no food (apart from onion peel and seeds from stuff) goes into the bin. if my bro is running short of food scaps for his worms, we might collect them up for the worms for a few days (usually salad leaves etc) and take them to him - we supply scraps and collect fresh liquid fertiliser. worm farm is definitely on the agenda for next year...
I have just bought a fantastic compost bin for my kitchen... HERE it is! What I like about it is that is both looks good (suits my retro kitchen) and is functional... it keeps in smells really well. I had some onion skins in there for a few days and the smell didn't seep out at all. I like how when it's full you can remove the interior black bucket to take out to the outside bin. Very easy to rinse out.
Highly recommended.
Compost questions
I now have twins and have tons of food scraps when I do a big batch of cooking for them. I want to use the compost bin now as it is all just going in the garbage and figure I could put it to use instead. So can someone teach me how to compost (I seems like a silly question to me lol
) Other than fruit and veg scraps what else can I put in there. Also I think I remember being told to give it a soak of water every now and then?? Is that right?
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