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To compost or not to compost

FallowFallow Posts: 9
in Problem solving

i have a smallish garden with no grass.  I live alone and eat a lot of vegetables.  I often feel I should be composting the peelings However I don't know whether I will have enough of a variety or quantity of things to make a compost heap viable.  Has anyone got any advice for me?

Posts

  • cajarycajary Posts: 26

    It might be an idea to avoid a "heap" and use a compost bin. ( plastic) You can get them in a variety of sizes. They've got a little door at the bottom to take out the compost when it's ready. They are in contact with the soil at the base, a bag of horse manure at the bottom starts it off fine. You can add all sorts of things like shredded newspapers. We also have a small household and it took 2yrs at the beginning to get any useable compost but we did get some eventually. Now, I chuck in a bag of raw horse compost every now and again and that speeds it up. Hopefully a compost specialist will come along and give you some proper advice.image

  • LeadFarmerLeadFarmer Posts: 1,496

    Make sure that with any compost heap/bin the compost has direct contact with soil.

    Theres lots of things you can add to the compost in addition to your peelings, such as the contents of your hoover, egg shells, torn up or shredded junk mail, torn up egg boxes, t-bags and fruit peelings. You can also ask your neighbour for some of their grass cuttings which will get your compost hot in no time.

  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995

    My compost bin is almost entirely kitchen waste.  Either buy or make your own plastic composter for the end of the garden.  I have a bucket inside on the counter, lined with newspaper (helps with your brown/green ratio), into which I put the above mentioned by PP.  Loo roll insides, snotty tissues, paper towels, etc. all help with adding in your browns.  If you have lots of peeling to do, lay down some newspaper onto your counter and peel onto that.. then wrap up the whole pile and toss it into your bin.  

    Utah, USA.
  • bekkie hughesbekkie hughes Posts: 5,294
    Compost bins didnt work for me, i dont really need to produce potting quality compost, i just want to recycle as much stuff back into the garden as i can, so depending on the time of year, i do a combination of pit composting (dig a hole/trench, fill it with compostable stuff, then back fill the soil) and a heap, the heap is usually in high summer when there is tons of stuff to compost, this will either be behind the shrubs or in a spot i think needs more fertility or the level needs buildingup, then at the end of the season i cover it in soil or compost and its more or less good to plant in by the next growing season image
  • FallowFallow Posts: 9

    Thank you all for your contributions.  what about a wormery?  Would one work better for me than the other?

  • bekkie hughesbekkie hughes Posts: 5,294
    Never used one, but yes, it would be a good idea, theres a few people on here who have them, ive never heard any complaints from them, you just need to be sure to keep them frost free image
  • Billie BiltonBillie Bilton Posts: 123

    Don't know why I never thought of adding contents of vacumn cleaner.  Will do that in future.

  • Dells1Dells1 Posts: 19

    Have two large compost bins, which naturally seem to attract lots of worms, amongst other insects which all help to break down the compost.

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