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Compost help

Csbartlett84Csbartlett84 Posts: 61
in Problem solving
Hi all we have been attempting to compost for about a year now and just took out the first bit from the bottom. It doesn't really look right and is still quite 'grassy' can anyone give us advise on what we have done wrong and general tips on getting good compost. Thanks in advance 


Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited April 2021
    Hi, can you list some of the things you added to the compost apart from grass?

    (I don't agree with the bit about "add any weeds because your bin will get hot"), but the rest is good.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    IMO The most important things to get right for making decent compost are the right mix of brown and green material and correct moisture levels.

    I never have more than a 4" layer of green material (eg grass clippings) before adding a 4" layer of brown material (shredded paper, woodier stems, semi-rotted leaves etc). Even then I try to stir them together as I add them.

    My favourite mix for faster composting is shredded stalks / woody stems mixed with fresh grass clippings. An easy way to achieve that is to throw all pruned plant material onto the lawn and mow it up - which both chops and mixes everything together.

    A compost heap should be slightly damp. If it's too damp it can become stagnant - too dry and stuff takes years to rot down. You may, therefore, need to either water or protect a compost heap from rain - I always need to water.

    Your compost doesn't look too bad but seems to have a lot of grass clippings in it. Do you have brown stuff mixed through it as well?

    For now, I'd lift the bin and refill it with the mixed up existing contents and mix in some additional brown material. Give it a water if it's a bit dry and you'll probably find you'll have usable compost in a couple of months.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    I agree that I think it lacks brown material. From my horsey friends I snaffle a bale or two of hay or straw and mix that in with the grass clippings.
    Rutland, England
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose Posts: 538
    I agree. Looking at it, it looks rather grassy. 

    I use a mixture of grass clipping, garden prunings, tea leaves, veg and fruit scraps for green. For brown, brown cardboard and rabbit bedding that a aquire from a friend who has rabbits. Since adding the rabbit bedding, my compost does break down better and quicker. I was told that rabbit poo is an accelerator. I could be corrected with that though.

    I give by heap a good turn around every 2 weeks with a garden fork.

    I dont add weeds but I know some do 
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    I never stir up my compost heaps or add any liquid but I do add a varied mixture of things (weeds, plant trimmings, fruit and veg peelings, shredded shrubs, shredded paper, coffee grounds and tea bags).....never any grass. If you are putting grass on the heap, then keep it to a minimum or keep a dedicated grass heap somewhere else in the garden though it might attract sleeping cats.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    I do add grass clippings - but not in one thick layer which goes both slimy and smelly. Builders dumpy bags are very useful for storing the surfeit of grass clippings in summer, of shredded cut-backs in spring and of leaves in autumn. That way I have piles of either brown or green which I can layer in the compost bin.

    BTW - I do turn my compost but only once or twice during the building process. Tend to spend 10 minutes a week having a bit of a stir of the top layers and a quick water if required.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • Csbartlett84Csbartlett84 Posts: 61
    Thank you all I have tried to add brown materials as much as possible but all the grass cuttings have gone on there and there is much more of that then anything else so I'll try and hold back with that. Love the idea of putting brown material on lawn while mowing! Great tip thank you @Topbird
    It is also completely dry so will start watering it a bit. How much should I add though? Don't want to ruin it by over watering now 🤣
    I have mainly put in cuttings and anything from weeding, the odd bit of cardboard, egg shells, peelings and lots of grass cuttings! 
    Thanks all for your advice will take it all on board and hopefully have better success this year! 🤞
  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    edited April 2021
    Try saving all your tea and coffee grounds. It's sterile, you've boiled it, so you can plant it whenever. The problem with "natural" compost is that it is full of fungus and diseases.
    I never use it except as a  top dressing. Good luck!
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @Inglezinho if your compost is full of fungus and diseases you’re not making it correctly.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    We put our grass cuttings on the compost but usually mix in some shredded paper at the same time. We shred a lot of our paper waste, newspapers, post etc anything that’s not glossy and it’s surprising how much you soon get. 

    We don’t worry about setting stuff aside to add in layers, but that maybe says more about the quantities of stuff we have - although having said that we tend to empty the paper shredder at intervals so that’s effectively the same thing 🤔
    Shredding and adding all our paper and turning it regularly has made a big difference to our compost, I think it’s easy to underestimate how much brown you need. 
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
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