Creating compost

We've just moved from Sydney to Tassie into our first home after years of living in a dark flat with equally damp dark garden. I now have a beautiful sun drenched front and back garden with very happy roses and vegie gardens to build. I've bought a good compost bin but want to be sure I'm getting the most out of it and not just using it as a storage unit for rotting scraps etc.

Can anyone give some advise on how best to use it. I could go to the compost sites but thought I'd check for real life experience.

Cheers

Cherie

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Comments

Jason

Welcome to Workshop @Cherie and congratulations on purchasing your first home. This must be such an exciting time for you. I'm confident the Workshop community will be keen to help with information, advice and inspiration for all the projects you are likely to tackle around your new home and garden. Thanks for joining us.

Composting is a great topic for your first post. I'm sure many other community members will also be keen to learn more. Fortunately, there are many keen gardeners here on Workshop that will be happy to share their suggestions, including @CathM, @timjeffries, @Dale and @Branchy249.

You might also be interested in these posts:

Improving soil to suit both natives and vegies

Hot composting bays

Autumn gardening tips

Feed your soil and enjoy the harvest

Jason

Kermit

@Cherie

This should help get you going....

greygardener

What kind of compost bin did you buy @Cherie?

Dale

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/1170#Comment_1170

Hi @Cherie welcome to the workshop. 🙂

As @Jason says I'm a bit of a gardener myself. For compost I do this:

- Lay a bed of grass clippings from lawn. Helps to keep the pile warm and rotting.
- I will take half the dirt from a garden bed. A literal half not the top half. All the way to the bottom and spread the remaining half.
- To start off, if this is your first pile, just top up the bed with vegie potting mix and stir.
- Back to your compost pile add the dirt.
- Add a layer of hay or straw.
- Add a box of worms.
- Feed then food scraps until you cycle the beds again.

This uses the old principles of leaving soil fallow to rejuvenate. You're speeding it up with the worms and scraps.

timjeffries

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/62838#Comment_62838

Highly recommend aerating your compost. Check out this simple method for a quick solution http://littleveggiepatchco.com.au/blogs/news/8144159-compost-aerator

CathM

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/93897#Comment_93897

Being a huge fan of composting, I love to hear of others who enjoy it too!! Being a busy mum and biz owner, I've found the most sustainable way for me to keep up with my love for gardening, while growing fresh food, I've taken the quick and easy approach to doing a few things...and composting is one of those things!
I now use my 'in-garden' method, where I use a regular garbage bin, remove the base and set it up IN my veggie gardens. I find then I have fresh compost ready to use just where I want it, I don't have to move it around the garden anymore! (happy face!!)
I have three or four bins on the go at once, some are for adding ingredients to, others are resting and almost ready to empty.
Here's a link to my article on the super easy ways to set up this system. Just grab a good quality bin from Bunnings and remove the base, drill a few airholes and you're ready to go!!
http://soiltosupper.com/do-you-know-how-to-compost/
Enjoy!

greygardener

Remember to recycle your leaves everyone.

https://www.workshop.com.au/t5/Gardening/Recycle-your-leaves/m-p/2965

QuailFlock

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/1226#Comment_1226

Please use a flyscreen to wrap the bottom of your compost bin, up to half of a meter.
This will stop rats and mice to use the bin as a nest or a feeding ground.
Good luck!

bluebec

I tend to fill mine up with vegetable scraps, paper towel, and stalks of plants from the garden (pumpkin, tomato, corn, etc). I add a bit of soil every now and again, usually from the potato crop as that soil really needs enriching. I keep it moist by throwing a bit of water on it when required, and I just watch ALL THE WORMS that love my compost bin. They're the best bit in my opinion.

I'm also using compostible bags in my compost bin to save on cleaning. They don't break down as quickly as i like, but aren't too hard to separate out from the soil when putting it back into the garden bed.

Jason

Hi @Cherie,

Just wondering how your new compost bin is going? It was great to see you get such fantastic advice and suggestions from other community members. I trust you found their posts useful. Feel free to post again anytime.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/1305#Comment_1305

This morning I was fortunate enough to visit the Bayswater Bunnings store and enjoy a gardening workshop on composting with @robbayswater.

Rob provided lots of great advice for the attendees, but the message he stressed over and over was to ensure your compost isn't too dry. Rob recommends adding the same amount of water to your compost as any other material. So for example, add a cup of water for every cup of kitchen scraps.

Many attendees were curious about what should and shouldn't be put in the compost. Rob says citrus and onion should be avoided, as it affects the pH level too much, takes too long to break down and can attract the wrong type of insects. Meat and dairy should also be avoided as they attract rodents.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/113260#Comment_113260

Visitors to this popular topic should also check out the fantastic discussion kicked off by the Hot Composting Bays created by @timjeffries. See https://www.workshop.com.au/t5/Gallery/Hot-Composting-Bays/cns-p/1615

Jason

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