What Can I Compost?
What to put in your compost heap and what type of heap will suit you best
If it can rot, it will compost, but some items are best avoided. Some things like grass clippings and soft young weeds rot quickly. They work as “activators” or “hotter rotters”, getting the composting started, but on their own will decay to a smelly mess.
Older and tougher plant material is slower to rot but gives body to the finished compost– and usually makes up the bulk of a compost pile. Woody items decay very slowly; they are best chopped or shredded first–the smaller the ingredient, the quicker it will break down.
For best results, use a mixture of types of ingredient. The right balance is something you will learn with experience.
Compost Ingredients
Activators
Comfrey leaves
Yarrow
Young weeds
Grass cuttings
Chicken manure
Pigeon manure
Urine
Other comostable items
Cotton rags (unprinted)
Cheesecloth
Cardboard
Jute bags, Hessian and Canvas
Paper towels and bags
Butchers’ paper
Cardboard tubes
Egg boxes
A balanced diet
All biodegradable kitchen waste
Tea bags
Coffee grounds
Old flowers
Bedding plants
Old straw and hay
Vegetable plant remains
Strawy manures
Young hedge clippings
Spent hops
Feathers
Seaweed (Kelp preferably — washed)
All nut shells
Prawn heads, crab and crayfish shells
Vacuum cleaner dust
Human and animal hair and nail clippings
Soft prunings
Perennial weeds
Gerbil, hamster and rabbit bedding
Slow cookers–very slow to rot
Autumn leaves
Tough hedge clippings
Woody prunings
Sawdust
Wood shavings
Old under-felt (not chemically treated)
Do NOT compost
Coal and coke ash
Cat or dog litter and feces
Disposable nappies
Glossy magazines
What type of compost pile to build?
You can make compost simply by adding compostable organic items to a compost pile when you feel like it. It will all rot eventually but it can take a long time, may not produce a very pleaseant end product, and could smell.
With a little extra attention–taking the “cool compost pile” option outlined here–you could improve things dramatically.
If you want to produce more compost in a much quicker time and are able to put a little more effort into it, follow the “Hot Compost Pile” option.
The Cool Compost Pile
1. Collect together a batch of compost materials. Try, if possible, to get enough to make a layer a minimum of 30cm/12inches or more in the compost bin. Weed the garden, mow the lawn, empty the kitchen bucket; whatever it takes!
Aim for a mix of soft and tough items. It may help if you place a few woody plant stems or small twigs on the bottom first, especially if using a plastic bin, as this will improve the air circulation and drainage.
Go to Step 2, or jump to the “Hot Compost Pile” Step 2 if you can make the time.
2. Start filling the bin. Spread the ingredients out to the edges. Alternate soft and tough items, or mix them together first. Unless items are already wet, water well every 30-60cm.
3. Continue to fill the container. Items can be added individually, but a bigger batch is preferable. If most of what you compost is kitchen waste, mix it with egg boxes, kitchen paper, loo roll middles and similar paper products to create a better balance.
Go to Step 4, or take a detour via the “Hot Compost Pile” Step 4 on the way if you are energetic enough to turn it.
4. When the container is full–which it may never be as the contents will sink as it composts–or when you decide to, stop adding to it. Then either just eave it to finish composting or go to Step 5.
5. Remove the container, or everything from the container. If the lower layers have comosted, use this on the garden. Mix everything else together well; add water if it is dry, or dry material if it is soggy. Replace in the bin and leave to mature.
The Hot Compost Pile
1. Gather enough material to fill your compost container or area in one session. Bring in manure, scraps from the market, neighbors’ weeds and so on to make up the bulk. Make sure you have a mixture of soft and tough materials.
2. Chop up tough items using shears, a sharp spade (lay items out on soil or grass to avoid jarring) or a shredder/mulcher.
3. Mix ingredients together as much as possible before adding to the container. In particular, mix items, such as grass clippings, that tend to settle and exclude air, with more open items that tend to dry out. Fill the container as above, watering as you go.
4. Give the pile a good mix.
5. Within a few days, the pile is likely to get quite hot to the touch. When it begins to cool down, or a week or two later, turn the pile. Remove everything from the container or lift the container off and mix it all up, trying to get the outside to the inside. Add water if it is dry, or dry material if it is soggy. Replace in the bin.
6. The pile may well heat up again with the new supply of air you have mixed in. This allows the fast acting aerobic microbes, ie those that need oxygen, to continue with their work. Step 4 can be repeated several more times if you have the energy, but the heating will be less and less. When it no longer heats up again, leave it undisturbed to finish composting.
< >When is it Ready?
Compost can be made in six to eight weeks, depending on what time of year, or it can take a year or more. In gerneral, the more effort you put in, the quicker you will get compost.
When the ingredients you have put in your container have turned into a dark brown, earthy smelling material, the composting process is complete. It is then best left for a month or two to “mature” before it is used. Don’t worry if your compost is not fine and crumbly. Even if it is lumpy, sticky or stringy, with bits of twig and eggshell still obvious, it is quite usable.
Today’s Top Tip
To get a wonderful root system on your vegetables, make sure your soil is rich in organic matter and provides good drainage. Adding organic matter will help improve almost any soil problems you may have.
