Nowhere near ready, looks like it needs more chopping and turning, that will be perfect at the end of summer, you can then put it on you flower/veg beds in the autumn. Keep it covered with a piece of carpet or felt underlay, turn once a week. when it’s ready it will look similar to your garden soil. A few bits of twigs won’t matter.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I understood from GW and online sources that a cubic metre of compost turned regularly every six weeks would produce compost in a few months - so what am I doing wrong? Or have I misunderstood?
If I have to leave this alone for five months I’m not going to have space to store all the waste produced this year - my plastic unit will be full pretty quickly...
I have a turnover of compost every 2/3 months, getting the balance right is the secret, paper scrunched in balls and cardboard torn up is good but yours is still in its paper form, you need equals of green waste, such as uncooked kitchen veg peelings, prunings from plants, grass, when you start cutting it, and if you can get some horse poo it will make much quicker.
At the start, turn it about with a garden fork every week, that will mix everything together, keep it covered, that’s will keep the warmth in. You’ll know when it’s ready, it will be full of red worms.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Posts
Is this this ready for mulching or any other use?
I was was expecting it to look like shop bought stuff by now. If it’s not ready now, will I have to keep it until mulching time in autumn?
anything else I could use it for?
when it’s ready it will look similar to your garden soil. A few bits of twigs won’t matter.
I understood from GW and online sources that a cubic metre of compost turned regularly every six weeks would produce compost in a few months - so what am I doing wrong? Or have I misunderstood?
If I have to leave this alone for five months I’m not going to have space to store all the waste produced this year - my plastic unit will be full pretty quickly...
I have a turnover of compost every 2/3 months, getting the balance right is the secret, paper scrunched in balls and cardboard torn up is good but yours is still in its paper form, you need equals of green waste, such as uncooked kitchen veg peelings, prunings from plants, grass, when you start cutting it, and if you can get some horse poo it will make much quicker.
At the start, turn it about with a garden fork every week, that will mix everything together, keep it covered, that’s will keep the warmth in. You’ll know when it’s ready, it will be full of red worms.