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Composting

What to compost?

• Most garden waste and vegetable scraps from the kitchen including tea bags, coffee grounds and crushed egg shells.
• Cardboard in small pieces including egg boxes and cardboard tubes.
• Waste from vegetarian animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, horses.
• Paper torn or shredded (newspaper is best recycled and glossy paper should not be included).

Hint: Now that many people are shredding confidential papers the shreddings can be sprinkled in the compost bin

• Woody material will take a long time to rot down and is best chopped or shredded. Large quantities can be composted separately, simply tie up in bags mixed with grass cuttings and leave for a year or two.
• Leaves are also slow to rot and can be added in moderation. Compost large quantities separately in bags or bins. 

Activators.

• Garotta is a commercially produced mix of microbes and enzymes designed to speed up the composting process.
• Comfrey leaves, chicken, rabbit or pigeon manure added between layers will also get the process started.
• Seaweed meal will activate the heap.
• Human urine is also used as an activator.

How to use the ingredients

Grass cuttings and soft weeds on their own will rot down to a slimy mess but if mixed with other tougher materials they help to speed up the process.  The important thing is to get the mixture right by ensuring that the soft material is added in layers between other materials or mixed in. The contents should be kept moist but not wet.

If you do not have enough material to hand consider bringing in extra from the local stables or from neighbours.

If rats are already in the area they may visit the bin. Sealed plastic compost bins are the best deterrent and if they are stood on fine wire mesh this will stop rats digging in from the bottom.   

When will the compost be ready?

8 weeks to a year dependant on materials used, the heat generated and how quickly the bin is filled. Preferably once the bin is full leave to rot and start another bin. With some types of bin rotted material can be removed from the bottom whilst material is being added to the top. This technique may have to be used if there is only space for one bin but is not ideal.

Removing the contents of the bin after a few weeks, mixing and replacing helps to generate heat and speed the process. This can be done several times if you have the time and effort and will give quicker results.

The finished product

The finished product should be brown and crumbly any coarser bits will continue to rot in the garden but could be sieved out if needs be.  It can be spread as mulch on the garden for the worms to take down or dug into the top 8 inches. If your bin did not get very hot and there is a danger that weed seeds may not have been killed then digging in is preferable.

How to compost persistent weeds

Tough persistent weeds such as celandine, couch grass, ground elder, bindweed may survive the composting process. To ensure they cannot re infest your garden mix with grass cuttings and an activator in a plastic sack and leave for several months until they are composted and then add to the compost heap.    

Ewell Horticultural Association.

Ewell Horticultural Association exists for the encouragement and enjoyment of Horticulture.

© Ewell Horticultural Association 2002 - 2008