You don’t need a compost bin to make compost, you can simply make a compost heap. A compost bin makes your garden or allotment a lot tidier. Plastic compost bins are useful making good use of space. Ideally a compost bin sits on soil in a sunny position, as placing one in the shade takes the compost longer to form.
Hot Composting – You construct the compost heap carefully with the right materials in even layers. You wait for it to heat up, then start to cool down , then you have to turn it to mix up the layers. And then do it all again, finally you can relax then let it mature for several weeks before use.
Cold Composting – Most people don’t have time to make a hot compost or they don’t have the right mix of materials. You can take a more relaxed approach with cold composting. You throw things in as & when you have them & let it decompose in its own time.
Things To Compost – Compost breaks down because bacteria, fungi & mini beasts eat organic matter. They need a balanced diet of browns & greens (equal amounts by volume) . Browns – Carbon Rich Materials – Twigs, dead leaves, cardboard, newspaper, straw, hay, wood shavings. Greens – Full Of Nitrogen – Fresh leaves & stems, grass cuttings, vegetable peelings, Apple cores, tea leaves, coffee grounds, faeces from vegetarian animals. You can also add egg shells for calcium but crush them up first as they are slow to break down.
Blog By Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)
