Compost questions

I have had a compost bin for a long time and I have never really used it :redface: 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 :dunno:) 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?

Thanks for reading. I am such a garden novice :rolleyes:

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


hope my waffle makes sense hun!

BG

Thanks BG. You a such a wealth of knowledge ;)

Just another question can you put things like egg shells in there?

BTW- I can't believe how quickly your pg is progressing (prob doesn't feel quick for you though) and how exciting a pink bundle!!! Yay hunny :dance:

Yep egg shells are great. We also put bread scraps in ours.

You can also put in cooked veges as long as they were only steamed or boiled and don't have any gravy/sauce etc on them

Happy composting :)

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.

Make sure you don't put any meat or dairy in your compost - it will go funky and attract nasty interested creatures!!

My main tip is you need GREENS and BROWNS.

Green things are like veggie peelings, grass cuttings, etc, and are high in nitrogen.

BROWNS are things like straw, dried leaves, shredded soaked newspaper/cardboard, etc which are high in carbon.

If your compost is too wet, smelly, clumpy and mouldy, then you need to add more BROWN.
If your compost is too dry, or isn't breaking down, then you need to add more GREEN. Simple!

And finally, the more you turn it, it smells less, cooks hotter (killing weed seeds etc) and is ready sooner!

Compost seems so easy but is really confusing and intimidating unless you get good advice such as you have here!

I tried a compost heap so many times and in so many forms but just couldn't get it right... and finally, this year, I have it!! A week ago I just turned out my first beautiful compost which I dug into the garden beds and then planted the winter crop. :dance: It felt sooooo good.

What worked was all of the above advice!

• Avoidance of meat and dairy :rolleyes:
• balance of brown and green (every now and again I would throw in a heap of ripped up news paper, DD loved helping me shred!)
• Air circulation - I used a pole with a sort of hook, stuck in the compost pile which I would stab up and down a bit every time I added anything. It aerated the mix in a simple way

I recently saw a clip on gardening Aust where they placed chicken wire rolled up into a tube shape into the center of the compost bin (standing up) and dumped the compost around it. The wire tubes allowed air to get into the heap. I thought that was a great idea.

Just you wait till you realise that you wont have take the rubbish out to the bins as much anymore since food scraps all go a composting :lol:!